E-Portals in Dubai and the United Arab Emirates

Abstract

Technology is seen as a key driving force in the economy within all of the seven emirates that make up the United Arab Emirates (UAE) nation; the seven are Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm al-Qaiwain, Ras alKhaimah, and Fujairah. The government of Dubai leads the other emirates in terms of commerce activity, and has taken a strategic view of creating and promoting government portals to achieve this vision. Recently Dubai’s Municipality portal won an award for best content among all other UAE portals. A portal is defined as an entrance point to online content. The portal concept has evolved across a number of markets and applications. Customer portals focus on individual customers and offer a one-stop Internet access. By providing a number of services such as searches, shopping, e-mail, and games, portals allow individuals to avoid browsing the Web but to in-fact rely and stay at one Web site like a one-stop shop. This article investigates the growth and the strategic vision of the Dubai and UAE government in terms of creating and encouraging portals as a corner stone for the e-commerce in Dubai and the UAE.