After spending some time working closely with the Accela team, I wanted to formally introduce myself and let you know that in addition to Chairman of the Board, I have assumed the role of acting CEO at Accela.
For more than 15 years, many of which were under the excellent leadership of Maury Blackman, Accela has established itself as the leader in delivering robust, government-centric solutions that drive efficiency and engagement for communities of all sizes. From my experience leading both private and public companies in the enterprise software and cloud spaces, Accela has reached a place where it is ready to catapult to the next level, and I’m humbled to be a part of it.
I recently spoke with Government Technology about a new direction for Accela—one that I believe will steer the company into a future of even greater innovation—and I’d like to share my goals for Accela and what opportunities and challenges lie ahead for us.
Do more for Accela customers to improve efficiency, experience
Over the past several years, Accela has acquired several companies and technologies that strengthen the breadth and depth of solutions we are able to offer our government customers on the Accela Civic Platform. Today, we’re committed to integrating these acquired services so our customers can do more with less. As part of this approach, we are expanding and enhancing our customer delivery, success and support offerings in order to ensure a high quality customer experience
Improve internal systems and processes in order to scale
One of the biggest challenges for a growing company, such as Accela, is to ensure that its internal systems and processes are equipped to evolve as the company scales. As we continue our focus on innovation, we are also prioritizing internal communication and embracing team structure and alignment that makes sense for our business going forward. Doing this will improve cohesiveness and our ability to better serve all our customers.
Leverage the expertise and experience of our customers and team to increase knowledge sharing
Because government entities do not compete with each other the same way commercial companies do, our customers are in a unique position to share and learn from each other. Like Accela, our customers possess a vast amount of industry know-how, therefore creating ways in which our internal teams and customers can better leverage the deep knowledge bank we collectively share will only help strengthen the industry overall. Accela’s Civic Platform is currently servicing more than 2,200 governments, including 60 percent of America’s 50 largest cities, so there is a lot of industry expertise to tap.
As many of you may recall, earlier this year at SXSW, President Obama challenged entrepreneurs to innovate at the intersection of government and technology—a place where outdated solutions and inefficiencies make it difficult for municipalities and citizens to communicate with each other. Accela, together with its partners and customers, is committed to tackling this challenge. Here’s how—we’re working to make government data more transparent and accessible; we’re prioritizing investment in mobile and optimizing user experience for government applications; and we’re working with agencies to drive the best outcomes for regulating the sharing economy.
Accela is bolstered by an outstanding leadership team, one surrounded by committed, talented employees that help bring our mission of connecting governments and citizens to life. I am thrilled to be a part of the Accela team and excited to share this journey with you.
