by Times of Oman

MUSCAT — In a move that would pave the way for the establishment of e-government in Oman, the Ministry of Civil Services is implementing a human resources information system covering more than 45 ministries, government departments and units in the country. The system, considered to be one of the most sophisticated ever installed in the country, would cost the government around RO3 million.

The system is expected to be completed within 12 to 14 months, and will connect more than 45 government units to the Ministry of Civil Services (MoCS) and the Ministry of Finance (MoF).

The move is considered to be a revolutionary step towards establishing an e-government in the Sultanate of Oman.

Speaking to Times Business, the sources explained that the system, which would cater to a total of 86,000 government employees, is based on the word-class Oracle Human Resources Management System (HRMS) and will be one of the largest software projects undertaken for the government of Oman so far.

According to top sources, the contract for the supply, development, implementation and commissioning of this system was recently awarded to OHI Telecommunications, one of the leading information technology (IT) players in the Sultanate. OHI Telecommunications would be responsible for supplying and installing the Oracle HRMS application, reliable and highly scalable Compaq servers and the network infrastructure connecting the government units to the Ministry of Civil Services and the Ministry of Finance.

Once implemented, it is hoped that this HRMS project will enable member ministries to access and update human resources information regarding their employees which is stored centrally in MoCS, quickly and easily. Moreover, this would ensure safety and security of the crucial information with the ministry.

Oman has always been in the forefront when it comes to the implementation of new systems. Oman’s securities market, Muscat Securities Market (MSM) is one of the first markets in the whole region to go electronic.

The marker had its electronic paper-less depository before many of the advanced countries thought of it.

On the one hand, Oman has become the member of the prestigious world body, World Trade Organisation (WTO) recently, and on the other, the country is embarking on several ambitious and world-class industrial projects with the support of the government on the supply of gas. The country, which is upbeat with a nearly 40 per cent growth in its GDP in the first half due to one of the highest oil prices in the recent history, is said to be gearing for increased spending in the coming months.

It was a few months back that OHI Telecommunications Company, the market leader in the telecom industry and www.tariq.net — the first and the leading IT portal in the Sultanate — have merged to form the new website www.ohitariq.net. OHI Telecommunications, which is part of the OHI group, has been providing high quality products and services for the Omani community.

OHI has started providing Internet related services such as E-Security, web applications and Internet/Intranet consulting in 1997 and by this time, the company has already established itself as a strong player in providing Internet and E-security solutions to major government and private sector organisations in the Sultanate.

OHI Telecommunications has won the Royal Level Award for being the best Microsoft Recommended Support Point in the Middle East at the Microsoft conference in Lebanon during 1998. It was some time back, OHI Telecommunications launched a new PC, OHI Pro, which is assembled by OHI Telecom itself. OHI Pro was launched at COMEX 1999. As one of the Sultanate’s premier business houses, OHI group is engaged in various activities.