The City of Edinburgh Council has just launched a new transactional web platform to deliver a world class ‘customer experience’ whilst also making major savings that will support the government’s recent austerity measures.
Jadu, a leading solutions provider of web transactional platforms, was selected as the partner for this initiative and has worked with the City of Edinburgh Council to develop the new site www.edinburgh.gov.uk and intranet. The Jadu platform will also support an additional 200 Council websites planned for migration onto the central platform.
Major savings are to be generated as a result of implementing the new web site. Initial savings of around £190,000 per year will be generated. There is also the potential to generate a further £100,000 in annual savings as other websites are moved to the Jadu platform.
In addition, savings will also be generated as a result of the reduced costs that will occur due to the increased demand for online transactions. Edinburgh residents already have a web usage that is above the UK and Scottish averages with 71% of Edinburgh adults using the internet at home compared with 66% in all Scotland and 65% across the UK.The improved customer experience available from the new web site will increase demand and improve operational efficiency.
The new site provides easier ways for users to carry out frequent transactions. Users will be able to register with the site to receive relevant information, make online payments and ask for help using Jadu XForms Professional and Jadu e-pay (a transactional payments module for the Jadu platform).
Users will also have improved search capability as Jadu's web technology is underpinned by the Google Search Appliance. Improved accessibility is one of the key aspects of the Council's vision for the new site and Jadu's ease of use has been a key enabler in making this happen. The new CMS, websites and Intranet is hosted and managed by Jadu at their highly secure government managed services facility in Slough.
The new website is designed to put customers first and will greatly improve the way we deliver services online.
Andrew Unsworth, the Council's Head of e-Government
Council Finance Convenor Cllr Phil Wheeler welcomed the development:
"The fact that we are saving money at the same time as improving our communications with customers is exactly what we are trying to achieve in dealing with the challenges of the current budget situation."
Suraj Kika, CEO of Jadu Ltd, said:
"Local Government in the UK is facing it's toughest challenge with looming budget cuts and cutting back of resources to effectively deliver the same or higher levels of services. Secure, transactional content management is therefore essential to deliver efficiency and drive a higher customer service level. Edinburgh City Council has taken a major step forward in responding to this challenge and we are proud to be supporting and hosting them."
Notes for Editors
About the City of Edinburgh Council
The City of Edinburgh Council is one of the biggest local authorities in Scotland, with around 20,000 staff and a budget of more than £1billion. It is a unitary authority, providing the full range of local government services to a population of over 450,000. Edinburgh is home to the Scottish Parliament, the Scottish Government, the Queen's official residence in Scotland and hosts the internationally renowned summer and winter festivals.
Broadband take-up in Edinburgh increased to 62% between 2006 and 2008, well ahead of the UK average of 57% and substantially ahead of the Scottish average of 53%. Ofcom - The Communications Market 2008: Nations and Regions (Scotland)). More recent figures have indicated that this trend is continuing.
