Tips for Integrating Government IT Solutions
All jokes aside about the slowness and bottlenecks that some people experience when trying to interact with government agencies, it’s not a good situation when local business owners, homeowners, and other members of the community find themselves frustrated by having to deal with antiquated systems at the local, state or federal level.
There’s no need to make people jump through multiple hoops just to pay a fee, arrange for inspections, or otherwise engage with public servants and their bureaucracies.
It makes sense for government agencies to use the same technology and software solutions that businesses use to support customers, vendors, and other interested parties. After all, the applications that enterprise organizations provide to streamline processes for their customers can work for your “customers” too – the citizens in your community.
With that in mind, here are some ideas and tips to help with integrating government IT solutions that you can start implementing today. If any questions arise, feel free to connect with the government IT system experts at Velosimo at your earliest convenience.
Benefits of Using IT Solutions in Government Agencies
As you gear up for launching a new IT solution to integrate with your agency, it’s useful to focus on the benefits that come with such a deployment. The main advantages include:
-
- Your team will appreciate how they can connect more efficiently and collaborate thanks to connections with cloud computing services. They can access common sets of files, shared databases, and guidelines from any location with a laptop, smartphone, or tablet.
- You can benefit from the latest innovations in technology and software that the private sector already uses to great effect.
- Promote interoperability. Ideally, you will improve your services thanks to no-code, pre-built connectors built specifically for government by IT professionals who know how to maneuver between the needs of government and citizens using modern computing solutions already in place in businesses large and small across the country.
- Vital information is securely backed up in the cloud. Arranging for automatic backups is crucial in any institution. Migrating your databases and other information for use in a cloud environment means that you can always count on multiple backups on connected servers in different physical locations. This means workers and citizens shouldn’t notice any issues if the system has to fall over to a backup server.
- Your team will appreciate how they can connect more efficiently and collaborate thanks to connections with cloud computing services. They can access common sets of files, shared databases, and guidelines from any location with a laptop, smartphone, or tablet.
Data is no longer locked in individual silos. Opening up your data with cloud platform access ensures that any authorized person with a legitimate need to access data or update a document can do so more easily. Having to call a department to access a walled-off computer drive that’s not connected to the rest of the government is a waste of time and resources.
Insight Into Integrations Developed Specifically for Government IT Solutions
Many pieces of government paperwork will require authorization as well as verification that the person involved is who he or she says she is. For this reason, one of the primary services that government agencies will want to set up and make available as soon as possible to the people they serve is electronic signatures. It will vastly speed up the time used in all kinds of official documents, such as new permits.
With systems developed and customized with government agency work in mind, it’s easier to streamline many processes. For example, Chula Vista, California, signed up for the Velosimo Connect platform with six no-code connectors, a government-specific integration that connects cloud platforms, Software as a Service application (SaaS), and the systems maintained at the government agency’s site.
This one example from many government IT solutions shows that agencies can be just as nimble with their computational infrastructure as large, successful enterprise organizations.
In partnership with Velosimo and Accela, Chula Vista was able to better manage regulations and could more readily share and exchange timely information. They can achieve greater interoperability between financial systems, Electronic Document reviews, and Electronic Document Management Systems. It’s all done with a decreased load on the government IT staff.
Tips for Getting Started With Integrating Government IT Solutions
Assuming you have buy-in from your department as well as budget approval to arrange for deploying new software and arranging for consultants, use the following tips to get started with government IT solutions integration:
-
- Make a list of key concerns you already have about the upcoming IT integration with your department. For example, you use an old-fashioned spreadsheet to keep track of information that clearly should belong in a database available to everyone via cloud computing services. Or, you require optical character recognition to process documents already filled out on paper.
- Keep artificial intelligence top of mind. A government agency can harness AI for such routine tasks as scanning new contracts. This saves your staff time and money and helps eliminate user error. Doing so also saves a lot of time for the citizens you serve.
- Prepare the public for the upcoming changes. You can post details about the milestones before the new IT solutions come online through your various social media channels and press conferences. This applies whether your IT integration is for federal, state, or local agencies.
- Reach out proactively to organizations such as the local chamber of commerce or citizens groups for comments and feedback about what kinds of computing services would best meet their needs.
- Make sure to partner with information technology professionals with plenty of experience with government integrations. You don’t want to hire a business that will need to learn on the job. Check their references and see what other government agencies they’ve worked within the past have to say about the work done for them.
- Make a list of key concerns you already have about the upcoming IT integration with your department. For example, you use an old-fashioned spreadsheet to keep track of information that clearly should belong in a database available to everyone via cloud computing services. Or, you require optical character recognition to process documents already filled out on paper.
Consult the Professionals at Velosimo for Assistance With Government IT Solutions
It’s not a trivial matter to integrate government IT solutions into your current functions, especially if your team lacks experience with cloud-based systems for providing citizen services.
But when you prepare by reviewing currently available government-approved software list descriptions and arranging for information technology experts to guide you forward, you’ll be in a much better position to serve members of your community.
For more information about sorting out IT solutions to connect government agencies with constituents, get in touch with the experts at Velosimo today.