MML & IBM Partnership
Cloud Overview
First of a kind (FOAK) project
Lotus Live Projects
Cloud technology
What is the Cloud?
It is essentially any software service, server, or storage solution not hosted onsite
Examples: Lotus Live Microsoft 365 Facebook Google Docs Twitter Gmail
What was the first of a kind (FOAK) project?
This was a project from IBM’s Research Division that was meant to test new technology in a real world setting. The technology shares data in new ways that could mean new ways for cities to deliver services.
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Application Integration for Local Government
• Municipal subsystems typically supplied by multiple vendors
• Pair-wise connection could improve efficiency, but would add complexity & inflexibility
• New requirements often add connections across multiple subsystems
• Individual local governments cannot afford full integration of all connections
Location-Aware Repair
Environmental Services Water Shed mgmt
Traffic Control
Police Fire Dept Recreation Parking Building Payroll Assessing Public Works Tax HR Scheduling Accounting Zoning GIS Public Safety Social services Sanitation Water 5
Goal of the FOAK Project
Determine the usefulness of the Shared Data Manager as a means for enabling automatic
information sharing between municipal applications (departments)
Develop an appropriate business model and ecosystem for the platform technology
Hub-Based Composition Payroll Data Exchange Performance Mgt Data Exchange Analytics Data Exchange Recruit Data Exchange ERP Data Exchange Time Data Exchange Benefits Data Exchange Master Data Exchange Payroll Master Data Time & Attendance ERP Recruit Analytics Performance Management Benefits Point-to-Point Integration
Classic but structure gets complex Simple structure w/ higher initial cost Pair-wise Integration, cost ~N2 Hub-Based Composition, cost ~N
Integration vs. Composition
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Point-to-point integration has been expensive and difficult to support;
Project Expectations
Municipal employees will see a benefit in the
information sharing capability with the SDM over their normal methods of information sharing.
The SDM may give municipal employees new
ways of and uses for information sharing that they did not have before.
Measures of Success
Reducing the physical cost (time and effort
required) of information sharing with the SDM over the current methods.
Reducing the financial cost of information sharing with the SDM over the financial cost associated with pairwise integration.
Enabling new information sharing capabilities that are useful but were not previously possible.
Measuring Value (Business Case)
Back office operations (employee) efficiency and cost
Ability to make better informed decisions
Satisfaction of the users (employees)
– Cognitive benefits of not needing to continuously switch tasks when manual information processing requests come in
Citizen service delivery improvement
Challenges to the Pilot’s Effectiveness
Preconceived notions about IBM, information sharing, and/or technology
Concerns that the pilot and/or related technology can equate to the loss of jobs (their own or others)
Confusion in understanding the difference between the applications and the SDM
– Misplaced focus during the pilot testing (scrutiny on applications and not testing information sharing capability)
Pilot Details
Pre-pilot survey Pilot test
– 2 week testing period
– 20 to 30 minute system interaction per day
– Pilot participants included 1-2 representatives from each dept (Building, Clerk, Tax)
• Participants performed their normal role and also the role of a citizen
Pilot System Overview
Four software applications
– Tax System
– Parking Lot Management System – Parking Validation System
– Web Tax Payment System Two Portals / Dashboards
– Alphinat Employee Portal – Alphinat Citizen Portal
Shared Data Manager Administrative tools
– Shared Data Editor – Shared Data Viewer
Pilot System Details
SCA Tax System
– Tax employees can post property tax payments that are received Parking Lot Management System
– Citizens can log in to register to park in a specific parking lot. Their license plate number becomes their parking permit identifier.
Parking Validation System
– A clerk’s employee monitoring the parking lot can check the license plate numbers to see if a car has registered for that parking lot.
