With its stunning natural surroundings, Utah is well known as a destination for those who love to marvel at the power of nature. Over the past few years, Utah has also built a reputation for consistently leading the way in innovative applications of technology. Helping cement its high-tech credentials, Utah recently placed fourth in the Center for Digital Government's biennial Digital States Survey.

Programs like the Utah Department of Transportation's (UDOT) field book application are at the heart of the state's drive toward exceptional technology services. UDOT has used mobile applications to support field staff for nearly a decade, eliminating duplicative processes, cutting costs, and improving employee and contractor experiences.

Ahead of the Curve
In 1997, when many organizations were just becoming aware of the World Wide Web, Utah already was considering ways to take advantage of it. That year, the state began building a comprehensive integrated technology system. One subsystem was UDOT's electronic field book application.

"The electronic field book was set up to replace the manual, paper-based information that DOT inspectors were having to collect out in the field to document the work of the contractor," said Blaine