Dubai Smart Government, in collaboration with other govern-
ment entities, is conducting a study to set up a unified gov
-
ernment data centre in Dubai for disaster recovery in compli-
ance with the recent Dubai Government Information
Security Regulation. The aim is to manage a se-
cure environment for government information
and ensure business continuity and con-
tribute to the sustainable development of
Dubai as a smart city. The study is being
conducted by specialized teams from 31
government entities in Dubai and aims
to evaluate the current capabilities of
Dubai entities and identify their actual
needs related to recovering from disas-
ters that might happen to government
data. The three-month study includes
two phases: the first aims to gather infor
-
mation through field visits and workshops
with government partners. The second will
come up with practical recommendations
related to specifications and design of the
centre, adopting cloud computing and us-
ing shared network infrastructure. Actual
implementation of the centre will start in
the first quarter of 2014.
“Dubai Smart Gov”
studies setting up a
unified disaster
recovery centre
A survey conducted by the UAE Ministry
of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) on its “Tawa-
judi” smart service indicated that 90 per-
cent of the public are satisfied with the
service. The survey was conducted on
the ministry’s website and smart phones
apps in order to learn about citizens’
feedback on the service and measure
their satisfaction rate using it. The online
service is designed for UAE nationals
planning to travel abroad and will en-
able MoFA and its diplomatic missions to
communicate with them whenever they
need assistance. 1728 citizens from
different age groups participated in the
survey. Percentage of participants aged
between 20 and 40 years reached to 67
percent, while those above 41 rated 19
percent and 15 percent for those aged
below 20 years.
Google has launched a new initiative to provide vir-
tual field trips for school students that can conduct
-
ed inside classrooms. The new initiative is called
“Connected Classrooms”. The “Connected Class-
rooms” connects teachers to organizations offering
live virtual field trips that can be broadcasted with
the help of Google Hangouts on Air. Teachers can
visit the initiative website, view lists of all upcoming
field trips and make their registrations. The initia
-
tive offers virtual trips to places like Minnesota zoo,
the American Museum of Natural History and Phil-
adelphia Museum of Arts. According to analysts,
through this initiative, Google aims to encourage
educators to use its chatting service “Hangouts on
Air” and thereby achieve one of its objectives which
is to maximize its social reach out.
Smart “Tawajudi” sat-
isfies 90% of users
Google Virtual Trips for students
7
December
2013
