Integrating Microsoft's Gateway Solution with the Accenture eGovernment Accelerator will help governments speed up the rollout of new electronic services. The Accelerator is designed to offer transactional forms and information on the Internet that are integrated with "back-end" government IT operations. The Gateway Solution previously was used in the United Kingdom. Accenture and Microsoft plan to market the newly enhanced Accenture eGovernment Accelerator in: Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, The Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom.
The Accelerator offers a broad range of capabilities that include:
- generating and processing electronic forms;
- authenticating and authorizing transactions;
- offering common transaction routing capabilities to facilitate reliable delivery of documents and messages;
- integrating electronic services across the enterprise; and
- supporting digital signatures.
"This new version of the Accenture eGovernment Accelerator will help governments integrate the back-end of their Web-based services while shortening the time that is normally required to create convenient online services," said Juan Domenech, Accenture managing partner for Government Services in Europe and South Africa. "As governments -- perhaps today more than ever -- are pressured to provide better service at a lower cost, the Accenture eGovernment Accelerator offers solution that can meet this goal."
"The jointly developed solution, which we'll deliver to clients in Europe and South Africa, has the potential to fundamentally change the way governments conduct business, enhancing citizen services, increasing efficiency and significantly reducing costs," said Pete Hayes, vice president of Microsoft's Public Sector practice in Europe, Middle-East & Africa region. "The Accelerator, developed by Microsoft and Accenture on the basis of our companies' experience in working with governments, meets both the requirements to reduce the cost of service delivery and citizens' demands for new electronic services."
In Europe, Accenture and Microsoft already are working with governments to help them create more convenient online services. Among those governments are:
- The Denmark Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation: A unique solution, called XML-Infostructurebase, quickly connected the systems of internal agencies and departments to help the Ministry better connect with citizens. With the new system, Danish citizens can more easily access government services, and they may do so through multiple service channels, including computers, personal digital assistants, smart phones and call centers.
- The Ireland Office of the Civil Service and Local Appointments Commissioners (OSLAC): A secure online job application facility, using the Accenture eGovernment Accelerator, is enabling OSLAC to process 70,000 applications for approximately 6,000 public sector vacancies online and offer the applicants more convenient service via the Internet.
- Spain's Generalitat de Catalunya: The Generalitat and 800 local Catalunyan authorities created a public company, called .CAT, which packages offerings across the public sector and delivers them to citizens and businesses. .CAT is simplifying citizens' relationships with government by creating new channels of interaction. Among these new channels is a portal that ultimately will include 200 services, as well as a wide variety of information and transaction capabilities.
