Abu Dhabi Customs wins two awards at GovMedia Conference & Awards 2026
The organisation built an IT governance ecosystem and expanded intelligent automation across core public service operations.
The General Administration of Abu Dhabi Customs won the United Arab Emirates Governance Project of the Year - Customs and United Arab Emirates Modernization Initiative of the Year - Customs at the GovMedia Conference & Awards 2026 for two programmes that strengthened technology governance, enhanced operational efficiency, and expanded intelligent automation across customs and trade facilitation operations.
From fragmented IT controls to governed operations
Its IT Governance Transformation Programme was developed to address inconsistent processes, limited performance visibility, and gaps in integrated risk oversight. The programme transformed these practices into a structured and unified governance ecosystem that brings together ITIL practices, COBIT alignment, ISO/IEC 27001 and ISO/IEC 20000-1 certifications, process automation, risk management, and KPI-driven performance monitoring under a unified operating model.
Beyond IT-specific standards, the IT Department also contributed to broader enterprise-level certifications and management systems covering quality management, data quality, risk management, asset management, and business continuity, strengthening alignment between technology governance and organisational excellence.
Through the programme, the organisation enhanced governance maturity, strengthened service management and operational controls, improved audit readiness, and provided decision-makers with greater visibility into technology performance, risks, compliance, and service quality. The maturity of these practices was further supported by independent external assessment, with the audit confirming compliance with ISO/IEC 20000-1 requirements and recommending continuation of the certification.
Automation across public service workflows
The Digital Workforce Transformation through Intelligent Automation (RPA and AI) programme established a scalable approach to automating high-volume, repetitive, and data-intensive processes across multiple organisational functions.
The programme combines RPA, artificial intelligence, workflow automation, and system integration, connecting with key internal platforms as well as external systems and data sources to enable end-to-end automation.
Automation has been applied across a broad range of operational activities, including system integration, data reconciliation, exception handling, document validation, audit activities, compliance checks, employee notifications, and automated reporting. The programme also supports data-driven decision-making by improving the speed, consistency, and availability of operational information.
By reducing dependence on repetitive manual activities, the programme has enabled employees to focus on higher-value responsibilities while improving processing efficiency, consistency, accuracy, and operational control. It also established a foundation for continuously identifying and scaling new automation and AI opportunities across customs operations.
GovMedia Conference & Awards gives recognition to the trends and best practices that transform the public sector in the Asia Pacific. The awards programme promotes excellence and provides a platform for exemplary government initiatives.
The GovMedia Conference & Awards is presented by GovMedia Magazine. To view the full list of winners, click here. If you want to join the 2027 awards programme and be recognised for your organisation's government projects and initiatives, please contact Marni Marco at +(65) 3158 1386 and [email protected].
