Expanding eGovernment Every Day

Over the past 15 years, eGovernment grew from an unlikely phenomenon into the cornerstone of government service delivery. In that time, NIC has emerged as the leader in eGovernment solutions -- delivering value, innovation and long-term partnerships to government at all levels. In fact, the company pioneered modern eGovernment in 1991 by deploying end-to-end electronic transactions for the state of Kansas that laid the groundwork for the transformation of government service delivery that continues today.

The advent of the World Wide Web ushered in a new era of eGovernment possibilities never before thought possible. Since then, the company has focused its efforts on building and deploying eGovernment solutions that take full advantage of a rapidly changing technology landscape to simplify the way government and citizens do business.

From its pre-Internet beginnings in Kansas, NIC has developed a core expertise in taking legacy systems and creating front-end portals that transform often decades-old IT infrastructure. This transformation empowers government to deliver on today's service demands without uprooting reliable back-end systems. The result is a cutting-edge eGovernment delivery approach that makes it possible to move almost any government business that can be done on paper to an online environment that is faster, more accurate and more reliable.

Across the country, from Utah to Maine to South Carolina, governments are witnessing the eGovernment revolution NIC is leading. Almost anything imaginable can now be done in an eGovernment environment.

Building an eGovernment Powerhouse in Arkansas
In Arkansas, Governor Mike Huckabee spearheads initiatives that improve service delivery and make state government more cost-effective. Arkansas currently offers more than 400 eGovernment services, including online child support payments, business filings and criminal background checks for employers.

"Our online services make it possible for the citizens of Arkansas to conduct state business 24 hours a day, seven days a week," said Huckabee. "My goal has always been to make government more accessible to the people, and that is certainly happening now through our online services."

Agencies and departments across Arkansas state government have been empowered by eGovernment solutions that allow residents and business users to interact with their government electronically -- which reduces transaction time, drives down costs and markedly improves efficiency for government and constituents alike.

As a result, the state's Internet portal (www.Arkansas.gov) is widely regarded as one of the nation's most progressive eGovernment sites. An early champion of migrating government services to the Internet, Governor Huckabee was quick to recognize the value of partnering with the private sector to enhance how the state served its residents.

"Rather than constructing government buildings, we chose to invest in building advanced online services and computer networks," said Huckabee. "NIC has helped us make government less expensive while providing a better quality of service to the people of Arkansas."

"We strive to make it as simple as possible to deal with the government so it saves people money," said Jeff Fraser, NIC's CEO. "On the flip side, we want to make government operate as effectively as it possibly can so it saves us money as taxpayers."

Big Sky Government
In the vast expanses of Montana, Governor Brian Schweitzer strives to keep his state on eGovernment's leading edge by deploying innovative online solutions. "If you put Montana on a map of the Northeastern United States, it would stretch from New York to Chicago," said Schweitzer. "With 920,000 people spread out across the state, delivering government services presents a challenge." With that in mind, Schweitzer brought the state to the forefront of eGovernment with online solutions that serve and protect citizens.

"It is very important that a geographically dispersed state like Montana embrace eGovernment," said Schweitzer. "Think about the logistical problems. We've got to reach people all across Montana. We have to do it electronically, and