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Doha – Qatar

The Ministry of Transport and Communications last Thursday hosted several government entities at a virtual event to introduce the “Microsoft Government Framework Agreement 2020-2023” signed between the Government of the State of Qatar represented by MOTC and Microsoft represented by its two local agents; malomatia and Ebla, who formed the first consortium of its kind in the history of the agreement since 2003.

The agreement provides for technical support for all Microsoft licenses and software used in government entities, including for computer and user licenses (Office 365), server licenses such as Windows Servers, database server licenses such as SQL Server, and other licenses already deployed at government entities, in addition to cloud computing services through Microsoft Azure.

Addressing the event, which was attended by over 100 personnel from multiple government entities, Acting Assistant Undersecretary of Government Information Technology, MOTC, Ms. Mashael Ali Al-Hammadi, said that now more than a decade into the approach of framework agreements we can confirm that the return for Qatar government’s investment in purchasing global companies’ software through such agreements is in the good interest of the government with what we have gained – a high quality yield that pays off significantly well in terms of efficiency and customer satisfaction, something which contributes to achieving QNV2030 and e-Government Strategy.

The COVID-19 pandemic, she said, has shown the vital role that digital technology plays amid an ever-accelerating digital transformation worldwide with regard to services provided to the people, including telework systems, videoconferences at and outside of workplaces, and access to healthcare, education, commodities and basic services.

The previous edition of this agreement, she added, had been of a big role during the pandemic as the government, represented by MOTC, adopted an ambitious digital transformation plan that featured installing, activating and running several software needed by entities and which also offer several channels for interaction and cooperation between personnel of the same government entity and with other entities.

Examples of software covered in the digital transformation plan include updating computer operating system on more than 70,000 machines at government entities to Windows 10; upgrading more than 60,000 versions of OfficePro that allows integration with Office 365 cloud computing services; activating more than 70,000 accounts on MS Teams to allow for broader interaction and integration between employees as well as for easier remote work and meetings; and activating more than 45,000 accounts on OneDrive for easy, fast storage and access of documents anytime, anywhere.

In terms of document security, a number of services has been also activated at government entities such as Azure Active Directory for some 80,000 users, Multi-Factor Authentication and Azure Information Protection.

Through this new agreement, Ms. Al-Hammadi said, MOTC is embracing an advanced vision to make sure the benefits of government investment in cloud computing and advanced services such as Microsoft Azure reach all government entities, particularly the services focused on information security.

“malomatia intends to bring its rich local knowledge and capabilities to this agreement. We are determined to expand our operations locally with strong talents and certified team in the various domains of Microsoft technologies and solutions.  Our goal is work closely with our partners to deliver more efficiency and improve the return of investments to all stakeholders”, stressed Yousef Al-Naama, Chief Executive Officer, malomatia.