UAE ranks third globally for superior digital government services

Strong adoption and delivery as well as higher implications for emerging digital government services have helped the United Arab Emirates secure the third position globally for superior digital government services, according to a new study released by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG).

The study, titled “Personal and Proactive Digital Government: Accelerating GCC Journey”, indicates that digital government services are now an integral part of daily life in the Emirates. Moreover, the level of satisfaction with the services in the country is in the top rankings of global net experience, with a score of 79% for 2022.

Higher than average use of digital services

Compared to the global average of 49%, 62% of respondents in the Gulf nation mentioned they use digital government services at least once per week.

Frequent new feature updates, fast go-to-market times, and advanced functionality helped Covid-related services emerge as a benchmark for customer expectations last year, said Rami Mourtada, Partner and Director for Digital Transformation at BCG. In fact, Covid-related services have ranked No 1 on the list of most used digital government services, both regionally and globally.

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Expectation and Satisfaction

While scores of GCC residents expect their governments to offer services comparable to the best private companies in the world, GCC countries have also been offering more sophisticated digital government services.

Overall, GCC residents have expressed satisfaction with the services, appreciating benefits, such as easy access to information, understandable language, and multiple platform accessibility. But personal information security and real-time support and assistance have been identified as pain points.

According to BCG, the following four factors must form the foundation of any government’s digital agenda.

• Trust and transparency: Governments must offer detailed information on how data will be collected, stored, accessed, and used, and how breaches will be brought under the limelight.
• Value Exchange: Customers have expressed willingness towards consenting for use of their data in exchange for goods and services they value.
• No secondary use of data: There should be a single purpose for each consent.
• Right to opt-out: The importance customers attach to the right to opt out of services or withdraw consent should not be ignored.

Overall, the UAE must continue tracking residents’ evolving requirements, while innovating and investing in technology that produces community benefits, efficiency gains, and value for residents.