Computerized government

“Government is working towards computerizing and digitalizing its processes.

“

You can enhance your financial reports and any kind of business or official presentation by attaching to them graphs and charts and even animated and interactive slide shows.

Computers are so popular today that you tend to see them everywhere. Ubiquitous is the word for this, being literally everywhere — at school, at the coffee shop, at the car repair shop, at the dental clinic, etc.

And for good reasons. Computers such as laptops are so convenient to carry wherever you want to be and are a great time-filler and saver. Moreover, with computers you can do any job at any time anywhere. This is due to enhanced connectivity with office files and access to the vast resources of the internet. Working remotely has therefore become something of a mantra because of this development. It has introduced a new brand of work ethic and culture.

With computers using data sharing software, you can generate accounting and other financial reports, including billing, in a fraction of the time it used to take when reports and billing preparation were done manually.

You can enhance your financial reports and any kind of business or official presentation by attaching to them graphs and charts and even animated and interactive slide shows. When done well, they give credibility and professionalism to the individual reporting and give assurance and confidence to the office and its decision maker.

Instant access to office files and to employees through electronic mail, Facebook, and Messenger are significant advantages computers offer business and other establishments. Office meetings can be set up through meeting applications like Zoom whenever needed without having all the staff involved come physically to the office and discuss.

A business owner used to spend tens of thousands on plane fare, food, and hotel expenses whenever his area managers, who are spread all over the country, gathered. Now the company saves all that money and gets more accurate updated reports.

Through electronic means, including the use of voice connection software, businesses are able to communicate very quickly with not only managers and staff but, more importantly, with customers, investors and even regulators and law enforcement agencies.

Government is working towards computerizing and digitalizing its processes. It is beginning to make full use of computers and various kinds of automated processes designed to make work more efficient, secure, and accurate, with minimal human intervention.

The government deals with the public and that means it is engaged on a regular basis in very large transactions, which only computer technologies with huge storage and processing capabilities, such as mainframes, can adequately handle. People tire out over time and tend to commit mistakes, but not computers.

But computers need to be maintained so that they do not crash, which could result in the destruction of voluminous data. The government offices should also watch out for all sorts of malware that may infect their computers and destroy all files, which will affect their credibility. Computerization in government should not only be confined to agencies known to usually handle large volumes of transactions with the public, but it should extend to virtually all government agencies, all for the sake of serving the public better.

The Government Service Insurance System, the Philippine Statistics Authority, the Bureau of Internal Revenue and the Land Registration Authority are just some of the agencies where computerization in all facets of their operations is a necessity.

An unfortunate effect of non-digitalization of files is when prisoners who, because of old age or sentence served, are up for release but they cannot be released because their records kept in official files are either incomplete or cannot be found.

Similarly, citizens may be asked to follow up again and again simple requests for certificates because the agency does not have its files computerized for easy retrieval at any time.

When the government improves its processes to deliver the services required, it creates a reputation of reliability, transparency, and honesty which will increase the public’s trust and confidence in the government.