iGA presents cloud migration experience to Kuwait delegation
04 Jul 2024
The Information & eGovernment Authority (iGA) welcomed a delegation from the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) and its subsidiaries at its headquarters in Muharraq. iGA Chief Executive, Mohammed Ali Al-Qaed received the Kuwaiti delegations, who were led by KPC Deputy Managing Director for Planning, Abdullah Mohammed Al-Affasi. The meeting was attended by several other officials from both sides. Also present was BAPCO Energies Vice President of Information Technology, Mohammed Sater who highlighted the Kingdom’s oil company experience.
Al Qaed expressed his appreciation for the visit, which highlights the strong ties between the two countries, noting that it strengthens cooperation in sharing information and technology, as well as implementing innovative solutions and cloud computing to support digital transformation across sectors, especially in economic areas. This enhances the quality and efficiency of services available to individuals and organizations. He also noted Kuwait’s significant efforts to keep pace with global technological and digital advancements.
The visit included an introduction to Bahrain's experience in implementing the Cloud-First Policy at the government level. Al Qaed stated that, under the guidance of His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister, and the follow-up of General Shaikh Rashid bin Abdullah Al Khalifa, the Minister of Interior and Chairman of the Ministerial Committee for Information and Communications Technology (MCICT), Bahrain successfully adopted a Cloud-First Policy for its government in 2017, making it the first Arab country to embrace this approach. He added that the iGA, in collaboration with government entities, has expanded investments in cloud computing to advance the IT sector, harness advanced technologies, and improve quality of life by providing highly efficient services. Al Qaed affirmed that Bahrain remains committed to this strategy, continuously expanding the policy to enhance government operations and outcomes.
iGA Deputy CE of Operations and Governance, Dr. Khalid Almutawah, along with the iGA’s team, provided an overview of the Kingdom’s strategic direction for cloud computing. They discussed plans to establish a Center for Cloud Computing Excellence and shared the successful migration journey of government entities to cloud environments.
Dr. Almutawah highlighted Bahrain's achievements, including an 80% cloud migration rate achieved under a unified framework. He outlined the positive outcomes of this approach, such as reducing the infrastructure setup time for government ICT projects by 60%, lowering operational expenses for ICT infrastructure and government systems by 60% to 90%, and the establishment of eight new government entities in the cloud computing environment.
The presentation covered Bahrain's efforts to ensure information security on the cloud, enabling work within a secure and authenticated environment, which supports the continuity and sustainability of services. It also discussed the impact of cloud governance and the updating of procedures and regulations to better organize the transition processes for government entities, ensuring their adaptability. The presentation concluded with a summary of achievements and future directions.
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