BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 22. Azerbaijan aims to foster a culture of data-driven decision-making in both the public and private sectors, strengthen the integration of government information systems and develop digital solutions, Shahin Aliyev, deputy chairman of the board of the Innovation and Digital Development Agency, said, Trend's correspondent reports from the event.
Aliyev made the remarks on Thursday at a conference in Baku dedicated to the digital transformation of public finance.
He said one of the key priorities of digital transformation was to build databases and accelerate data-driven decision-making. At the same time, the full digitalization of internal processes is expected to minimize paper use.
According to Aliyev, another major priority is the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) solutions. Plans include automating processes using data generated in the digital environment, deploying agent-based solutions, and developing national AI models for use by government agencies.
He noted that developing the innovation ecosystem was another key component of digital transformation. Under this approach, services, data and infrastructure solutions developed within government systems are expected to become accessible to the innovation ecosystem.
“This is intended to support the development of innovative products and local startups, encourage the establishment of venture capital funds, attract foreign companies to Azerbaijan, expand the country's IT market and increase its export potential,” he said.
Aliyev stressed that cybersecurity was also a key priority in digital transformation, with the aim of ensuring the security and resilience of the emerging digital ecosystem.
Addressing the importance of interoperability between government information systems, the agency official said the objective was not simply to digitize individual services or create standalone systems, but to build a unified ecosystem.
“The goal is to create a single ecosystem. Naturally, it needs to be coordinated,” he said.
According to him, under current legislation, the integration of government information systems and resources is carried out through the e-Government Information System. Government agencies structure the integration of their own systems in line with this approach, enabling other agencies to access the data they need to digitize their services.
Aliyev said data generated by government agencies could be accessed by both public institutions and private sector entities, subject to citizens' consent. The next stage, in cooperation with the Finance Ministry, is expected to involve establishing integration opportunities for the private sector as well.
He added that IT companies operating in the market were developing AI-based and enterprise resource planning (ERP) solutions to digitize companies' internal processes.
“In this case, we will ensure that this data is transferred to companies through digital transactions. This will enable companies to offer more innovative solutions to businesses operating in the domestic market. At the next stage, these solutions could also be exported to foreign markets,” he stressed.
According to the agency official, one of the main objectives is to make data-driven decision-making an established practice in both government agencies and private companies. Work is underway to establish a national data exchange framework to support this goal.
He said the plan was to securely consolidate data held by individual agencies in the government cloud and, where necessary, enable secure data exchange between relevant sectors and institutions. This approach would help address challenges more efficiently and ensure that decisions are based on data.