IfG.CC - The Potsdam eGovernment Competence Center

The website, www.privacyawarenessweek.org, detailed the specifics of the initiative, which includes a free ID Theft Prevention Tool that tests and educates people about privacy issues in eleven situations presenting heightened vulnerability towards identity theft.

With South Korea becoming the first country to "turn on" 5G at scale, now is the time to be looking to Asia to see what the US and Europe can learn from their innovations. In particular, the US and Europe have much to learn from the successful teamwork and collaboration on smart city projects in the Asian-Pacific.

Smarter devices and smarter technologies make for smarter cities. You only need to look to Asia to see the power of connected systems in action. Metropolitan centers like Singapore or Seoul not only collect and interpret data, but they integrate it into more efficiencies. Better yet, the region’s capitals are collaborating to create a network of integrated digital ecosystems.

The research firm says most public sector agencies are widely dispersed operational silos and are challenged with varying policy and operational restrictions. As a result, there are different needs and scales on their IT capacity.

"Looking Ahead: Articulating Cloud Competencies for the Asia Pacific Public Sector," says the business case for the traditional data centre is no longer sustainable in the long run. Therefore, the public sector agencies should actively explore the possibility of the adoption of cloud computing technologies.

The Estonian e-Governance Academy and Japanese think tank Mitsubishi UFJ Research and Consulting Co., Ltd (MURC) have established a joint venture to provide digital transformation services for governments in Japan and the Asian region. The name of the new enterprise is Digital Governance Academy Asia-Pacific or D-GAP.

The D-GAP will use the knowledge accumulated in Estonia to provide high-quality training, survey and consulting services to meet the diverse needs related to the digital government in Japan and overseas.

The growth of IoT in the Asia Pacific region is propelled by rising government initiatives in smart cities by countries including India, China, Japan, and others.

IoT in the Asia Pacific was valued at US$69.3 billion in 2018 and is predicted to expand to US$143.8 billion by 2023 at over 12.4% CAGR from 2019 to 2023. The Asia Pacific is estimated to be one of the major markets for the growth of the IoT market. The Asia Pacific grows owing to factors such as increasing internet penetration, growing adoption of cloud-based services among small and medium enterprises, and government policies to promote digitalization and smart city developments. Additionally, the introduction of high-speed networking technologies has been the major factor driving the market. Moreover, the increasing interest of multinational players in the region and rising demand from developing economies such as India and China are also estimated to drive the growth of the market.

Remarkable advances in information and communication technologies (ICTs) are impacting people’s lives in a variety of ways. With ICTs, exchange of ideas and information can transcend great geographical distances and help realize the notion of a global village. Yet the benefits of ICTs do not stop at providing global interconnectivity. ICTs can serve as valuable tools with which to achieve inclusive, sustainable development at a national and regional level. Instances of ICTs being employed in areas including, but not limited to, distance learning, telemedicine, disaster risk reduction, and green growth corroborate this view.

There has also been a major overhaul of IT strategies to meet challenges emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic, according to new research.

Equinix has announced the findings of its annual study on the views of IT decision-makers regarding the largest technology trends affecting businesses worldwide.

The survey covered 2,600 IT decision-makers from diverse enterprises across 26 countries in the Americas, Asia-Pacific, and EMEA regions, and focused largely on the impact of COVID-19 on digital infrastructure plans.

Public sector IT spending in APAC will account for 23 % on an average of total IT spending as measured from 2005 to 2010 - according to a Springboard press release.

Also known as hybrid cards, the implementation of the two-chip EID cards can be expected in Asia as they will allow records and information of citizens to be more easily tracked, accessed, verified, noted Damien See, senior industry analyst at Frost & Sullivan. He told ZDNet Asia in an e-mail interview that these cards will also enable governments to carry out census surveys more accurately and comprehensively.

Several regional cases studies in the global survey illustrate the importance of integrating emerging innovations in digital technology.

A major report launched by the United Nations this week highlights the critical role E-governance plays in building inclusive, resilient societies in anticipation and response to the impact of disasters.

Digital transformation efforts in Vietnam have yielded the biggest improvement among regional economies, according to an industry study of 11 Asia-Pacific markets.

Vietnam saw the highest increase in scores between 2016 and 2019, in the digital society index study carried out by mobile operator industry player GSMA Intelligence.