BasicGov / BLOG

As a leader in web-based software for state and local government agencies, we (BasicGov) are commenting on the US Federal Government IT Plan (Plan) released December 9, 2010 and what this means for state and local governments (click to read full Plan)

3 Areas in US Federal Government IT Implementation Plan a Fit for State and Local Government Adoption: Cloud First Policy, Modular Development and Flexible IT Budgets Key

1. Cloud First Policy

The Shift to a“Cloud First” policy brings benefits economically, IT flexibility to scale up or down, and fast selection and implementation (page 7 of the Plan). It states, “ Cloud computing brings a wide range of benefits:

• Economical: Cloud computing is a pay-as-you-go approach to IT, in which a low initial investment is required to begin, and additional investment is needed only as system use increases.

• Flexible: IT departments that anticipate fluctuations in user demand no longer need to scramble for additional hardware and software. With cloud computing, they can add or subtract capacity quickly and easily.

• Fast: Cloud computing eliminates long procurement and certification processes, while providing a near-limitless selection of services.”

BasicGov Commentary on Cloud First Policy: Cash strapped and resource strained state and local government agencies would benefit greatly from a similar cloud first policy.

2. Modular IT and Flexible IT Budgets

In the Plan (page 19), it states that “Evidence shows that modular development leads to increased success and reduced risk. Moving forward, Federal IT programs must be structured to deploy working business functionality in release cycles no longer than 12 months, and, ideally, less than six months, with initial deployment to end users no later than 18 months after the program begins.” The Federal government plans to achieve this modular approach by working with the industry leaders and building templates and samples.

Regarding flexible IT budgets, the Plan (page 24), outlines that transparency towards goals is critical. “Program leaders and CIOs with increased budget flexibility will face higher expectations around successful delivery from agency leaders and Congress. Achieving greater flexibility in funding also requires greater transparency into spending effectiveness. Agencies will need to engage in more frequent dialogues with appropriations staff and to clearly demonstrate the performance of IT investments in achieving mission goals.”

BasicGov Commentary on Modular IT and Flexible IT budgets: Delivery of projects in six months is a very achievable goal in the cloud.  BasicGov modules can be deployed in any order depending on the need and new modules are added easily as the government client has experience in the use of the system which also eliminates upfront implementation and training burden.  State and local governments have yearly budget reviews and this tends to slow down the adoption of IT. With a more flexible IT budget, state and local governments could create a “cloud first” budget line that would allow the agency to move forward to adopt IT modules incrementally while showing success.

3. Myth-buster Awareness Campaign

In the Plan (page 32), the US Federal government outlines its “myth-buster” awareness campaign to eliminate artificial private sector engagement barriers. This campaign will include using online communities, video channels, Q&A forums, webinars and presentations at industry conferences.

BasicGov Commentary on Myth-Buster Campaign: State and local governments can tap into the US Federal government’s online educational information and share easily with all departments to move its agency into an innovative, flexible and more productive organization.

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) as defined in Wikipedia is:

• Customer relationship management (CRM) is a broadly recognized, widely-implemented strategy for managing a company’s interactions with customers, clients and sales prospects. It involves using technology to organize, automate, and synchronize business processes—principally sales activities, but also those for marketing, customer service, and technical support.
• Many CRM vendors offer Web-based tools (cloud computing) and software as a service (SaaS), which are accessed via a secure Internet connection and displayed in a Web browser. These applications are sold as subscriptions, with customers not needing to invest in the acquisition and maintenance of IT hardware, and subscription fees are a fraction of the cost of purchasing software outright.

One of the most popular CRMs is SalesForce.com.  Government agencies use SalesForce CRM to build stronger relationships with constituents, customers, vendors, partners, and recruits. Salesforce CRM cloud applications are tailored to agencies’ core business processes to give them a comprehensive view of useful data.  Then on top of SalesForce CRM, government agencies are adding specific applications to speed up processes such as permitting and licensing.

If you would like a report by IDC about how this type of technology can save cost and time, email me.

In an article “Beyond 311” the author, Ted Hoisington, talks about ways that governments can use CRMs beyond managing information and requests from residents:

1. CRM can automate more than service requests

“ For example, the technology can play a significant role in managing all of an organization’s activities, relationships and contacts concerning a major issue, such as transportation. A CRM system can help manage key elements from strategic planning and the resulting decisions to paring down a list of all elected officials within a jurisdiction to an ad hoc group of only those with transportation expertise.”

2. CRM helps manage relationships

“In an age of stripped-down budgets, relationships are one of the most valuable resources to help cities and counties better fulfill their missions. Using CRM, interactions between government agencies and those on whom they depend internally and externally can be more efficient, effective and timely.”

3. CRM helps preserve institutional memory

“The real power of technology-enhanced relationship management lies in its ability to track all of a public sector organization’s contacts, relationships and interactions. Knowing what happened, when it happened, and the issues associated with each event or action helps determine what should happen next, and the next steps the organization should take.

Over time, CRM technology and a rigorous process for using it establishes and maintains the public sector organization’s institutional memory, retaining an ever-expanding record of all the interactions between the organization and any official, other organization or member of the public.”

Read related article – CRM selection tips.

View video about SalesForce CRM