New Study Finds Colombian Government Efforts to Modernize Websites Are Beginning to Show Results

BOGOTÁ—Colombian citizens and businesses use government websites every day to find important information and access public services, and so it is important for those websites to meet basic standards for security, speed, mobile friendliness, or accessibility. According to a new report released jointly today by two leading think tanks, the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) and TicTac, Colombian government agencies have opportunities to modernize their sites by further investing in cybersecurity, mobile-friendly web design, and cloud-based hosting.

“During a pandemic, it is more critical than ever that citizens and businesses can access government information and services online. This new study identifies opportunities for Colombian government agencies to create websites that meet the needs of the public,” said ITIF Vice President Daniel Castro, the report’s co-author. “Many government agencies are in the process of making upgrades, and this report shows that government officials should prioritize updates to make sites more convenient, accessible, and secure.”

ITIF and TicTac analyzed 42 Colombian government websites, using publicly available tools to test their page-load speeds for both desktop and mobile browsers, the mobile-friendliness of their designs, their security standards, and their accessibility for people with disabilities. ITIF and TicTac analysts then compared those results to performance benchmarks common among 20 of Colombia’s most popular nongovernmental sites.

The results demonstrated that all Colombian websites can make improvements:

• 38 percent of government websites passed the desktop page-load speed test, and 5 percent passed the mobile page-load speed test.
• 60 percent of government websites passed the mobile-friendliness test.
• 67 percent of government websites passed an HTTPS test showing whether users could browse privately and securely.
• 48 percent of government websites passed an accessibility test gauging usability for people with disabilities.

Overall, the five best performing Colombian government websites tested were:

• Colombia Migration, (Migración; Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores)
• Vice-Presidency (Vicepresidencia)
• Office of the Comptroller General of Colombia (Contraloría)
• Ministry of National Defense (MinDefensa)
• Vigilance and Private Security Superintendency (Superintendencia de Vigilancia y Seguridad Privada)

The five lowest-performing sites were:

• Adaptation Fund (Fondo Adaptación)
• Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism (MinComercio)
• Financial Superintendency of Colombia (Superintendencia Financiera de Colombia)
• Superintendency of Solidarity-based Economy (Superintendencia de Economía Solidaria)
• Ministry of the Interior (MinInterior)

ITIF and TicTac conclude in their report that the Colombian government should take the following actions to ensure its citizens have access to fast, mobile-friendly, secure, and accessible government websites:

• Create security requirements.
• Establish a mobile-first strategy.
• Move all websites to the cloud.
• Test the accessibility of websites with local partners.
• Launch a website modernization “sprint.”
• Authorize websites to operate for a set period.

“Colombian government websites have many opportunities to improve their websites by adopting best practices, such as designing websites for mobile devices and using reliable cloud-based services,” said Adriana Ceballos, co-author of the report. “By leveraging expertise and insights from the private sector, as well as the latest technology, they can continue to improve online government services for citizens and businesses.”

Read the report.

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TicTac is the premier think tank regarding the digital economy in Colombia. Established in 2016 by the Colombian Chamber of IT and Telecom (CCIT), TicTac proposes public policy initiatives aimed at the digital transformation of the country, based on the principles of sustainability, economic competitiveness, social inclusion, and government efficiency. Learn more at ccit.org.co/tictac.

TicTac Contact: Lorena Meza, [email protected] | +57-301-351-3806