Web Tax Payment System
– Citizens can pay their property taxes online with a credit card. Alphinat Employee Portal
– Building and Clerk’s employees can view & process electronic forms submitted by citizens Alphinat Citizen Portal
– Citizens can log in to submit forms (building permit request, dog license request) Shared Data Editor
– Administrator can customize specific data to be shared between applications Shared Data Viewer
Ecosystem
– Shared services by using SaaS on the Cloud attractive for smaller businesses & governments • Platform support for efficiency, shared services, ease of use attracts clients & providers – Shared Data Management uses common data model to link independent services for additional
client value 15 Clients Cities Villages Towns Water Tax Assess ISV Cloud Infrastructure SaaS Platform Tax Acc’t Building ISV 1 2 Assess Maps ISV3 Multi-tenant Security Bill Subscribe S4SE Shared Data Management Composer
Client Relation Owners
ISV
Gov’t Providers Service
Municipal Shared Services Cloud
First-of-a-Kind (FOAK) project validated technology & business model
SCA Alphinat KVS, BAS, Hamer Enterprise, NIPA, … NYCOM MML New Castle Mamaroneck Sterling Heights IBM Cloud
Pilot Roles
Building employee
– Uses employee portal to process building requests submitted by citizens
Clerk
– Uses employee portal to process forms & requests submitted by citizens
– Parking permit validation
Tax employee
– Processes tax payments using the SCA tax system – Also uses the SCA tax system to import web payments
Integration Administrator
– Uses the SDM editor tool to customize integration
– Can view SDM master data using SDM administration tool
Citizen
– Uses citizen portal to submit forms, email requests, and check status of previous form and request submissions
– Uses parking lot management system to register to park in a specific lot (linked through citizen portal)
Pilot Participants
City of Sterling Heights, Michigan
– 3 participants
• IT Administrator; Building Dept. Employee; Treasury dept. employee
City of Cohoes, New York
– 5 participants
• Treasurer; City Clerk; IT Administrator; Administrative Assistant (as citizen); Building Dept. Manager
Town of New Castle, New York
– 5 participants
• Tax Receiver; Town Clerk; Deputy Tax Receiver; Building Dept. Manager; Building Dept. Employee
General Details on Pilot Results
Pre-pilot survey and post-pilot interview data helped to determine findings
Feedback categorized in 3 areas: applications, cloud platform, data sharing
– Findings specific to the Shared Data Manager (SDM) component are under data sharing area
– Findings specific to entire MSSC system include cloud platform and data sharing areas
– Findings on applications are mostly related to functions by independent application providers
Findings on Data Sharing Capability (SDM)
Received a lot of positive feedback about data sharing
• Ability to customize (regulate) data sharing reported as integral to system
• Participants stated that ability to share and receive data in real-time would be greatly beneficial
• In most cases, data sharing currently occurs monthly or quarterly • Stated to help with sending out information to the correct people &
addresses (when mailing addresses and/or parcel ownership changes)
• Participants gave examples of other data sharing possibilities • All users stated that system could save them time as employee
and/or citizen
Data sharing capabilities differ by municipality
• Parking permit registrations has critical data sharing needs only in one municipality
• Other municipalities have different permit types (e.g. vendor) with extensive data sharing needs
Additional Findings on Data Sharing Capability (SDM)
System included two ways of data sharing, where
• data is imported directly from one system to another in real-time • data is collected in a holding area and reviewed/accepted before
import
Mixed feedback about need to ‘validate’ shared data before import • Employees at one municipality wanted to review data prior to
import into an application
• Employees at the other two municipalities preferred that data is imported without review
Option should be customizable for each municipality
Strong interest to explore data sharing with external organizations (County & State agencies, Dept. of Motor Vehicles, etc.)
Findings on the Cloud Platform
Participants liked the cloud platform
• Reports of fast and reliable connectivity
• Two issues were reported but were not related to the MSSC
system
• First problem was related to design of one of the applications
• Second problem arose from restrictions within one town’s
network configuration
Requirements of the system are that applications are web-based
• IT administrators specifically pointed out their
preferences for and benefits of migration to all web-based applications
Findings on Applications
Participants stated that system was easier to test when software was identical to systems they used
Negative reviews mostly on limitations of applications
– System included base versions of tax processing, citizen portal and employee portal applications
• Users would like to test with full versions
– Simulated applications created by the Research team to show additional functionality
• Did not include all capabilities of regular parking permit and permit validation/ticketing systems.
Estimated Cost & Saving via Pilot
Based on assessment of impact on small,~5,000 people town
Based on integration of two applications for tax processing – Tax Billing/Payment and General Ledger Applications
Employee time impact in the first year: ~$10,806 (~27 person days )
– Time for administrative employees to discuss multiple integration scenarios – Time for departmental employees to describe manual work process
– Time for employees to complete in-depth testing of installed system Efficiency savings in the first year: ~$18,636 (~48 person days)
– Save 24 person work days per year for Tax Receiver & Deputy Receiver – Save 24 person work days per year for Comptroller
Cost savings
– $7,830 for first year
– No time impact cost after first year
• $18,636 yearly estimate for second and subsequent years – Cost savings for additional municipalities will be greater
• Less time needed to understand municipal processes
LotusLive
Is a collection of integrated, online collaborations solutions
and social networking services for your organization.
A way to reach beyond the walls of your organization to
connect and engage with colleagues, contingency groups and partners.
A way to maximize your existing technology investments
LotusLive Offerings
Collaboration –
Proof of Concept FocusLotusLive Connections LotusLive Engage
Other Offerings
LotusLive Meetings LotusLive Events LotusLive Notes LotusLive iNotesProof of Concept
Use Lotus Live to communicate with the city council, specifically for transmitting their meeting packet materials
Use Lotus Live to communicate with an outside constituency group
City of Houghton
“I like the fact that I can start a folder on Lotus as soon as I
have the first document that goes into their packet and
upload that document. Then, as items come in I can upload them when I get them. This helps keep me organized and makes sure I don’t miss something.”
“The Council likes the extra time they have to look at some
documents. They also like that the folders keep everything organized and that they can access an older folder to look back at something that was provided earlier. Our Council does not print the documents. “
Future Initiatives
• Cloud Storage
• Disaster recovery
• Software as a service • Server Hosting
Software as a service
What is Software as a service?
Software as a Service (SaaS) is a software
distribution model in which applications are hosted by a vendor or service provider and made available to customers over a network, typically the Internet.
