Astun Technology iShare Platform Stars in Latest SOCITM Better Connected Survey

9th March 2009 – 3 Local Authorities using Astun Technology’s iShare data integration and publishing platform have featured in the top twenty sites in Socitm’s latest ‘Better Connected 2009’ survey. The survey aims to provide a snapshot of Local Authority websites and how they perform for the citizens they serve. Local Authorities using the iShare platform and featured in the survey’s top twenty include South Tyneside Council, one of only eight sites ranked excellent, the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead, praised for its ‘amazing mapping’ and Surrey Heath Borough Council, praised for its linking and mapping.

People are busy and want to self-serve rather than pick up a phone. The 2006 Varney Report on ‘Service Transformation’ recommended that 50% of service activity should be moved from the phone to the web, so called ‘avoidable contact’. This is borne out by the latest published figures for typical transaction costs with £0.17p for a web transaction, £4.00 for a phone transaction and £7.81 for a face-to-face transaction (Source: NWEGG). The result is more and more Local Authorities investing in their websites to save money, improve service provision and citizen engagement.

Astun Technology’s iShare platform enables a Local Authority to pull information from multiple sources and systems, transform it and publish it in meaningful ways. iShare uses the NLPG to provide location, which enables information to be personalised, while maps and simple GIS routines make it easier for citizens to find what they are looking for. They can even sign up for a rich email alert service based on where they live. The platform can also be used internally to integrate with CRM systems and provide a mapping and information search facility across an authority.

“We are absolutely delighted with our performance in the 2009 ‘Better Connected’ survey said Roger Abbott, Web and Publishing Team Leader, Communications at South Tyneside Council. “The iShare platform has enabled considerable technical innovation, mostly through the integration of data from other systems. It enables us to control the look and feel so that it matches the rest of our website and to control content. Now we not only gather and then publish information through our website providing transactional opportunities along the way but also manipulate it using simple automated GIS routines and publish it directly to citizens’ own email in boxes,” continued Abbott.

“We are thrilled with the performance of our website in the latest Socitm survey, and the fact that we received an excellent rating for ‘Usability’,” said Melanie Harper, Web Manager at The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead. We have been working closely with Astun Technology for the last three years to develop the mapping service as a key part of our website and the delivery of information to our citizens.” continued Harper.

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Notes for Editors

Astun Technology

Astun Technology’s iShare data integration and publishing platform enables public sector organisations such as the Police and Local Authorities to make the most of their own data, extracting it, transforming it and publishing it both internally and externally. It can serve call centres via systems integration and citizens via the web with a rich mix of information and maps while delivering real savings through avoidable contact and transactional services. iShare also provides a direct communications channel to citizens that subscribe to its automated ‘My Alerts’ service. Easily configured and completely automated iShare is a unique mix of the Astun’s own purpose built modules and the best Open Source components. In use with over twenty authorities the award winning iShare platform continues to evolve to meet growing e-services needs.

SOCITM (Society of Information Technology Management)

Socitm is a membership organisation running professional and commercial activities. It was founded in 1986 as the professional association for ICT managers working in and for the public sector. With around 1700 members from 550 different organisations including 98% of all UK local authorities, Socitm provides a widely respected forum for the promotion, use and development of ICT best practice. It is also playing a leading role in ICT-facilitated local government transformation in the UK.

‘Better Connected 2009’ is the eleventh annual Socitm survey of local authority websites. It aims to provide a snapshot assessment of over 500 websites carried out by a team of reviewers working within an established framework and questions. The reviewers use a three stage ranking system, excellent, transactional and standard with defined objective standards for sixteen different criteria covering everything from data currency to ease of use. This annual survey is rigourous, and highly valued by the Local Authority community that it serves singling out those sites which are ‘useful, usable and used’.