November 02, 2016

Accenture to Help Finnish Immigration Service Deliver Digital Transformation Program

HELSINKI; Nov. 2, 2016 – Accenture will help the Finnish Immigration Service (Migri) deliver its Smart Digital Agency program, which is designed to enable the digital transformation of the agency’s operations. The program will improve the overall customer experience and introduce innovative digital self-service options for citizens accessing services related to immigration, residency, refugee-related matters and Finnish nationality.

Accenture will help Migri enhance its digital capabilities to manage user service requests and to ensure that customer-oriented design thinking remains at the heart of agency activities. Accenture will also help Migri reduce costs and review how the agency streamlines its internal processes, including how information is shared internally and externally with other agencies and state authorities.

“The Finnish immigration service wants to be a pioneer in the delivery of digital public services and to be an example to public service agencies seeking to build their digital capabilities,” said Vesa Hagström, Finnish Immigration Service Development Director. “Despite operating in a highly challenging environment, we continue to deliver year-on-year improvements in the productivity of the Finnish Immigration Service.”

The Smart Digital Agency program will also examine the role that emerging technologies such as analytics, artificial intelligence, machine learning, robotics and intelligent processing services can play across agency operations. The technologies will be tested and piloted on a phased basis over the next few years (2016-2020). One goal of the program is to ensure that the agency continues to take a customer-first approach, by focusing efforts on service design and user journey mapping. To help meet this goal, the project team includes professionals with industry, technical and design expertise.

“New digital services will enable us to meet increased service user demands, a reflection of the changes we have seen across society whereby citizens now expect and demand digital engagement with their government agencies,” Hagström said. “The Smart Digital Agency program is our roadmap for continued service transformation, involving organizational, process and workflow, and technological change to ensure that our employees have access to the best digital tools and technologies to enable them to deliver the highest possible level of service to our customer groups.”

Accenture already provides Migri with application development and maintenance services for its electronic case management system (UMA), the inter-authority system used for managing all immigration processes in Finland. UMA is used by the Finnish Immigration Service and other government departments including the Finnish police, the Finnish Border Guard and Finnish Missions Abroad.

“We are delighted to continue as Migri’s delivery partner on this critical digital transformation project,” said Marko Rauhala, who leads Accenture’s Health & Public Service business in Finland. “Just as we help other clients around the world evaluate and deploy new technologies to enable process and workflow improvements, we will bring our local and global experience to enable Migri to achieve technology performance excellence through enhanced digital capabilities.”

Learn more about the co-operation of Accenture, Fjord’s and Migri on the Enter Finland portal and Accenture’s Public Safety business globally.

Accenture
Accenture is a leading global professional services company, providing a broad range of services and solutions in strategy, consulting, digital, technology and operations. Combining unmatched experience and specialized skills across more than 40 industries and all business functions – underpinned by the world’s largest delivery network – Accenture works at the intersection of business and technology to help clients improve their performance and create sustainable value for their stakeholders. With approximately 384,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries, Accenture drives innovation to improve the way the world works and lives. Visit us at www.accenture.com.

The Finnish Immigration Service
The Finnish Immigration Service is an expert, decision-making and service organization in matters related to migration, asylum, refugees and citizenship. It also implements Finland’s migration policy. The Finnish Immigration Service provides information services in support of political decision-making and for national and international co-operation.

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Contacts:

Reeta Kaukiainen
Accenture Finland
+ 358 50 522 0924
reeta.l.kaukiainen@accenture.com

Joe Doyle
Accenture Health & Public Service
+ 353 87 2507583
joe.x.doyle@accenture.com