The Indonesian government has launched a new initiative called INA Digital, which aims to integrate the country's existing 27,000 mobile apps into a single, unified system.
“We have to enhance our digital public infrastructure. It is like a ‘toll road’ for public service digitalisation in our country. We also have to strengthen our GovTech transformation, INA Digital, an integrated platform that provides education services, health services, business permits, tax services, and so on,” said Indonesian President Joko Widodo, as reported by the Cabinet Secretariat of the Republic of Indonesia.
Halt on app development
He has also ordered a halt on developing new government mobile apps, a move aimed at reducing bureaucratic inefficiencies, improving public services, and economising public funds previously allocated for new app development.
“Starting this year, stop making new platforms…When we checked the budget this year alone, Rp6.2 trillion is allocated to create new applications, build new platforms,” said the Indonesian President.
Digital transformation
Clement Lee, a security architect at Check Point Software Technologies in APAC, has praised the launch of INA Digital, seeing it as a vital step towards Indonesia’s digital transformation goals adding that "the best part of this is that this integration will reduce the confusion caused by the HUGE number of overlapping applications and a more managed means for identity management, inter-entity trust, and related efficiencies,” Lee said.
Patrick Tiquet, VP of Security and Compliance at Keeper Security, considers the move an opportunity to enhance efficiency and accessibility, which requires a comprehensive cybersecurity strategy.
“Consolidating numerous applications into a single platform will significantly reduce the attack surface, allowing the government to focus its cybersecurity efforts more effectively and ensure robust security measures are in place,” said Tiquet.