Multi-channel delivery of e-services in the light of m-government challenge

Abstract

During the last decade, users have become accustomed to new means of service delivery in the private sector. Nowadays, users expect the same level of variety from the public sector: they want their interactions to be convenient, and they prefer to be online rather than in-line. New developments in ICT along with the growth of mobile communication allow the involved sectors to meet these challenges by reengineering their front-end and back-end office. They have developed new ways of interaction through a variety of channels allowing users to consume their services anytime, anywhere, and anyhow, restructure services that accommodate their users' needs, and re-organize processes within and between separate administrative bodies. This chapter will examine the interaction requirements regarding a friendlier and more effective multi-channel services environment, the mobility challenges, and their apt implementation in the governmental sector placing emphasis on the technological constraints of an m-government open interoperable multi-service delivery infrastructure and the impact of its single-point of access functionality across the borders of the new digitally integrated Pan-European reality. © 2007, Idea Group Inc.