Government Bits

Tracking how technology is transforming interaction between governments and citizens.

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Although most of us mindlessly take it for granted, Internet access in the US is by no means ubiquitous. However, the dynamic mainstream adoption of smart phones, tablets, and other mobile devices has helped to drive irrefutable progress among rural residents and underserved populations.

By literally placing the power of the web into the pockets of many citizens for the first time, mobile devices empower these segments with a surge of newfound access to unlimited information (cell tower coverage and data plans permitting).

However, a closer look reveals a new challenge, as mobile devices are often the only gateway to the Internet for many of these new users. Despite the significant advancements they represent, these devices will not realize their full potential until enterprises, like government agencies and other organizations, deliver consistent experiences for meaningful business processes and human services across these channels – from start to finish.

Last week, we sponsored a seminar in Washington, DC presented by Federal Computer Week on the “Intersection of Security and Information Sharing: How to Improve Government Efficiency in a Security-Conscious World”.

The seminar brought together government professionals, senior government officials, technology and security leaders, and industry executives to discuss security and the role of authentication in delivering information assurance and increasing business process efficiency for the federal government.

Aaron Lippold, senior technical advisor and computer scientist with DISA, spoke on “Forge.mil – Information Sharing and Secure Collaboration”. Our own John Landwehr, senior director of Enterprise Security Solutions, discussed “The Role of Forms Process Security in Ensuring Secure Information Flow”. And Steve LeSueur, contributing editor with 1105 Government Information Group, moderated a panel with Aaron and John on “How to Improve Government Efficiency in a Security-Conscious World”.

Late last week, we hosted an event, along with Carahsoft and Blue Beacon Consulting, focused on the use of social media in the U.S. Department of Defense.

The event – Transitioning from “Social Media” to “Mission Media”: Using Social Media to Achieve DoD Missions – included a great keynote by Maxine Teller (@mixtmedia) and informative panel including our own Rob Pinkerton and:

• Dana Clark (@PAODanaClark), social media manager, public affairs specialist, Army Corps of Engineers
• Dr. Joseph Boutte, strategic advisor, Strategies, New Media and Collaboration, TASC Inc.
• Dan Wade, social media and new technology chief for strategic communication, USSOCOM
• Christopher Zember, deputy director, Information Analysis Centers, OASD(R&E), DTIC
• Bill Annibell @billannibell), chief technology officer, Sapient Government Services (Moderator)

We had a chance to catch some time on camera with Maxine, Dana and Rob to capture their thoughts on the topics of discussion and the event. Check it out:

As always, we’re interested in your thoughts. Keep in touch with us here, on Twitter @AdobeGov ,and on Facebook, where we’ve posted some pictures from the event.

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“Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening my axe.”
– Abraham Lincoln

A profound quote, but what does it have to do with Customer Experience Management (CEM)? More than you may think.

I’ve had the pleasure of working with government agencies and commercial enterprises around the world that have leveraged Adobe solutions to optimize their customers’ experiences and build “brand” loyalty. From helping their citizens foster online communities and validate program objectives with our Social Brand Engagement solutions, to simplifying complex eligibility determinations with our Selection & Enrollment solutions; these organizations all share a common goal – to provide consumers with engaging digital interactions that deliver measurable results.

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But how much more efficiently would an enterprise operate if it also deployed similar solutions internally to optimize experiences for their own employees? After all, don’t we all serve internal customers in our organizations, regardless of our roles? How much more effective will an agency become as it sharpens its tools by replacing cumbersome paper-based processes with streamlined electronic workflows?
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As Director of the Data Services Division at Oklahoma’s Department of Human Services (OKDHS), James Randell posed those questions to his agency, and then he set out to find the answers. He led the deployment of Adobe’s suite of digital enterprise solutions at OKDHS, his state’s largest agency with over 7,200 employees and 4,000 contractors that span 77 counties. As James put it, the agency was suffering from a “Form-demic,” with almost 1100 unique paper forms that offered low accountability, fragmented tracking, and minimal security throughout the routing process.
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At this year’s annual conference of IT Solutions Management for Human Services (ISM 2011 ) in Austin, Texas, James presented his experiences and shared best practices during a popular session “Advancements in Electronic Forms Technology,” which was moderated by Adobe’s Garrick Beil and packed with attendees, including executives from HHS agencies across the US.

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Afterward, I spoke briefly with James and asked him to expound on the project’s impact on OKDHS, and its resulting effects on operational efficiencies.
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Among the improvements that he noted were quicker response times to bottlenecks and greater transparency. These changes also empowered case managers to effortlessly identify the current status of pending cases.
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Earlier this year, the TechAmerica Foundation comprised a group of thought leaders to serve on the Commission on the Leadership Opportunity in U.S. Deployment of the Cloud (CLOUD2). The Commission’s three-month mandate was to provide the Obama Administration with recommendations for how government should deploy cloud technologies and for public policies that will help drive U.S. innovation in the cloud.

