Bahrain National Enterprise Architecture Framework: a Platform towards a GCC EA Initiative

Abstract

The eGovernment Authority (eGA) of the Kingdom of Bahrain embarked on a three year eGovernment program aimed at improving service delivery to citizens through seamless integration and connected governance. In order to achieve this objective, eGA realized the need for a Kingdom -wide strategy and holistic guiding plans, and hence decided to design and develop National Enterprise Architecture Framework (NEAF). NEAF is an aggregation of models and Metamodel, governance and compliance mechanisms and technology standards and guidelines put together to guide effective development and implementation of Enterprise Architecture by different government bodies across Kingdom of Bahrain. This paper highlights the experience of Kingdome of Bahrain in developing NEAF, its outcomes and key initiatives resulted from the project. The rich experiences gained from this project, enabled a clear set of objectives and roadmap to expand it towards a regional initiative to develop a Gulf Cooperative Council (GCC) Enterprise Architecture Framework. It is anticipated that Enterprise Architecture (EA) would bring to the members of these countries a great technological, economical and social benefits. A preliminary study reviled that there are number of areas that GCC countries would benefit from such initiative, which will reflect greatly on their countries in terms of cost saving, flexibility and enhanced citizen services. These benefits are already being realized in Bahrain as a result of implementing NEAF.
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