When we think about government tech, most of us get an instant whiplash.
We’re familiar with negative things like application sprawl – too many apps causing losses in local government while failing to improve the residents’ experience with city halls.
We also think about the clumsy implementation of technology that results in frustrated city hall employees, and residents who still can’t get what they need in a timely manner.
However, the real face of government technology is valued, for officials and residents alike. All that matters is implementing technology in a correct manner, and we are here to demonstrate how.
There are three keys benefits of innovation in government technology:
Each local government does its best to reduce costs while providing a better experience to residents.
However, old systems cost a lot – from licenses and servers to training the staff, and staff has to compensate for the legacy systems’ outdated approach to the new mobile city hall approaches.
On the other hand, new government tech systems automatically reduce costs as everything is leaner; from server storage (information is hosted in the cloud) to fees (smaller fees charged monthly, as opposed to annual licenses).
Consequently, if a local government spends less on maintenance, officials are better equipped to allocate the resources and funds to what citizens really need. Quite often, with mobile city halls and the associated technology, it’s also possible to determine what’s needed the most within the community, as opposed to guessing.
For example, the LA Unified School District was able to reduce maintenance processing costs by 75% after switching to Granicus.
Legacy systems, or old systems which haven’t been updated to serve the needs of contemporary residents and local governments, are frequently associated with high costs.
This isn’t just connected to storage and maintenance fees. Instead, legacy systems don’t provide all the necessary functions, and employees are forced to compensate. This results in ineffective spending of the budget.
Additionally, legacy systems offer a lower degree of security which is necessary when processing citizens’ sensitive information.
At the heart of the need to build innovative technological experiences in local government is the experience of residents.
Anyone who’s ever stepped foot into the city hall knows that long waits and too much paperwork are the banes of existence for both the citizens and the employees.
And with the new government tech solutions, every party in the process is able to complete their tasks faster, and in a more efficient manner.
