INSIDE ALABAMA INTERACTIVE REPORT 2012 Team Member Profile ........ 2 Outdoor Alabama Mobile App Now Available on iTunes ........... 3 Alabama Interactive: Invested in Our Community.... 8 Alabama Interactive Awarded eGovernment Services Contract Once Again n February of 2012, through a competi- tive bidding process (Invitation to Bid No. 12-X-2237169 for Alabama eGovernment Services), the state entered into a contract (T001) with Alabama Interactive (AI), a subsidiary of NIC Inc. (NASDAQ: EGOV). The agreement allows AI to provide, at no cost to the state, all necessary hardware, software, administration, payment processing, and other services necessary for the success of the Internet portal to state agencies, boards, The Self-Funded Model O ne of the more striking facets of AI is the method by which it is funded. Since the inception of the contract, Alabama Interactive has operated in an exclusively self-funded manner, meaning the portal’s revenues are generated through portal fees paid by businesses and citizens for transactions conducted online rather than by funds appropriated from the state. The remaining revenues are attributable to state funds for projects that, while not transactional, create improved efficiency for the state government. Due to this unique and effective business model, AI is delivering its streamlined government services at no cost to the state. We provide eGovernment applications that can be leveraged across the entire state, allowing all agencies to participate online regardless of size, funding, or resources. Since the inception of the first eGovernment contract in 2002, AI has established agreements with close to 60 agencies and has launched more than 200 eGovern- ment applications. The self-funded model continues to prove to be the most effective and efficient method of providing state-of-the-art, Web-based applications for state agencies whose budgets continue to shrink year over year. We have helped large departments like the Secretary of State’s Office move high-volume services such as UCC filings and searches online, and we have assisted small agencies such as the Alabama State Board of Registration for Foresters achieve important, internal efficiencies by creating an online license renewal system. In 2012, AI processed more than 654,000 transactions, which amounted to more than $127.6 million in statutory payments through our proprietary payment engine for the State of Alabama. n I | continued on page 8 |
This document is posted to help you gain knowledge. Please leave a comment to let me know what you think about it! Share it to your friends and learn new things together.
Transcript
INSIDE
ALABAMA INTERACTIVE REPORT 2012
Team Member Profile ........ 2
Outdoor Alabama Mobile App Now Available on iTunes ........... 3
Alabama Interactive: Invested in Our Community .... 8
Alabama Interactive Awarded eGovernment Services Contract Once Again
n February of 2012, through a competi-
tive bidding process (Invitation to Bid
No. 12-X-2237169 for Alabama eGovernment
Services), the state entered into a contract
(T001) with Alabama Interactive (AI), a
subsidiary of NIC Inc. (NASDAQ: EGOV). The
agreement allows AI to provide, at no cost to
the state, all necessary hardware, software,
administration, payment processing, and
other services necessary for the success of
the Internet portal to state agencies, boards,
The Self-Funded Model
One of the more striking facets of AI is the method by which it is funded.
Since the inception of the contract, Alabama Interactive has operated in
an exclusively self-funded manner, meaning the portal’s revenues are
generated through portal fees paid by businesses and citizens for transactions
conducted online rather than by funds appropriated from the state. The remaining
revenues are attributable to state funds for projects that, while not transactional,
create improved efficiency for the state government. Due to this unique and
effective business model, AI is delivering its streamlined government services at
no cost to the state. We provide eGovernment applications that can be leveraged
across the entire state, allowing all agencies to participate online regardless of size,
funding, or resources.
Since the inception of the first eGovernment contract in 2002, AI has established
agreements with close to 60 agencies and has launched more than 200 eGovern-
ment applications. The self-funded model continues to prove to be the most effective
and efficient method of providing state-of-the-art, Web-based applications for state
agencies whose budgets continue to shrink year over year. We have helped large
departments like the Secretary of State’s Office move high-volume services such
as UCC filings and searches online, and we have assisted small agencies such as
the Alabama State Board of Registration for Foresters achieve important, internal
efficiencies by creating an online license renewal system. In 2012, AI processed more
than 654,000 transactions, which amounted to more than $127.6 million in statutory
payments through our proprietary payment engine for the State of Alabama. n
I
| continued on page 8 |
2 | ALABAMA INTERACTIVE REPORT 2012
Technology Enhancements in 2012echnology is at the forefront of all aspects of Alabama Interactive’s work.
