Bengal IT initiatives lure Oracle

Bengal IT initiatives lure Oracle

Calcutta, May 11: Bengal is a focus market for IT major Oracle on account of the state’s e-governance initiatives.

Government efforts to modernise departments and leverage IT to provide services to citizens and corporate houses are expected to spur growth and boost the tech ecosystem.

Oracle is bullish on India catapulting to the level of the US in the delivery of citizen-centric services through its focus on building a better technology infrastructure.

“Top ministries in the government of India run on Oracle and we have worked with state governments in Bengal, Assam, Rajasthan, Odisha, Maharashtra, New Delhi and Karnataka. Some of the areas of work have been around treasury management, education, cloud infrastructure and modernising municipal corporations,” said Vineet Kshirsagar, senior director and group head (government business), Oracle India.

Initiatives such as tele-medicine, smart cards, Calcutta Police Intranet and IT-enabled Braille education in Bengal have thrown up greater possibilities for IT firms in the government sector.

According to Kshirsagar, the changing political circumstances, current global economic downturn, fluctuations in tax bases combined with budget constraints are impacting government decision-makers. However, the constraints can be converted into opportunities if leveraged correctly.

“Bengal is a high-priority market for us due to its focus on e-governance initiatives. We are constantly engaging with the state government to work together in realising the vision that they have for the state in terms of technology,” he said.

“We have worked with the West Bengal School Service Commission that has been able to recruit staff 40 per cent faster with Oracle WebLogic. It is evident from the currently rapid automation of the government departments and directorates of Bengal that there is a set target of making Bengal a digitally robust state.”

India has ranked 68th out of the 144 countries in the Networked Readiness Index of 2013 compiled by the World Economic Forum for its global information technology report. The study ranks economies on the basis of their capacity to exploit the opportunities offered by the digital age.

According to Gartner, India will spend $6.4 billion on IT products and services in 2014, an increase of 4.3 per cent over 2013.

Governments are responding more to the new environment as social media and mobility have lowered the average citizen’s tolerance for long queues and lengthy approval processes.

The company plans to make the most of this by introducing a platform called Oracle iGovernment, which enables service delivery through key tools to move beyond e-Government and develop flexible systems that integrate across functions and departments.