In the new issue of PC Press, Nikola Marković from the Serbian Society for Informatics (DIS) summarizes some of the major accomplishments from 2013, in the field of IT, in Serbia. According to the author, despite the numerous problems affecting IT in Serbia, the vitality of this sector still proves itself on a daily basis through its achievements and good results. According to Marković, the problem lies in the fact that not even the professional community is well familiar with these results. Based on a survey conducted among IT professionals in Serbia earlier this year, DIS has identified some of the noteworthy successes of 2013 with the aim of their further encouragement and affirmation.
The biggest successes in IT in 2013
The Electronic service for renewing vehicle registration on the eGovernment portal. This service was used by 309 thousand citizens in 2013. The service enables citizens to pay all taxes, pay insurance, conduct registration and obtain a registration sticker while their vehicles undergo technical inspection in an authorized service. Instead of waiting several hours at various counters, now the whole process takes only about 15 minutes. After 18 months of its launch, it has become one of the most popular electronic services in Serbia. This service is the result of the collaboration of the Serbian Interior Ministry, the Directorate for Digital Agenda, the IT company S&T and other companies whose services are used in the registration process. In 2013, this project received the acknowledgement of the Serbian Society for Informatics in the category “Best Developed and Applied Informatics services”.
About 30,000 qualified electronic certificates were issued in 2013. They are used for: accessing the electronic services on the Tax Administration Portal, eGovernment Portal, financial transactions and the like. Interest in electronic certificates increased significantly when the Serbian Tax Administration opened a portal for reporting and payment of taxes and contributions. It is estimated that electronic reporting and payment of taxes and contributions alone will enable companies and the Tax Administration savings of about 100 million euros, with respect to terminating the obligation of submitting about 5.5 million documents on paper. The ability to reliably and efficiently use various other forms of electronic transactions is a prerequisite to receiving an electronic certificate.
There has been a further increase in the use of computers and the Internet in households. According to the Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia, in 2013, in Serbia: 59.9% of households own a computer (increase of about 4.7%) and 55.8% of households use the Internet (increase of about 8.3%). Now, we are lagging behind developed countries only by about 25%. The available ICT infrastructure in households allows even greater access to information and wider use of the opportunities provided by the modern information society.
You can read the full text in the written issue of the magazine “PC Press”.
