The old model of providing IT has been turned on its head due to the proliferation of smartphones and tablet PCs.
And Wyong Shire Council on the NSW Central Coast has moved with the times, embarking on a major business transformation program known as “anywhere, anyhow and anytime”.
The program has been designed to provide improved access to Council information any time of day no matter your location.
This information can be accessed on any device including mobile phones and has proved useful for both customers and Council employees.
The technology to deliver anywhere, anyhow and anytime is called blinkanswers and is provided by Blink Mobile Technologies.
According to Blink Mobile Technologies, blinkanswers is the next generation of technology that’s set to supercede mobile websites, stand alone applications for iPhone, iPad, Blackberry, Android and Symbian devices as well as the restrictions from their various ‘app stores’. blinkanswers is the basis for the Blink Mobility Platform, a holistic enterprise driven approach to meeting the challenges of mobility and mobile service delivery. And not just for the latest and smartest of devices but still incorporating the fundamentals of bulk SMS broadcasting, as well as user initiated SMS request/response models.
Blinkanswers is the foundation from which typically larger enterprise clients can begin to treat mobility not as yet another point solution, but in line with any other critical software purchase. Selecting the way your mobile capability will be developed and delivered needs to be viewed as an integral part of the organisations overall information service delivery strategy. And blinkanswers is the important first step in that process.
Council’s mobile strategy started by implementing a system to improve reporting for its Lifeguards, which allowed them to file beach condition and safety reports back to managers directly from the beach.
Since then, Council has expanded the system to include tree inspections, plant and fleet management and asset inspections.
Council’s Chief Information Officer Bob Platt said Council is building more expertise and experience in this field and it is improving to the point where we have a myriad of applications we are working on across the board,”
“Our programs have been established to simplify and improve our customer experience, to improve internal efficiencies and to capitalise on potential business efficiency improvements,” he said.
“We have a high percentage of people commuting to Sydney each day and there was a strong requirement to improve how we communicated with our customers.
“The use of new technology has allowed our ratepayers easier and greater access to information regarding Council.
“For our employees, data entered in the field is automatically saved in Council’s corporate database, eliminating the need for paper based forms, while staff and managers have instant access to data at the click of a button.”
One additional feature of the blinkanswers technology considered essential due to patchy mobile coverage was an off line mode.
This is triggered once mobile coverage is lost and any data is then stored locally until coverage becomes available.
For further information phone Wyong Council on (02) 4350 5555.