On July 26, the Commission released its recommendations in a report (.pdf) on its site and at events in a few locations across the U.S., including Washington, D.C. A shorter summary of the report is also available from the TechAmerica Foundation site.

Our own Barry Leffew, VP of Public Sector, was among the 71 Commissioners who lent their expertise and participated in the process of developing the recommendations.

Barry attended the Washington, D.C. event last week and also spoke as part of a panel arranged by BMC Software, which also had representation among the Commissioners. In addition to Barry, the panel included Commissioners from BMC, Red Hat, Inc., Cisco Systems, and Harris Corp.

We caught up with Barry at the CLOUD2 event to capture his thoughts on the Commission, the recommendations and the BMC panel on which he sat. Check out the video below.

As always, we’re interested in your thoughts and continuing the conversation on CLOUD2 and otherwise. Keep in touch with us on Twitter @AdobeGov and our Facebook page.

Obviously the answer to that question will vary greatly depending on who asks, and his stake in delivering (or experiencing) an engaging interaction.

CEM for the enterprise is typically associated with substantial benefits, like brand loyalty and competitive differentiation, but those may initially seem like non-issues for so-called entitlement programs such as Medicaid, Medicare, and others. That’s because, unlike in the competitive private sector, consumers of these programs often don’t have the benefit of choice.

Many would argue, however, that CEM offers a matrix of far-reaching benefits to any enterprise, some of which aren’t always immediately obvious. Customer communications is a perfect example. Consider the Explanation of Benefits (EOB) form that is sent to millions of Medicaid members in any given month.

Recently, at the 2011 State Health IT Connect Summit, I presented an interactive electronic version of that familiar EOB statement as part of a Health Insurance Exchange demo. By leveraging components of the new Adobe Digital Enterprise Platform (ADEP), recipients of this interactive EOB would be able to intuitively communicate back with its sender from within the document, while maintaining privacy and security of health data.

Now, consider the added convenience for diverse populations where multi-lingual content and responses may be automatically translated by backend processes as the correspondence is exchanged. Customer experience is improved even further as members may effortlessly dispute the accuracy of a claim displayed in that EOB, again from directly within the document.

For the enterprise that sent the EOB, this presents an opportunity to realize significant savings. Overcharges and potentially fraudulent claims that may have otherwise slipped through the cracks may now be identified and investigated, simply by making it easier for members to participate in the process. There are countless other examples of ways that HHS agencies may optimize efficiencies and generate measurable ROI by deploying solutions that strive first to better serve their members.

More often than not, a win-win scenario emerges for everyone as innovative executives are learning that the byproducts of optimal customer experiences include measurable impacts to the bottom line for organizations of all types, in both private and public sectors.

What are your thoughts on this trending hot topic? Let us know in comments and on Twitter @AdobeGov and @AdobeCEM.

With Monday’s Adobe Digital Enterprise Platform and Customer Experience Solutions announcement and our related video interview with Adobe’s Rob Pinkerton in mind, we thought it timely to share another look at a recent, relevant conversation from our blog.

Last fall, we interviewed Adobe’s Steven Webster, senior director of Technology and Experience Innovation, to get his perspective on customer/citizen experience and Government. Take a look at the three-part interview below for Steven’s insights on the topic.

And if you haven’t, you might also be interested to check out two recent posts from our Alec Chalmers discussing customer and citizen experience (here and here).

As always, we’re interested in your thoughts and perspective. Let us know in comments or on Twitter @AdobeGov. And you can reach Steven on Twitter @swebsteratadobe.

In the meantime, enjoy a look back at this conversation:

Today, Adobe announced the new Adobe Digital Enterprise Platform for Customer Experience Management (CEM). Additionally, we introduced a new set of Customer Experience Solutions built on the platform. The news has particular relevance to Government in several respects.

We caught up with our own Rob Pinkerton, senior director of Product Marketing, to get his insights on the announcement and how and why it’s important for Government. Check out the video below.

Want to learn more? Visit Adobe’s corporate blog for a post and video from Rob Tarkoff, senior vice president of Digital Enterprise Solutions. And also swing over to the Experience Delivers blog to learn more about a Tweetaway our CEM colleagues are running the week of June 20.

We’re interested in your thoughts, comments and questions, of course. Leave a comment below or reach out to us on Twitter @AdobeGov or on our Facebook page. You can also keep in touch with our team focused on CEM on Twitter @AdobeCEM.

Our recent conversation with Alec Chalmers, Adobe’s vice president of National Government Solutions, concludes today with the third of a three-part series. Alec is responsible for national state and local governments, and as well as select federal civilian agencies.

Today, Alec discusses:

• 0:05 – What State & Local governments find most surprising about Adobe
• 1:05 – How Omniture fits with Adobe’s enterprise offering and government
• 2:10 – The future of government IT

If you haven’t yet, check out the first two parts of our conversation with Alec here and here.

You can keep in touch with Alec on Twitter @alec_chalmers and with the Adobe Gov team @AdobeGov.