Government Technology - December 2008 - (Page DC17)

www.digitalcommunities.com one, seamless service. A single sign-on lets the user transact business with all seven agencies, and once he enters a piece of information, it becomes available to any partner agency that needs it. There’s no need to reenter the same data repeatedly, which saves time and reduces the chance of error. Integrated Whole “South Carolina Business One Stop creates synergies that beneﬁt the business owner, making government appear to be an integrated whole, rather than disparate silos,” said David Friedline, director of e-government solutions at TiBA Solutions in Greenville, S.C., “and creating synergies is at the heart of the Citizen Service Platform.” The Microsoft Citizen Service Platform is a framework of tools and practices for state and local governments. Applications built on the Citizen Service framework make it easier for governments to interact with citizens, while leveraging the investments they’ve already made in Microsoft products. One advantage of using the Citizen Service framework is that the Microsoft technology stack lets agencies with disparate, incompatible back-end technology exchange data, Friedline said. Agencies with modern computer platforms receive data in real time in their relational database systems. Agencies with mainframes at the back end receive information in batches for processing overnight. Agencies without back-end systems use a Web browser to view and print applications. After processing the paper, employees “That’s the most satisfying thing from my perspective, that when you focus on the real consumer, it’s amazing what you can do to make things happen.” — MIKE GARON, SENIOR ADMINISTRATOR AND CIO, SOUTH CAROLINA DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE Along with cutting red tape for business owners — the system’s primary goal — automating and expediting these transactions also has made the partner organizations more efﬁcient, Garon said. In addition, SCBOS is paving the way for more collaboration among South Carolina’s agencies. “Because of the service-oriented architecture and the fact that we had to build front-end systems that go across all agencies, all of a sudden, agencies have started working very closely together,” he said. “That’s going to change the whole way we operate.” The key to the success of SCBOS is that throughout its development, agency ofﬁcials put business owners’ needs front and center Encouraging Business Growth Giving businesses a simpler and faster and made a commitment to fulﬁll those needs, way to interact with government supports Garon said. This is evident from the SCBOS one of South Carolina’s major priorities: to user survey results that show 97.3 percent of encourage business growth by making it all respondents would use SCBOS again and 94.1 percent would recommend it to others. easier to go into business in the state. Garon tells of a business owner in Florida “That’s the most satisfying thing from my perwho wrote to report his experience with the spective,” said Garon, “that when you focus system. “I was looking to move to another state,” on the real consumer, it’s amazing what you the owner told state ofﬁcials. “I was looking can do to make things happen.” at South Carolina, and when I saw SCBOS, it was so easy for me to set up a business there, I decided that’s where I’m going to go.” return to the browser to indicate that the permit is accepted, rejected or pending. Besides conducting the transactions required to start a new business, owners of existing businesses use SCBOS to meet ongoing obligations. For example, Friedline said, a very large national retailer is renewing its Sunday Alcohol Beverage Permits, which require weekly renewals, through SCBOS from its headquarters in the Midwest, rather than at each store. Businesses also use SCBOS to ﬁle sales tax and in 2009, they will be able to use it to pay unemployment insurance premiums. Microsoft For further information on Microsoft Citizen Service Platform please visit www.microsoft.com/uscsp DIGITAL COMMUNITIES DECEMBER 08 17 http://www.digitalcommunities.com http://www.microsoft.com/uscsp http://www.microsoft.com/uscsp

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Government Technology - December 2008

Government Technology - December 2008 Contents Point of View Four Questions for... On the Scene Big Picture Year in Review Who Controls Your Network? Paper Makes a Comeback Halting Meth Abuse Spectrum Up Close signal:noise Digital Communities Contents Becoming a Digital Community Rethinking 700 MHz Smart Grids: Powering the Future Gearing Up for Crime 2.0 Software Predicts Crime Local Portals on the Red Carpet More Than Just a Pretty Face

Government Technology - December 2008

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