ABSTRACT
160E-government’s next phase–a seamless, customer-oriented Web presence–faces more formidable barriers to development than did earlier advances. Progress toward customer-focused e-government requires fundamental organizational changes to existing bureaucracies, so that the government’s Web presence can be comprehensive, efficient, and easy for citizens to use. To compel individual “stovepipe” agencies to develop a combined Web presence, chief information officers must be able to focus political and bureaucratic resources on making government websites truly customer-centric. The rewards for success in this next stage of e-government are significant–not only will it benefit citizens directly, but integrated e-government can also make offline government more efficient and effective.
