Beyond any doubt, the country’s digital transformation is in full swing. This is not a “postmodern” concept that concerns a few, but a horizontal policy that concerns us all. This is a national strategy that has a strong socio-economic footprint and will drastically change the image of Greece by 2030.
We understand digital transformation as a policy that extends to the whole territory and concerns every Greek woman and every Greek man. In this way, both citizens and public officials, wherever they are, will have tools in their hands that will improve their daily lives and allow them to innovate in whatever field they are active in. They will have the chance to monitor in real time the changes made in the field of their action.
In the last three years, in the field of digital public services and pursuing a forward-looking policy, Greece has achieved an impressive exponential growth in their use, which is reflected domestically, but also in comparison with the other EU countries. In particular, a significant digital progress is recorded, which is reflected in numbers in the daily lives of citizens. Nobody expected that so many transactions would now take place in a simple way, electronically, transparently, without bureaucracy and inconvenience.
Indicatively, I mention that in 2018 8,800,000 digital transactions were recorded, in 2019 the number reached 34,000,000, in 2020 94,000,000 transactions, in 2021 567,000,000 and this year they are expected to exceed 1 billion. To translate this into time gained, the above figure shows that in 2022 every citizen saved an average of 120 waiting queues in public service counters. However, we managed to do something that seemed almost impossible. The public sector – and in fact in the midst of successive crises – was re-established as a pillar of security and stability. Let us not forget that we were the country of the European Union with the least trust in the public sector. This has changed today and we can all feel proud.
But this is only the beginning of a journey that we have to take with quick steps, as the acceleration with new technologies will lead to even greater changes. A large part of this transition has already taken place but we are not complacent. We must never rest on our laurels. That is why we must continue the digital reforms with the same pace and, if possible, with an even faster pace. I often say that it is a matter of the very survival of the country, as it is about adapting and placing it in the international environment.
The challenge is great and the situation is favourable, as the country includes a wide range of financial instruments, such as the Public Investment Programme, the new NSRF and, in particular, the Recovery Fund, which is beyond doubt a unique opportunity for structural change of the technological and institutional background of public administration. This structural change will significantly stimulate the development of the national economy, the creation of new jobs and the provision of more opportunities for all.
The Information Society has made a decisive contribution to the plan for the digital transformation of public administration. It currently manages a portfolio of 260 public projects, in various phases of maturity, and within the next 6-10 months it plans to auction more than 90 IT and communications projects with a budget of € 1.4 billion. Through our interventions and by utilising all the financial tools we have at our disposal, we are once again setting the country in motion, implementing the largest digital intervention programme in its history.
In addition to the flagship project “SYZEFXIS”, which after more than 10 years has been implemented and is in its roll-out phase, there is a series of important projects that intervene in the core of the public sector, such as the National Portal of Codification, HRMS, ERP and the digital transformation of Justice, which are in progress and will demonstrate in practice the important role of the digital State.
The dynamics of the Recovery Fund, which includes a very wide range of digital interventions for all sectors of society and the economy, gives us a huge impetus to move quickly to a better digital future. Our main goal is to upgrade the services provided to health, justice, agriculture, tourism, shipping, diplomacy, telecommunications, infrastructure, business and technology.
At Information Society, we understand the enormous challenge before us and we are in daily communication both with the supervising Ministry of Digital Governance, and with the IT and Telecommunications companies, in order for us all to be able to work together in good faith and efficiently, so as to achieve the timely and optimal implementation of all the above projects of Digital Transformation and Recovery Fund which have been assigned to us. We are fully prepared to successfully face the challenges and opportunities that are coming or are already here, for the digital development of the country.
* Mr. Stavros Asthenidis is an electrical engineer and managing director of the Information Society S.A..
Source: https://www.kathimerini.gr/economy/562112863/psifiaki-metarrythmisi-i-dynami-tis-exelixis/