In Germany it is scheduled on the government's demand that all internet compatible government's administration services should be available online until 2005. This concerns nearly 400 government services. In the context of the project BundOnline2005 the tasks of the government administration are regarded like those of a modern service provider in the private industry.

Providing public authorities' services online has a lot of advantages like a fast and cost-effective purchasing of state documents, better information procurement, etc.

eGovernment

eGovernment includes the interaction between public authorities and so-called entitlement groups (citizens, corporate enterprises, other public authorities, etc.) by means of electronic media, the electronic procurement function (eProcurement) and the internal organisation (eOrganisation) of public authorities.

Electronic signatures

Electronic signatures provide persuasive advantages for transactions over the internet. For example, they ensure the authenticity of messages. Public authorities, financial institutions, corporate enterprises as well as citizens can both increase the security of their electronic business communications and simplify them significantly by using electronic signatures. The usage of digital certificates allows the verification of the communication partner's identity.

Registration

With the announcement of several regulations (Signature Act, etc.) the legislator has provided a general framework for establishing identification as a commercial service. For the first time, a company which has registered customers and equipped them with "ID cards" can offer the identification service to other companies and institutions. Public authorities who want to provide the citizens with a digital certificate equivalent to a conventional identity card need a top quality registration in order to prevent misuse.

Payment platforms

The processing of a business transaction over the internet often triggers a payment transaction. In the field of eGovernment, where citizens for example receive services from public authorities, some services (identity cards, letter of intent, etc) are also liable for costs. It is important that the citizen can pay directly the amount due online. A media change would slow down the whole process. Therefore it is reasonable to utilise an ePayment platform for multi-bank capable payment systems on the part of the public authority.

Project Office

Projects within the consulting and development area often require the cooperation between several companies and institutions. Sometimes it is required to call in further support (e.g. solicitors). In case teams are working at different locations it is necessary to set up and organise a project office as the central contact point and overall project management in order to secure a smooth and fast information exchange.

NOVOSEC AG has long-term project experience and detailed expertise for public authorities' internet applications. Our offerings include both consulting and development of secure components for digital transaction processing.