MAIT holds Sensitization Workshop in Mumbai

Manufacturers' Association for Information Technology (MAIT), the apex body representing IT manufacturers organized a sensitization workshop on 'Good Procurement Practices for IT on invitation by the Department of Information Technology, Government of Maharashtra , BSA and Accenture as knowledge partners, and the workshop was supported by HP . The workshop was designed to highlight the importance of good IT procurement practices for government and semi-government organizations.

The workshop was inaugurated by Muthukrishnan Sankarnarayanan, Director-IT, Department of IT, Govt. of Maharashtra. It was attended by ninety senior and mid-level officials of various departments of the state government. Sankaranarayanan explained how Department of IT, Govt. of Maharashtra aims to collaborate with the industry to help in speedy adoption of IT solutions, to improve the effectiveness of e-Governance programs in Maharashtra.

Other prominent speakers at the workshop included Anwar Shirpurwala, Executive Director, MAIT and Ankur Malhotra, VP-GR and PP, Accenture . The speakers emphasized the need to change legacy IT procurement practices, identify susceptibilities and review processes to make them more impactful and efficient. They also advocated why IT procurement is important for the overall development of the State.

Anwar Shirpurwala said, " The main aim of this workshop was to share best practices in IT procurement and to encourage collaboration between industry and government, as that is essential for the success of e-Governance programs. It is quite encouraging to see participation of a large number of government officials in the discussions. Maharashtra coming forward to adopt IT as a key enabler in delivery of government services and development initiatives is a source of great encouragement."

With government becoming one of the largest adopters of IT, it is important to address critical issues like project delays, lack of standardization and slow decision making in implementation of e-Governance projects. The workshop was aimed to create a free, secure and transparent environment for discussing procurement best practices for IT goods and services.