The State of Florida and Accenture Team to Offer an Innovative Full-Service Online Licensing and Permitting Portal
Tallahassee, Fla., May 8, 2001 – Florida’s Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) and Accenture have joined forces to create an online licensing and permitting solution that will reengineer one of the state’s largest agencies. As the solution rolls out this fall and throughout the next two years, over 900,000 professionals and businesses in the State will be able to register and pay for a variety of professional licenses and permits over the Internet.
Eliminating the hassle of long lines, trips to DBPR offices, and cumbersome paperwork, this innovative Internet portal solution will provide business and professional licensees with the option of using the state’s portal to conduct a variety of licensing and permitting transactions online, including:
- Applying for, paying for, and receiving a license;
- Checking the status of a license application;
- Receiving e-mail license renewal reminders;
- Renewing existing licenses;
- Updating demographic data;
- Reviewing policies and procedures; and
- Obtaining Continuing Education information.
In total, over 150 different types of licenses and permits will be offered online, to better serve the nearly one million regulated businesses and professionals across Florida. Part of this project’s contract is outside the traditional fee-for-service model, as the State and Accenture will co-market this solution to other potential customers.
“We are pleased to be the first state to offer such cutting-edge solutions,” said Kim Binkley-Seyer, Secretary of the Department of Business and Professional Regulation. “Our goal is to provide an electronic one-stop-shop for people conducting business in Florida. This solution will allow us to meet customer demand for real-time access to information, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.”
The launch of this combined licensing software system and portal services solution is expected to enhance the department’s efficiency with new customer relationship management technology and mobile commerce capabilities. The licensing and permitting site will include customer service functions to assist licensees and the general public with online transactions. For example, the site offers collaborative web browsing, which allows licensees to click a button and instantly connect with an agency representative who can view the customer’s location in the system, answer their questions, and guide them through the electronic process. In addition, the solution will integrate other alternative service channels, such as telephone self-service using interactive voice response and automated e-mail response systems.
This licensing and permitting system also will allow DBPR field inspectors to save time and reduce paperwork by using laptops and handheld Personal Data Assistant devices during investigations and audits. With this leading edge solution, DBPR personnel will be able to access case and inspection workload data and file electronic reports remotely.
“All Floridians will benefit from the new licensing and permitting system as a result of the efficiencies it brings, which will translate into time saved for the one out of every 16 Florida citizens who must purchase or renew a license or permit, “said Paul Shackelford, a partner with Accenture. “It will also be much easier for the state’s residents to check the disciplinary history or locate vital information about the many licensees they interact with daily.”
The Accenture team supporting this initiative includes BellSouth eCenter hosting services and call center services; Microsoft SQL Server 7.0, Microsoft SQL Server 2000, Microsoft Windows NT Server operating system, Microsoft Windows 2000 Server operating system and Microsoft Windows CE operating system; Versa Management Systems Inc. LicenseEase commercial-off-the-shelf licensing and permitting software; SeeBeyond comprehensive unified ebusiness platform; and Siebel Systems eBusiness applications.
About Accenture
Accenture is a global management and technology consulting organization, which is reinventing itself to become the market maker, architect and builder of the new marketplace. The firm is bringing innovations to improve the way the world works and lives. More than 70,000 people in 46 countries deliver a wide range of specialized capabilities and solutions to clients across all industries. Under its strategy, the firm is building a network of businesses to meet the full range of client needs -- consulting, technology, outsourcing, alliances and venture capital. Accenture’s home page is http://www.accenture.com.
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Barbara Hohbach
+1 (703) 947 1838
barbara.d.hohbach@accenture.com
Jaleh Allameh
+1 (703) 947-3450