Saratoga Software recently launched its Shine Initiative at the Technology in Local Government Conference in Johannesburg. The Shine Initiative is a DTI sponsored South African project to mobilise service delivery by delivering a field worker productivity suite for local government and utilities.
"Local governments are rapidly becoming the first point of contact for citizens to access services. To meet these demands, investment in effective information and communications technology is critical," according to Anthony Robinson, Saratoga's Managing Director.
Municipalities play a crucial role in service delivery in the South African society and need to use mobile technology to mobilise service delivery and help reduce crippling service backlogs.
Harnessing the next generation of handheld devices, Shine will create a mobile solution for work order management, inventory management, meter management, meter reading, CRM, surveys, GPS mapping and intelligent reporting. Shine was developed to streamline business processes, increase efficiency and reduce costs through the use of mobile technology and wireless devices.
"The vision of this system is unique as it does not aim to replace existing systems, but to be an added service that integrates into existing systems," says JB Maree, Saratoga's business development director.
The Shine initiative aims to create partnerships with organisations in the municipal and utilities markets to bring the vision of effective and efficient municipalities to fruition.
To increase accessibility for smaller municipalities, a limited open source licence will be available, which means there will be no software licence costs for local governments. A variety of support models will be on offer, including own-support to ensure all communities can benefit from this initiative.
Share
Editorial contacts