Under the heading 'Connected Government', the JISC says that, proposed streamlining reforms regarding the machinery of government have received approval and now await further development and implementation. These reforms, says the report, will tie in with e-government initiatives already underway in the Island and will bring departments together to work in an efficient and cost-effective electronic environment, improving communication and information management through use of
Intranet, document management and data warehousing. The initiatives will also benefit individuals and businesses by providing them with improved access to government departments on-line, and a faster turnaround of processes and information. Implementation proposals for the machinery of government are to be presented to the States by the end of November 2001.

The report says that local hosting facilities are continuing to expand, with two local companies, Foreshore and Jersey Telecom, in the process of increasing the size of their international Internet data centres. Foreshore unveiled the first phase of an additional 20,000 square feet of state of the art, generated and fully supported capacity during September. Jersey Telecom has also opened a new facility that meets exacting telephone exchange standards and benefits from telecommunications expertise and advanced bandwidth services.

The island's government has been working hard on a long-term IS/IT strategy under the 2020.je banner. The final stages of The States Of Jersey's 2020.je scenarios and strategy for Jersey in the Digital Age are nearing completion, says the report, fulfilling the key objectives of the project which were designed to provide the tools, and identifying the political atmosphere needed to sustain the strategy, that will enable Jersey to plan a viable sector of the economy, based on e-commerce.

Commenting on the progress of the project, IS/IT Strategy Advisor to the States, Peter Griffiths, said that he is pleased that the culmination of many months of hard work will be able to support the IS/IT strategic framework in the way Jersey would wish: "The States of Jersey has recognised that if Jersey as an island is to remain competitive in the global market place, it must develop and make full use of all available technological resources. Technology alone, however, is not the answer, as technology is only as good as the uses to which it is being applied. To reach the maximum benefits, those uses must be applied as part of a structured, co-ordinated, strategic initiative," he said.