Microsoft's system outage in HK reflects single system's disadvantage on operations, Tony Wong says

The technical failure of Microsoft systems on a global scale last week has affected the operation of a number of large organizations worldwide, including the Hong Kong International Airport. Commissioner for Digital Policy Tong Wong said Hong Kong was not seriously affected by the incident, but the incident also reflected that departments must have backup systems rather than relying on a single system to provide services.

Speaking at a radio program, Wong said that the government's "iAM Smart" application has been gradually moving towards "ultra-convenience", and that in the future, the government will study the inclusion of different "applets" in the Smart Convenience, so that people can use a single platform to use different government services. He believes that such a model is also beneficial to departments, such as the need to deal with one single interface for the day-to-day maintenance of the system.

Earlier, the authorities proposed that by the end of 2025, government services should be provided through the "iAM Smart." Wong said that the "iAM Smart" has been used by nearly 2.9 million users, half of which are "iAM Smart+", and he expects that by the end of next year, there will be more than 4 million registered users, which is 80% of the target group.