State IT systems to be aligned
Can the state’s information technology systems talk to each other? The answer is yes, but only just, and this cannot be taken for granted yet.
Communication between the state’s IT systems, or interoperability, is the objective of a tender with an initial budget of 27.9 million euros that the Information Society is implementing, with the Digital Governance Ministry’s General Secretariat for Information Systems being the owner of the project.
And how important is communication between state IT systems? Here’s an example: Today citizens can obtain certificates of birth, marriage, death, family status etc at the touch of a button, thanks to the interoperability of the IT systems of the electronic Single Social Security Entity (e-EFKA) with the Citizens’ Registry of the Interior Ministry. The two data systems communicate through web services, making it possible for a citizen to obtain, say, a birth certificate at any hour of the day, seven days per week.
The aim of the Digital Governance Ministry is to have all state IT systems able to interact with each other; this is the objective of the ongoing tender, for a framework agreement toward the development of web services so as to achieve the interoperability of public administration IT systems. After a few days’ extension, the deadline for the submission of offers has now been set for February 2.
“The completion of the state IT systems’ interoperability will see the number of interconnected data bases soar, sparing citizens from the need to intervene to produce certificates and documents, and boosting productivity,” Dimosthenis Anagnostopoulos, the general secretary for information systems, tells Kathimerini.
“Interoperability abolishes the exchange of papers and documents between state agencies, as they will be able to draw the necessary data for the processing of a transaction a citizen has with the state online,” he explains.
According to the rules of the tender, the completion of the process will lead to a framework agreement with up to 12 contractors, lasting for four years from the moment of signing.
