Azerbaijan to Launch E-Government Platform Created in Estonia
Azerbaijan to Launch E-Government Platform Created in Estonia
In the spring of 2012 the Republic of Azerbaijan will launch its first e-government system - EHDIS, developed and deployed in cooperation by Estonian companies Cybernetica AS and OÜ Aktors. The system was successfully commissioned in December 2011 and incorporates already 15 governmental institutions that provide 60 e services.
The 7,000,000 EUR EHDIS project, noted for its unusual complexity, was managed by the Azerbaijani-Estonian joint enterprise B.Est Solutions as a prime contractor, with Cybernetica and Aktors partnering in Estonia. During the two-year venture the companies created a secure e services exchange platform intended to function as the backbone for the Azerbaijani e government. The EHDIS system is based on the Estonian X-Road platform (a secure data exchange layer connecting the state's information systems), featuring a number of new technical improvements. Acting as the architect and developer of the core X-Road technology and several other large-scale governmental information systems, Cybernetica has acquired a unique and internationally recognized e-government competence that was applied to transformation of an entire country (which can be regarded as a huge service center for citizens) to an information society.
Beside the technological excellence, success of the project can be largely attributed to B.Est Solution's dedicated facilitation, political backing from Estonia, and personal support from the President of Azerbaijan to the advancement of the ICT sector of the country. Equally important was Azerbaijan's principal readiness to undertake a project of such magnitude.
Cybernetica AS is an internationally evaluated private research and development company, original electronic equipment manufacturer and ICT systems integrator. Among its more than 80 employees are 8 PhDs and 8 graduate students. Cybernetica has been instrumental in the development and deployment of national systems like i-voting, eID, X-Road, ePolice, eCustoms as well as other public sector systems. In 2011, export to the European Union, Canada, China, Malaysia, Singapore and other states exceeded 35% of Cybernetica's turnover.
OÜ Aktors is an Estonian software development company that has created mission-critical systems for both Estonian and international financial and industrial enterprises. The company, which currently employs 20 people and has participated in several public sector software projects, has a unique expertise in creating solutions based on the X-Road infrastructure. In 2010, export constituted 49% of Aktors's turnover.
B.Est Solutions is an Azerbaijani-Estonian joint enterprise that develops and carries out projects in the ICT field. The main objective of B.Est Solutions is to support the export of Estonian ICT to the Azerbaijani market. The main areas of activity are e-government information systems, as well as payment and financial systems.
