The government of Dubai, the region's self-professed e-capital, will propel public service into the Internet age from October, forcing employees and companies to get Web-wise or fall by the wayside.
"The whole idea of e-government is convenience for busi-nesses as well as your average person," said Sheikha Lubna al-Qassimi, head of the e-government committee.
"We in Dubai want to bring people in for business, and the government can have no excuses for impeding that," she said.
"The unified portal will be rolled out early next month. This means the initiatives are up and working and people are getting online."
Dubai's Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashid al-Maktoum unveiled in April last year a project for a fully integrated system of "e-government" within 18 months, and warned officials they would lose their jobs if they refused to go electronic.
Aside from easing public access to ministries, a "unified access portal" linking all 27 government ministries is expected to cut administrative costs by around 10 percent, reduce paper work and increase transparency.
Microsoft Corp said there was no reason to prevent Dubai's government from matching its targets, saying the Gulf's trading hub had the technical know-how and the political support required for such a move.
"The e-government program is well on track," said Noman Ahmad, Microsoft's e-government solutions specialist for the Gulf and Eastern Mediterranean.
"People here are excited and are expecting change. Marketed effectively, especially to the corporate sector, I think it will take around six months for businesses to be comfortable making transactions on-line," said Ahmad.
He warned, however, that many smaller companies would take longer to become accustomed to a business culture many consider anathema to the norms currently practised.
"Companies in the UAE realize that e-government is here to stay and that they need an e-presence," said Tareque Pirzada, chief executive officer of eGlobal Business Inc, the company hosting firms wishing to supply the government.
"Sheikh Mohammad is doing a great job in creating e-awareness," Pirzada said. "It is a night and day difference from 25 years ago."
"We're investing in the government because we know that the future is very bright for e-business in Dubai, which is seen as a safe haven, a small and neutral country with a great market."
But there are some doubts over the much-hyped project, designed, in the words of Sheikh Mohammad, to help the emirate catch up with the "giddying advances" of the West.
"When it comes to doing business in the Gulf, the first price quoted is never the final one. There is always business to be done over coffee and face-to-face meetings," one businesswoman said.
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