Invest in Electronic Commerce

As a group of enabling technologies, electronic commerce, or "e. commerce" as it is increasingly known, helps state and local governments develop useful public information systems, electronically transact business with citizens and corporate taxpayers, and improve purchasing, payment, collections and licensing, to name just a few. Electronic commerce (EC) also enables the acquisition or exchange of information which facilitates a "for value" transaction, whether business-to-business or business-to-consumer.

Considering the number of consumers and corporate taxpayers states and localities serve -- and including additional suppliers and other trading partners most governments work with -- there is significant opportunity to utilize EC solutions to improve efficiency and cost-effectiveness in many universal government processes.

KEY APPLICATIONS
The leading applications of EC in state and local government include the following functional areas and applications:

Payment, particularly through electronic funds transfer and its applications like electronic benefits transfer.
Electronic filing, including UCC registration, tax, insurance, Workers' Compensation, environmental reporting, permits, grant and loan management.
Information access, whether free or pay-for-service.
Procurement, from solicitation through actual purchasing and payment.
Licensing, including motor vehicles, professional, sports and others.
These functions are nearly universal across states and localities and many are horizontal applications, cutting across various departments and agencies. Because functions are universal, it is fair to extrapolate that the benefits are universal as well. EC is credited with streamlining government forms processing, improving payments and collections, and reducing paperwork and its necessary storage. In fact, EC can also improve employee productivity, increase inter- or intra-agency communication, facilitate service to the citizen, and ultimately improve customer service.



NASIRE & ITAA JOIN FORCES
The potential of EC encouraged the National Association of State Information Resource Executives (NASIRE) and Information Technology Association of America (ITAA) to form a joint Electronic Commerce Working Group. The working group's mission is to accelerate the adoption of and sharing in the benefits of EC solutions through public and private partnership. With talent and participation from some of the leading state governments and industry players, the working group has identified key obstacles and challenges which may impede the progress of EC within the states. Specifically, the group is dedicated to combatting these with "accelerators" which will help government IT employees make a difference within their own states and localities.

The reason investing in an EC infrastructure today is so vital is that "It will be the critical backbone -- states which fail to invest will literally be left behind," said P.K. Agarwal, co-chairman of the NASIRE/ITAA working group. He also believes that by investing in EC solutions, states can lead by example. Electronic procurement applications, for example, can encourage hundreds, if not thousands, of suppliers to work with states and localities electronically.

A number of states, including Kansas, Kentucky, Maine and North Carolina, have already started developing
EC solutions. According to initial information gathered by NASIRE, 17 states have at least one operational EC application. Of the 23 states which responded by the end of 1996, 33 systems were operational with another seven in pilot. More significantly, over the next 12 to 24 months, these 23 states are planning more applications.

UTAH
Utah's early embrace of EC necessitated pioneering some areas of infrastructure development. Beginning with digital signatures, Utah invested in the development of a networked electronic infrastructure to support its vision of electronic government. As part of a state's "strategic plan to participate in the global economy," Gordon Peterson -- Utah CIO within the governor's Office of Planning & Budget -- recommends states and localities begin by isolating a government function or process to begin their EC initiative.

HOW TO BEGIN
Many state CIOs and state and local government EC leaders believe there is great opportunity to build a critical mass of support behind EC. By starting with a pilot project or a specific departmental EC solution, a jurisdiction can begin working with the technology, strategically investing for the future by experimenting today. As P.K. Agarwal firmly believes, "you don't have to wait."

The NASIRE & ITAA Electronic Commerce Working Group is gathering materials, developing potential alliances between public and private organizations, and investing in programs to educate executives and legislators about the benefits and potential of EC. In addition, NASIRE's Web site has an EC section complete with business, legislative, strategic and operational reference material about state and local government issues with the development or implementation of EC solutions. In particular, the working group has developed a few special interest groups covering technical requirements, evangelism, and information development and distribution across the five key functional areas of payments, electronic filing, information access, procurement and licensing. The objective is to help states share best practices, leverage best-in-class solutions and develop business plans that support EC infrastructure and application implementation.

With the increasing globalization of the economy, private- and public-sector organizations alike need to invest in EC solutions in order to keep up with the pace of advancement. Strategic investment in truly electronic government will ultimately pay off, whether it is by saving taxpayers money, improving customer service or promoting economic development.

For more information, contact Michele Walsh-Grisham, G2 Research Inc., 415/964-2400. Internet: .

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Electronic
commerce
offers
something
to nearly
every
governmental
body.




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