I am continually amazed at how much my phone has displaced my PC for everyday use. My iPhone is stacked with an entire library of songs, 10 years of uploaded photos, not to mention videos, movies, and a slew of applications. This past holiday season, I did some shopping on Amazon, bought movie tickets, and transferred money – all with my phone. I would estimate that 60 percent of my e-mail communication comes from my phone. I also find myself using my phone as my primary connection to the Web, where I continually reference data and information: one moment looking up Accela customer information and the next telling my son about Ken Griffey Jr.’s life batting average. I think my behavior is reflective of where our government customers and their citizens are headed with their own phone use. The day will soon come when consumers won’t purchase anything but a smartphone. My guess is that’s all people will buy next holiday season, and I have no doubt this will lead to a dramatic shift in the public’s expectations of e-government. You might even call it “i-government”, indicative of today’s iPhone culture and the user-centric expectation of obtaining information “when I want it, where I want it”. In this climate, citizens will expect – and demand – access to government services via their mobile phones. Accela has spent much of the past two years augmenting our mobile strategy in anticipation of these trends and the resulting demands on government. Our imminent Accela Mobile Office solution is perhaps the most anticipated and groundbreaking software release in the company’s history – and with good reason; the product is poised to redefine the way mobile government workers organize their days, access information, and communicate with back-office colleagues and the public. But Accela has also considered the needs of consumers and how they increasingly will want to interact with their governments. Our next release of Accela Mobile Citizen Access allows the public to use their smartphones to connect to some of the same online services available through Accela Citizen Access – and to do so with the same intuitive user interface they would experience in their home or office. No other e-permitting solution delivers this.
This need is critical for contractors and many other business owners, who work on the road more than they do at their desks. These smartphone-empowered users can check the status of their permit applications, as well as review inspection details, add comments for inspectors, and cancel or reschedule a pending inspection. I’m excited about these innovations and their potential to change the delivery of government services. As we start 2010, I think the time is right to look ahead, examine public trends, and develop strategies for the upcoming era of “i-government”. I wish everyone a happy and successful New Year. Please send me a note when you implement Mobile Citizen Access. I’d love to hear how it’s changing and improving your service to the public.