United Nations Office of Information and Communications Technology

What United Nations Office of Information and Communications Technology does

The United Nations Office of Information and Communications Technology (OICT) is a Secretariat office within the United Nations system, headquartered in New York City and led by Assistant Secretary-General and Chief Information Technology Officer Bernardo Mariano Jr. OICT was formalized under the UN Revised ICT Strategy endorsed by the General Assembly in 2015 (A/RES/69/262) and serves as the digital backbone of the UN, providing ICT services, cloud infrastructure, data analytics, geospatial information management, AI/ML applications, knowledge graphs, blockchain-enabled solutions, cybersecurity, telemedicine, and remote monitoring across all UN Secretariat entities and in support of 193 Member States.

OICT's product portfolio centers on the Unite ecosystem: Unite Portal as the central digital platform, Unite Analytics providing 55+ management dashboards for finance, HR, procurement, and travel data, and Unite Ideas as a crowdsourcing platform that has generated over 425 technology solutions through 40+ challenges. Specialized tools include goLandRegistry (a blockchain-enabled land registry deployed with the Government of Afghanistan via LTO Network), goFintel (financial intelligence for counter-terrorism financing), SANKOFA (open-source semantic annotation for UN resolutions), and the Alba chatbot. Training and capacity building are delivered through UNCAP (United Nations C4ISR Academy for Peace Operations) at the Regional Service Centre in Entebbe, which has graduated over 6,500 uniformed and civilian ICT specialists.

OICT operates as a non-commercial intergovernmental entity funded through the UN regular budget and voluntary member state contributions; it does not generate revenue or sell services commercially. Technology solutions and training are provided to UN Secretariat entities, peacekeeping missions, Troop and Police Contributing Countries, and Member States at no direct cost. Strategic partnerships with Microsoft, Tableau, Qlik, Salesforce, Accenture Labs, UNITAR, UN-Habitat, UN Global Pulse, ITU, NATO, and the African Union extend OICT's reach across cloud infrastructure, analytics, AI research, geospatial services, and defense capacity building for peace operations.

Name

United Nations Office of Information and Communications Technology

Legal name

United Nations Office of Information and Communications Technology

Website

https://unite.un.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The United Nations Office of Information and Communications Technology (OICT) is the UN Secretariat's digital backbone, providing ICT services, data analytics, AI, cybersecurity, and training across all UN entities, 193 Member States, and peacekeeping missions. It operates the Unite platform ecosystem, UNCAP training academy, and open-source tools for global good.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Public Sector IT Services

NAICS

International Affairs (92812), Computer Systems Design and Related Services (54151), Public Administration (92)

SIC

Services-Computer Integrated Systems Design (7373), Communications Services, Nec (4899), Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370)

akta.pro primary industry

United Nations System & Specialized Agencies (BPADAAAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Identity & Access Support (IAM Service Desk) (BPAEAJAG), Disaster Response Coordination & Incident Command (EOC/ICS) (HLAJAGAB)

Keywords

• Information technology services
• Peacekeeping technology training
• Data analytics platforms
• Geospatial information management
• Digital transformation services

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Operations

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

The Office of Information and Communications Technology (OICT) is the digital backbone of the United Nations Secretariat, providing ICT services, platforms, and training to UN entities, peacekeeping missions, and all 193 UN Member States. It delivers core offerings including the Unite Analytics business intelligence platform with 55+ management dashboards, the Unite Ideas crowdsourcing platform for SDG solutions, specialized tools like the blockchain-enabled goLandRegistry and goFintel financial intelligence platform, and the UNCAP C4ISR Academy training program for peace operations personnel.

Product overview

OICT operates as a comprehensive technology organization serving the United Nations system, offering a portfolio of interconnected platforms, tools, and initiatives. The core offerings include the Unite Portal serving as the central digital backbone, Unite Analytics for business intelligence and dashboards, and Unite Ideas as a crowdsourcing platform for SDG-focused innovations. Supporting infrastructure includes goLandRegistry (blockchain-enabled land registry), goFintel (financial intelligence), and specialized tools like the Alba chatbot and SANKOFA semantic annotation tool. Training and capacity building are delivered through UNCAP (C4ISR Academy for Peace Operations), the Unite Academy Copilot Training Series, and thematic campaigns including #WomenInTech and #DigitalUnite. The Data Blog provides thought leadership on data strategy and AI ethics, while initiatives like Reboot the Earth engage youth in technology solutions for climate challenges.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Reboot the Earth: Social coding series that brings diverse groups together to improve or build technology solutions addressing the climate crisis
• Reboot Accelerator
• Unite Ideas
• DigitalUnite
• WomenInTech
• UNCAP (United Nations C4ISR Academy for Peace Operations)
• Unite Analytics

Products and services

• Unite Portal

Quantifiable outcome

• UNCAP has graduated over 6,500 uniformed and civilian ICT specialists from training centre at RSCE Entebbe
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration8 records

