Implementation of Online e-Government Services Worldwide Could Produce Savings of $114 Billion in 2016

​Governments worldwide are making “citizen services” available online. Their aim is to achieve a return on investment, increase transparency, and improve access for their citizens. ABI Research forecasts that in 2016, as much as $114 billion could be saved worldwide through implementation of online e-government services.

“The overall e-government services market will see sharp growth over the next five years,” says ABI Research analyst Phil Sealy. “Investment is set to increase from $28 billion in 2010 to $57 billion in 2016, and the number of users will nearly triple over the forecast period.”

The market is very fragmented, however, with different regions and countries at different stages of implementation and success. “Initially much of the activity will be in the major industrialized countries,” says Sealy, “but rollouts of e-government services will accelerate beginning in about 2014 when online services in developing regions start to become a reality.”

Governments are looking to offer information and services on many levels. ABI Research is expecting to see mobile services become ever more popular, especially in those countries where providing citizens fixed broadband connections may not be a viable investment option. The aim is to maximize e-inclusion and e-participation of citizen-centric services by providing simplistic and convenient means of access.

It is important to note that the investment required to create, manage, maintain, and market a government-to-citizen service portal is high, and savings are not always seen immediately. Online e-government services are more an investment to create future savings.

ABI Research group director John Devlin remains confident: “Countries such as the US that already have well-established e-government services are looking into aligning services onto one portal rather than multiple portals. The same applies for Europe. Aligning services will make it easier for a country’s citizens to access all services in one place. This allows a reduction in operating costs, while maintaining service levels.”

ABI Research’s study “e-Government Online Services” addresses each of the barriers and drivers affecting the planning, deployment, infrastructure, and technological aspects of providing online services through a government portal. The report provides ABI Research's view of the most likely future market changes and developments.

It is part of the Smart Cards and Embedded Security Research Service and Smart Cities and Smart Grids Research Service.