Voice over IP
The federal government is also showing increased interest in moving to IP voice systems, running on the departmental LAN (local-area network) and WAN structure.
Turner expects that Service Canada's RFP for converged network services will also include provision for implementation of VoIP-based telephony within that department once the other network and call centre improvements have been completed.
"The same service could potentially then be extended to other interested departments through this contract vehicle," he says.
At the same time, PWGSC is working on a new RFI to begin the transition to IP technology from existing Centrex phone systems, for those departments willing and able to go that route, over the next couple of years.
"Of course, there will still be some specialized organizations, such as Foreign Affairs & International Trade, which may opt for their own procurement process to meet their specialized requirements," Turner says.
But some organizations, especially those with significant investments in traditional PBX telephone technology have difficulty justifying the expense and operational disruption associated with a migration to pure VoIP telephone systems.
"Many of us have installed VoIP solutions in newer or smaller locations, but haven't yet replaced or converted our main systems," notes Roy Wiseman, CIO and director of I&T services for the Regional Municipality of Peel, Ont.
"We all recognize that we will need to do so within the next few years, but we are trying to figure out how to do it."
Wiseman says migrating to VoIP with an existing telephone vendor may be the least disruptive but organizations have to consider whether their current vendors have the right VoIP products for the long term.
Identity authentication and authorization
Identity management will be critical to the maturing of online services offered by both the public and private sectors in the coming year and beyond, predicts Rose Langhout, corporate chief strategist for Ontario's Ministry of Government Services.
Significant costs are associated with the proliferation of usernames and passwords -- and the inevitable resetting of those many long-forgotten passwords, she notes.
Users want simple, easy access to services and are often frustrated by multiple sign-on requirements. More sophisticated authentication services can achieve a higher level of trust but carry additional costs and administrative overhead for the user.
However, surveys routinely identify privacy and security as critical prerequisites for citizen participation in online services, says Langhout.
Monolithic ID authentication systems conjure up "Big Brother" concerns as well as more immediate concerns about the security of these critical data stores when identity theft is so frequently in the news, she adds.
"With a more sophisticated understanding of how to segregate and manage this data," says Langhout, "comes the ability to provide an enhanced, more seamless customer experience within a privacy-appropriate context."
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