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Accela Deepens Integration with Esri and Microsoft to Leverage Spatial Data and Cloud Analytics to Empower Governments to Make Data-Driven Decisions and Enhance Citizen Services

Collaboration between technology powerhouses helps local and state governments deliver what’s possible in fostering economic development and improving outcomes for customers and the communities they serve

San Ramon, Calif. – Today, Accela, a leading provider of cloud-based productivity solutions for government, announced a more robust integration with Esri and Microsoft. Customers will now be able to use solutions from all three companies together in one seamless experience to leverage cloud and spatial data to help local and state governments make more accurate, proactive decisions. In doing so, agencies can improve economic development, offer greater transparency to their citizens, and save valuable time and resources.

With rapidly evolving technologies and higher constituent demands, the pressure for governments to embrace digital transformation and eliminate manual processes has never been higher. City and state leaders are moving towards the cloud to reduce time and cost, increase efficiency of operations, help better respond to community needs and build more meaningful relationships with constituents. Today, there is a 58% increase in the likelihood of citizens trusting government institutions if they provide a great digital experience, according to Foresee.

“With new business models and the connective power of the cloud, achieving success in local and state government service delivery now requires leveraging a breadth of technologies and well-aligned collaborations,” says Tom Nieto, Chief Operating Officer at Accela. “Accela’s enhanced integration with Esri and Microsoft brings together our best-in-class technology stacks and expertise to make it easier for our joint customers to harness cutting-edge solutions and make a positive impact on their communities.”

The new integration builds on existing relationships between Accela and Esri and Microsoft to incorporate additional cloud analytics and spatial data systems for unparalleled insight and efficiency. Accela’s open and flexible solutions, hosted on Microsoft Azure, are built to meet the complex needs of today’s government, radically decrease deployment time, and lower total cost of ownership. Customers will now be able to access Microsoft Power BI across Accela SaaS solutions to improve data analytics and utilize additional resources such as pre-built dashboards.

“Customers have long used our three systems side-by-side. We believe this integration will increase value and open up new possibilities for governments in serving their communities to create a better future, together,” says Dana Barnes, Vice President of State and Local Government at Microsoft.

Customers will also be able to take advantage of Esri’s location intelligence offering to make faster, more informed decisions across geographic regions, and be able to optimize the use of their limited inspection resources. At Accela’s customer and partner conference in October, Accelarate, Accela demonstrated some of the integration possibilities that will be available by mid-2020. For example, using Accela’s Civic Platform, Microsoft Power BI and Esri’s ArcGIS Enterprise, cities can provide small business owners with insights on finding the best location for their business by reviewing code enforcement activities, health regulations, zoning, traffic patterns and permit requirements, along with transparency and a deeper understanding of expectations and interactions with the city. Cities can use these same tools to identify and predict possible issues and make decisions that reduce the impact to businesses and citizens.

“Our relationship with Accela and Microsoft leverages deep domain expertise across government technology, cloud analytics, and geographic information system (GIS) framework, making a significant step forward towards the future of govtech capabilities,” says Christian Carlson, Director of State, Local and Provincial Government at Esri. “Never before have agencies had access to this kind of rich and extensive data. Our vision is that our collective capabilities can empower governments to make data-driven and outcome-oriented decisions to better serve their citizens.”

Today’s announcement builds on Accela’s momentum in the SaaS technology space. In 2018, 80 percent of Accela’s newly-added customers purchased their cloud solutions, and 66 percent of all Accela customers are now in the cloud. The company has continued to expand its line of SaaS applications focused on helping agencies meet challenges in emerging regulatory spaces, such as cannabis and short-term rentals.

To learn more about Accela’s latest solutions, please visit: https://www.accela.com/solutions/.

About Accela

Accela provides market-leading solutions that empower state and local governments to build thriving communities, grow businesses and protect citizens. Powered by Microsoft Azure, Accela’s fast-to-implement Civic Application suite provides customers with robust yet flexible software to address governments’ most common and pressing needs and build thriving communities. Accela is headquartered in San Ramon, California, with additional offices around the world. For more information, visit www.accela.com.

About Esri

Esri, the global market leader in geographic information system (GIS) software, location intelligence, and mapping, offers the most powerful geospatial cloud available, to help customers unlock the full potential of data to improve operational and business results. Founded in 1969, Esri software is deployed in more than 350,000 organizations including 90 of the Fortune 100 companies, all 50 state governments, more than half of all counties (large and small), and 87 of the Forbes Top 100 Colleges in the U.S., as well as all 15 Executive Departments of the U.S. Government and dozens of independent agencies. With its pioneering commitment to geospatial information technology, Esri engineers the most advanced solutions for digital transformation, the Internet of Things (IoT), and advanced analytics. Visit us at esri.com.