Through NIC’s Central Data Center (CDC), Alabama Interactive has invested
in an infrastructure that provides maximum up-time for Alabama eGovernment
services. Dedicated servers host state Web applications, which interface with back-
end systems (including the state mainframe). A secure socket layer server (SSL) is
also utilized to encrypt private information, such as customer credit card transactions.
Through synergies gained by hosting with NIC’s state-of-the-art data center, Alabama
Interactive also enjoys excellent Internet bandwidth.
The CDC environment continues to be recognized as a world-class hosting facility
and some 2012 enhancements include upgrading the TPE and Customer Database
(CDB) back-end infrastructures, migrating all Web, application, job, and other servers
to different storage and fully migrating off all legacy servers. Alabama Interactive is
also in the process of completing upgrades to its server software to the latest versions
of Resin, Apache, and Struts.
Team Member Profile
rin Poole has been an important
part of Alabama Interactive for
more than seven years. She began as
a customer service representative and
transitioned to become
the office’s accounting
administrator. Recently,
she began expanding
her role to include
quality assurance for
all of AI’s new services. Her enthusiastic
personality, along with her industry expe-
rience and business acumen, has added
tremendous value to the portal.
Her willingness to go the extra mile
when assisting both customers and
agency partners is an important aspect of
her job. As the accountant in the office,
she helps our more than 2,500 subscribers
with a host of billing and account-related
questions. Additionally, Erin has helped
automate a number of internal processes,
including the disbursement of collected
funds to numerous state bank accounts.
This has made financial reconciliation
much easier for both AI and the state.
Erin’s favorite part of her role is finding
ways to make our partners’ processes more
efficient. She is committed to improving
herself and others, and her value to the
team will only continue to grow.
Alabama Interactive is dedicated to the
state of Alabama and provides reinvest-
ment in Alabama by hiring full-time
employees who are Alabama residents.
All of our employees work in our office
in downtown Montgomery just outside
the Capitol complex. Erin and the rest
of our devoted staff look forward to
continued growth in the years to come.
E
Message From the General Manager
“The whole is more than the sum of its parts.” Aristotle’s message helps communicate
the essence of an enterprise eGovernment program – several great agency eGovern-
ment services makes for an even better Alabama eGovernment platform. In 2002,
the state of Alabama stepped out as one of the leaders in innovation and partnered with NIC to
build a best-in-class eGovernment portal. Nearly 60 agency partners and more than 200 online
applications later, Alabama Interactive (AI) is still growing and delivering value. These 200 “parts”
are certainly noteworthy in and of themselves, but the real value is the “whole” created by the
collective belief in efficient government. Many of the agency partners we work with today would
not be able to maintain their online presence without the economies of scale provided by the enter-
prise model. I constantly hear stories from citizens who are so grateful to have the opportunity to
renew a professional license or pay for a permit online, and it makes me feel good knowing no tax
payer dollars were appropriated in order to provide these online services.
For more than 20 years, NIC has operated predominately under the self-funded model, today
operating efficient eGovernment in 30 states. We continually reinvest in the local community
by creating local jobs, contributing to state tax revenues, and giving back through community
service projects. We don’t just fly in from a corporate office for important meetings, rather AI’s
employees live and work in the Montgomery area and we pride ourselves in walking alongside
our partners from project inception through successful launch.
On behalf of everyone at Alabama Interactive and NIC, I want to thank the state of Alabama
for being innovative and forward-thinking over a decade ago and allowing us to share in the
creation and growth of Alabama’s eGovernment program. I look forward to the years to come
and to the continued progress toward launching several new eGovernment services to support a
“whole” model for innovation, creativity, and efficiency.
T
Barrett Gilbreath
ALABAMA INTERACTIVE REPORT 2012 | 3
Outdoor Alabama Mobile App Now Available on iTunesn the fourth quarter of 2012, Alabama Interactive launched
the first mobile application for the Alabama Department of
Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR). The iPhone
application, Outdoor Alabama, offers a variety of useful tools
and information for on-the-go hunters, anglers, and outdoorsmen
throughout the state of Alabama and can be downloaded for free
by visiting the Apple iTunes store. Features of the application
include allowing residents and nonresidents to purchase hunting
and fishing licenses, report harvested game, and access hunting and
fishing regulations. In addition, the mobile application allows users
to look up types of fish in Alabama, view park and lake information,
and check feeding times and moon phases.
