DUBLIN, CA, Dec. 20, 2004 (PRNewswire) -- Accela Inc., a provider of government enterprise management software solutions, announced today that the Oklahoma City, Okla., has selected Accela AutomationTM to be implemented as the City's new integrated permitting, planning, and licensing information system. Several key departments including Public Works, Planning, Water/Wastewater Utilities, Fire, and Finance will utilize the new system.
The city currently relies on three separate systems to manage the primary permitting and licensing activities. Accela Automation will provide a centralized database for all of this information and provide access to this data for all participating City departments, allowing employees across multiple departments to be interconnected and operate more efficiently. All of the processes handled by these departments will be streamlined, including permit application and tracking, building inspection, planning, zoning, licensing, and code enforcement. Regardless of their role in the department, the flexibility of the user interface will allow every employee to access the information they need to complete their jobs.
"One goal for Oklahoma City was to find a web-based, enterprise solution to that was flexible enough to manage all of our building, planning, and licensing activities," remarked Stan Reichert, IT project manager. "Accela Automation allows the City to connect all of our departments under a common database and improve our ability to deliver government services to the community. We will also vastly improve customer service to our citizens by allowing them on-line access to more information."
"We are very excited to add Oklahoma City to the growing list of jurisdictions that are selecting Accela Automation as their government enterprise solution," states Robert P. Lee, Accela's president and CEO. "These new selections are based heavily on our ability to deliver solid reference customers for our fully featured, Web-based software applications. Selecting Accela allows government to make decisions based on factual information rather than gambling on unproven software that is still being developed."
Additional business solutions to be implemented by the City include:
* Mobile government -- The City will implement Accela WirelessTM to empower inspectors with the ability to remotely input their results from the inspection site using a mobile device. The Accela Wireless application is built on Microsoft's .NET platform and is compatible with PDAs, laptops, and Tablet PCs running on the Microsoft Pocket PC, Windows 2000, or Windows XP operating systems.
* GIS integration -- Accela GISTM will allow City employees to have direct access to view geographic representations of all land-use and zoning information associated with a permit. Built on the ArcIMSTM platform by ESRI®, Accela GIS seamlessly integrates with Accela Automation to provide automated map analysis.
* Citizen access -- The City will be implementing a citizen access portal that provides real-time, direct access via the Internet to the City's permit and land management activities. Citizens and businesses will be able to apply and pay for permits, schedule inspections, check the status of a permit or inspection, or print an approved permit directly from the Internet, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
* Interactive voice response -- To further streamline the permit application and inspection process, City employees will utilize Accela IVRTM to access the agency's central database 24 hours a day using a touch-tone phone.
Oklahoma City is the capitol of Oklahoma and is home to more than 500,000 residents. The City covers 622 square miles. The City joins some of the largest cities in the U.S. already using Accela solutions. These include: Phoenix, Washington D.C., New Orleans, Cleveland, Baltimore, Charlotte, Detroit, Atlanta, Minneapolis, and Kansas City. For more information about Oklahoma City, please visit http://www.okc.gov/ .
About Accela
Accela (www.accela.com) develops award-winning enterprise systems for asset management, emergency response, licensing, permitting, planning, public health, and many other processes for government agencies of all sizes. Accela's software solutions manage critical public sector applications for thousands of departments in major metro areas, cities, and counties such as the San Francisco Bay Area, Washington D.C., Los Angeles County, Miami-Dade County, Atlanta, Kansas City, San Diego County, and many others. Accela is headquartered in Dublin, Calif. For more information, please visit www.accela.com.
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