During the COVID-19 pandemic, 60% of governments created training programs and websites to strengthen the online presence of companies, particularly SMEs; 50% facilitated the release of packages at customs; and 20% made changes to the regulation for electronic commerce.
According to Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Costa Rica is the country in Central America and the Caribbean that stands out in the design of public policies that contribute to democratizing the use of digital technologies. In fact, more than 80% of its population has access to the Internet, which has facilitated economic recovery after the recession caused by the pandemic.
“Regarding the incorporation of digital solutions for the public sector in Central America, we are a bit behind, although there is training, opportunities and information and access by users. However, many countries do not have implemented tools such as: Sole Citizen or Digital Citizen that allow the population to access government services in their country in a more agile and accessible way”, explains Martha Ardila, Regional Director of Sales in Central America and the Caribbean for Red Hat.
These types of digital applications are very important if one takes into account that it deals, among other things, with the management of population data. “Thanks to these tools, citizens receive a better experience and service, while governments have better productivity and are more innovative when carrying out all kinds of procedures,” says Ardila.
To guarantee this innovative work and the protection of citizens’ data, Red Hat, the world leader in Open Source, is a work ally that helps governments to be more efficient and promote digitization.
According to industry analytics firm IDC, “By 2024, 50% of organizations will use applications built on the abstraction provided by cloud services, including cloud-native technologies to enable consistency of execution in any location.” or in multiple locations.
In this sense, the Red Hat expert assures that “with the use of solutions such as cloud automation, it is possible for governments to work from interoperability environments, since Red Hat focuses on three fundamental elements: people, processes and the technology”.
In this way, it allows governments to break down the obstacles between citizens interested in acquiring digital services and the government, which, on occasions, carries out processes slower than the general population to finally achieve that each element works as a single collaborative organism.
In turn, “by automating processes and services, it is possible to codify workflows, reduce technical debt and generate innovations more quickly while working on the process of modernizing the country’s technology running the lowest possible risk”, concludes Ardila about the importance of implementing solutions that promote the digital transformation of the public sector.
