Department of State business upgrade enters key phase; customers to benefit

MARCH 14, 2006

Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land's drive to modernize the department's business procedures and supporting technical infrastructure has entered a key phase.

The multiyear project is one of Land's key priorities. It began in 2003 with a comprehensive review of the department's business needs and customer service goals. The project's second phase forged those objectives into a clearly defined action blueprint. The department has now entered the final phase, which includes the recent awarding of a five-year contract to Electronic Data Systems (EDS) for program implementation.

"We're not content with merely meeting our customers' expectations," Land said. "We want to exceed them. This initiative is a vital step in moving to that next level of service capability. It will benefit customers as well as employees, and make the most effective use of our limited funds. I appreciate the time and effort put into this immense project by our employees and partners, as well as the Legislature's support of our goals."

Benefits of the project are:

• Greater department accessibility and responsiveness. This includes allowing customers and employees to access information more easily. The project also paves the way for additional self-service options so that customers can conduct more business around the clock. In addition, the department will have a standardized, simplified interface between all systems and their components to help employees and customers complete their tasks.
• Enhanced data quality. For example, the department will be able to compile a single record history of each customer, which gives employees an overall view of their clients' needs with one query and enables them to be even more proactive in offering excellent customer service. Other advantages include ensuring the integrity of records with "real time" updating and confirmation, and improving the department's ability to track inventory and specific information such as customer service times.
• An updated technical environment. The department will improve its ability to respond more rapidly and cost-effectively to changing business requirements resulting from demands such as new laws.

The upgrade will be done in stages during the next several years to ensure the successful migration of existing databases.