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Finnish Parliament is a pioneer in information technology. In the late 1980's all MP's had access to e-mail via their personal computers. The comprehensive Internet service was launched in 1995, and during 1998 the SGML document standard was introduced. In connection with the year 2000 compliancy updates, Teamware Office groupware was taken into use. Furthermore, in 2004 the Parliament launched its new publishing system based on Teamware’s platform.
When the decision was made to change the MP’s mobile phones, there was pressure to update the mobile services to more modern, more cost-efficient and easier to use. A pilot group of ten MP's had been testing the real-time Teamware Mobileä services for some time. They were very pleased with the new solution, and were not willing to go back to the old one, that was based on the use of text messages, WAP and GSM-data as well as a separate secure ID card.
Mobile access to e-mail is very important, but even more crucial is the fact that the calendars are up-to-date at all times. "This has also increased the use of the electronic calendars," explains Hanna-Maria Salminen of the Parliament's IT Office. "The MP’s and their advisors are often on the road participating in different events and occasions – it is important for them to know their calendars are accurate when making new appointments and entries."
Teamware Mobile has answered the Parliament's needs in many ways. Users have been happy with its ease of use. IT administration also encourages mobile use: "It is easy to perceive the significance of up-to-date information to the MP's and their advisors". Also numerous Parliament staff members find the mobile service extremely useful. Some staff members and MP's use the Nokia 6230i mobile device, which may provide web access to e-mail in the future.
Convenience and cost efficiency
The Parliament has benefited from significant cost savings with the implementation of the Teamware Mobile service. It is now possible to fully utilise the GPRS network functionalities insofar as speed of use and low costs are concerned in comparison with the use of the SMS based system.
The mobile office is instantly in use when the mobile phone is switched on, and the software works automatically in the background. The new wireless services mobilise the MP’s groupware, including both e-mail and calendar services. The MP’s receive their e-mail messages and calendar entries automatically to their mobile phones.
The renewed mobile office service was launched in June 2005. The initial number of users was 300 of which 2/3 were MP’s and the rest consisted of Parliament staff. There will be an additional 20-30 new users in autumn, when the Parliamentary groups and the State Audit Office join in.
Fujitsu delivers the whole system as a service, taking care of the performance and usability of the service as well as its maintenance and administration.
The goal of Parliament's IT department is to support the legislative work of the MP's and at the same time to create an information channel between the citizens and Parliament. Sovereign power belongs to the people, who are represented by Parliament, and thus, the MP's have to be available to the citizens. Today the majority of the citizens' feedback to the MP's is sent by e-mail, and it is very important to be able to react fast when necessary. The Parliament will continue to further develop its IT services. The possibility of integrating the mobile service to contacts synchronisation, backups and an updatable internal phone directory is currently being investigated.
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