“The Outdoor Alabama app was
developed with hunters, anglers, and
other outdoor enthusiasts in mind,” said
N. Gunter Guy, Jr., ADCNR commis-
sioner. “This app gives them access to the
state’s best outdoor adventures via their
smartphone. We encourage everyone to
explore this app and share their outdoor
experiences with other users.”
A new version of this app will be available
upon the start of the 2013-2014 hunting and
fishing license season.
I
AI Makes Wholesale Ordering Easier for Licensees, ABC Stores, and the ABC Board
labama Interactive launched a convenient, user-friendly
online liquor wholesale ordering system for the Alabama
Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) Board. This applica-
tion has effectively streamlined the now uniform ordering process
across 97 wholesale ABC liquor stores and has created a reporting
capability that never existed for licensees, ABC stores, and the
Board. With the new ordering system, licensees can search and
select items from a store’s inventory, placing an order in seconds
without the hassle of faxing or calling in liquor orders. They
receive notifications when their order is ready for pickup at their
designated state-run ABC store and can also view pending and
completed orders. Thanks to the system, ABC stores can better
manage their inventory through increased visibility and more
efficient communication, which ultimately decreases turnaround
time for wholesale order completion. From the statewide launch in
February 2012 to the end of year, licensees placed more than 13,500
orders for pickup in ABC stores for items worth a collective total
of more than $14.1 million.
“The Alabama Alcoholic Beverage Control Board is proud to
announce the availability of the online wholesale ordering system
on our website,” said H. Mac Gipson, the Board’s administrator. “Our
main goal in creating the online wholesale ordering system was to give
licensees an easy, efficient, and effective way to place orders with our
wholesale stores, and this system accomplishes that and more.”
The ABC wholesale ordering system has been provided to the
Board through no taxpayer dollars. Additional ABC online services
provided by Alabama Interactive include license renewals, industry
representative applications, and eCitations. n
A
4 | ALABAMA INTERACTIVE REPORT 2012
NIC – A Unique and Valuable PartnerMobile Innovation Meets Cybersecurity Expertise
t NIC, we help our government partners deliver valuable
information and services to businesses and citizens 24
hours a day, seven days a week. Today, 30 states enjoy the
efficiencies NIC brings to interacting with government.
Mobile-First StrategyAs the eGovernment industry leader, NIC is at the technology
forefront for providing electronic government services for all types
of devices. Today, NIC has developed more official government
mobile applications than any company in the world. Serving as
the research and development department for our partners, our
innovation brings government access to the latest technologies for
providing electronic services. We employ a ‘mobile first’ strategy,
and believe that today’s evolving technology requires that all online
services be developed with a mobile consideration.
In addition to native mobile apps, we also lead in mobile Web
expertise, using ‘responsive design’ technology to provide conve-
nience to citizens and efficiency to our government partners.
Secure Transactions The number of eGovernment services we provide grows
every day. In our 21-year history, we have developed more than
7,500 customized eGovernment solutions that enable citizens
and businesses to interact with government securely and effi-
ciently. In 2012, more than 200 million online transactions were
completed using eGovernment services developed by NIC, and
the company securely processed more than $22.5 billion on behalf
of its government partners. What’s key is all the transactions were
completed securely.
A cybersecurity breach could cost states a lot more than cred-
ibility. Cybersecurity has become of critical importance, with 82
percent of state officials stating that cybersecurity is the most
important challenge they face.
NIC’s standards-based eGovernment security program uses
a multilayered approach to ensure that sensitive information is
protected. The investment to keep security measures current and
valuable data safe is relatively small when compared to the poten-
tial costs of a major breach. Consumer confidence can plummet,
reputations can be damaged beyond repair, legal action can drain
resources, and the negative effects can ripple far and wide.
NIC’s corporate and portal security teams continuously
monitor online applications and systems to detect vulnerabili-
ties, and adhere to the highest levels of payment card industry
(PCI) compliance. Yet, even with most of the risk outsourced,
partners still need to be aware that 100 percent of the risk cannot
be outsourced. NIC’s Corporate Security Team, led by NIC’s