A trend towards reforming the public sector has emerged in many countries in recent years, attempting to revitalize public administration and make it more proactive, efficient, transparent and especially more service oriented. E-government can contribute significantly to the process of transformation of the government towards a leaner, more cost-effective government. However, the real benefit of e-government lies not in the use of technology per se, but in its application to processes of transformation. The 2008 year Survey presents an assessment of the new role of the government in enhancing public service delivery, while improving the efficiency and productivity of government processes and systems. The first part of the publication describes the findings of the United Nations e-Government Survey 2008 while the how to approach connected governance is the focus of Part II.