In today’s world where there is a culmination of baby boomers, Gen X, Gen Y, Gen Z, and Generation Alpha, it comes not without preferences in ways of data capture. While the Baby boomers may prefer the traditional pen-and-paper approach to things, Gen Z cannot sleep or walk without their mobile phones and iPads. It necessitates the presence of technology that is user-friendly, which lead to the advent of Blockchain Technology. Smart Dubai showcases nearly 14 block cases implemented across 12 government entities.
The emirate of Dubai has adopted the Dubai Paperless Strategy, aiming to go paperless by 2021, saving 1 billion pieces of paper annually. It will also invariably enrich the city and redesign customer experiences.
Data is constantly collected through different sensors, for example, via social media and video streams, which is screened by government systems and stored in the blockchain. Artificial intelligence has transformed data collection with analytics in the dashboard, serving a better user experience. With integrated digital data, data capture has never been easier, especially in the government application process, with the introduction of the following apps by the emirate of Dubai.
Dubai Now:
With the Dubai Now portal, an omnichannel service, over 55 government services are brought under one platform.
UAE Pass:
The UAE Pass, The National Digital Identity and Signature Solution, whereupon verification by scanning the Emirates ID Card, there is passwordless sign insecurity that is authenticated to validate all documents.
Happiness Meter:
A live sentiment capture engine for all services with Happiness Dashboard, which can be integrated into the existing feedback portal.
Smart Supplier:
A unified application that can make the transactions with more than 50 government entities and can view and pay for tenders, view invoices and make payments and search within those data, among others.
Dubai Careers App:
An app for connecting job seekers anywhere with Dubai government entities, where one can apply for jobs, track, and share, with email notification set up and video interviews.
Use Case: UAE Residency Application
Delving deep, let us consider the use case of UAE residency application in Dubai Now App, in association with the General Directorate of Residency and Foreign Affairs in Dubai, which is incorporated in various stages.
The app issues residency visas for the members of the community and facilitates the procedures and transactions relating to the same.
Traditionally visas are applied online, using the paper format, an immigration advisor applying, or at visa application centers, and tracking entries from multiple sources is a very tedious process leading to delayed approvals, loss of data, and a lack of an integrated system.
Users need to spend only 10 minutes to complete the application and usually take 30 minutes to a maximum of 2 days for approval, completing most application processing in 40 minutes, as against months, making it a flexible and efficient process.
It also enables users to determine the validity of their residency, and also allows them to undertake the actions - approval, renewal, and cancellation of visas and managing dependants.