AI capability13 records

Feature8 records

Partnerships

18 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• SalesforcecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026Salesforce provides coaching support for Reboot the Earth winning teams for six months to help scale their climate technology solutions. This partnership leverages Salesforce's expertise in cloud technology and startup acceleration to support young innovators developing solutions for the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
• Accenture LabscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 3 May 2021Co-organizing conference on Knowledge Graphs for Social Good (KG4SG). Partnership focuses on knowledge graph applications for health, education, environmental protection, and sustainability. Joint workshops bring together researchers from public sector, industry, and academia for positive social impact.
• United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 10 March 2016MOU signed to establish collaboration in geospatial information, GIS, satellite derived analysis and mapping, expert services and support, and capacity-building. UNOSAT services extended to UN OICT including satellite imagery analysis support for natural, technological, or conflict-related disasters.
• UN-HabitatcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerClose collaboration for development of emerging technology tools and digital platforms to improve urban design and planning. OICT supported UN-Habitat through development of goLandRegistry, a blockchain-enabled digital land registry solution.
• UN Innovation Network (UNIN)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership on TechLearnTalks series to demystify new technologies such as blockchain, IoT, and cloud computing for UN personnel and beyond.
• International Telecommunication Union (ITU)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTripartite partnership with UNIN and ITU on TechLearnTalks to create awareness and unlock potential of ICTs for sustainable development and bridge the digital divide.
• Tableau SoftwarecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUnprecedented agreement providing access to Tableau's visual analytics platform for professionals in all 193 Member States across the UN system.
• MicrosoftcoreTechnology or IntegrationMicrosoft 365 and Azure cloud services powering UN communications and collaboration including Unite Mail, OneDrive, Teams, and Copilot AI assistant. Strategic cloud-first decision enabling remote work during COVID-19 pandemic.
• QlikcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic partnership expansion delivering critical and actionable analytics insights to positively effect global sustainability and humanitarian efforts. UN standardized on Qlik's visual analytics platform.
• UN Global CompactcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on Reboot the Ocean challenge as part of the Reboot Accelerator Programme. Partnership addresses the 5 Tipping Points for achieving a healthy and productive ocean by 2030.
• SAPminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrevious partnership on Reboot the Earth initiative with UN Youth Envoy. SAP supported youth climate action through hackathons and innovation challenges.
• Digital Public Goods Alliance (DPGA)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOICT became the newest member of DPGA, contributing to the advancement of digital public goods for sustainable development.
• International Telecommunication Union (ITU)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDeclaration of Intent signed on development of Digital Transformation and Technology Innovation ecosystems for inclusive and innovative digital future.
• European Commission Directorate-General for Informatics (DG DIGIT)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on e-learning initiatives and Smart Cities challenges in cooperation with OpenStreetMap.
• UN Global PulsecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on data innovation projects including Big Data Radio Mining and Analysis in peacekeeping settings. UN Global Pulse provides data privacy assessment tools and expertise.
• OmdenaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerWinner of Unite Ideas Financial Crime Data Challenge. Collaborative platform building AI solutions for tracking financing of terrorism, enhancing goFintel capabilities.
• NATOcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDefense capacity building partnership for peace operations alongside the African Union. Joint commitment to sustainable, data-driven and technology-enabled training.
• African Union (AU)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTriangular partnership for defense capacity building in peace operations with UN and NATO. Focus on technology training and interoperability.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights7 records

Broad incumbents

• Salesforce.org (Public Sector / Nonprofit Cloud): Provides cloud, data, and accelerator services to UN, government, and nonprofit organizations; existing OICT partner on Reboot the Earth coaching, comparable as a hyperscale partner serving the public-sector and intergovernmental technology stack.
• UNDP Digital: UNDP's digital transformation practice offers technology and accelerator services to country offices and partners, overlapping with OICT's mission to deliver digital transformation, capacity building, and data services across UN entities and Member States.
• World Bank Information and Technology Solutions: Operates the central ICT function for the World Bank Group, providing data, cloud, and analytics services at a comparable scale and complexity to OICT's UN Secretariat mandate, though serving a different multilateral institution.

Direct peers

• European Commission DG DIGIT (Directorate-General for Informatics): Provides IT services, digital strategy, and tools for EU institutions, mirroring OICT's mandate to deliver ICT services across UN entities; existing partner on e-learning initiatives and Smart Cities challenges with OpenStreetMap.
• International Telecommunication Union (ITU): The UN specialized agency for ICTs and an existing OICT partner on TechLearnTalks and digital ecosystem initiatives; both organizations operate under the UN umbrella to advance digital inclusion, standards, and capacity building across Member States.
• NATO Communications and Information Agency (NCI Agency): Delivers ICT, C4ISR, and cyber support across NATO's command structure and operations, directly comparable to OICT's role providing ICT services across the UN Secretariat and C4ISR training via UNCAP for peacekeeping operations.
• World Health Organization Digital Health and Innovation: Operates digital health, AI, and innovation programs across WHO's global health mandate, paralleling OICT's emerging-technology, AI ethics, and telemedicine work for the UN Secretariat.
• UNICEF Office of Innovation: Runs innovation, data, and frontier technology programs within the UN system with a mandate similar to OICT's emerging-technology and digital public goods work; comparable in mission and in operating inside the same UN governance structure.

Emerging players

• UN Global Pulse: UN initiative using big data, AI, and data privacy tools for humanitarian and development work; existing OICT partner on Big Data Radio Mining in MINUSMA and the Risks, Harms and Benefits Assessment Tool, with comparable AI-for-social-good mission.

Regional players

• African Union Information and Communication Directorate: Provides ICT services for the African Union and partners with OICT through the UN-NATO-AU triangular defense capacity building partnership; comparable in operating as a multilateral ICT office but at a regional rather than global scope.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/UN_OICT
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@UnitedNationsOICT
• Facebookfacebook.com/UnitedNationsUnite
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/un-oict
• Instagraminstagram.com/un_oict

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about United Nations Office of Information and Communications Technology