We’re kicking off the seventh annual Accela Partner and Developer Conference this morning and this meeting couldn’t come at a better time. We are acutely aware of increasing government scrutiny, polarized political parties, and the expectation that governments, large and small, will continue to deliver the same level of service despite staffing and budget cuts. Along with the proliferation of social networks and mobile and tablet usage, we know that governments must adapt to better connect to the citizens they serve.
We spent the morning defining citizen engagement. An attendee from Kansas discussed engagement as creating easier ways for citizens to request services, making systems easier for businesses to work with government and to make turnaround time faster with less bureaucracy. Gavin Newsom’s book, Citizenville, has brought to light that companies like Accela have a tremendous opportunity to help governments innovate, to define, build and distribute solutions that make an impact, and to create solutions that enable citizens and businesses to participate in their communities. This opportunity is vast, but we can’t do it alone. As we build our business to capitalize on the $55B government IT sector opportunity, our developer and partner ecosystem must also grow.
In the coming weeks, you’ll be hearing more from us about how we’re expanding our partnerships with Developers, Value-Added Resellers, Systems Integrators, Service Providers and Technology Alliance Partners. The goal: to develop market-driven solutions to meet the needs of agencies of all sizes, to develop apps to extend systems of record to become systems of engagement, to leverage Accela’s platform to build those apps, to grow our piece of the pie. We hope that you’ll join us. To sign up to be a part of our partner program, visit: https://www.accela.com/about/accela-partner-program/.
