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Flemish Government Case Study SOA PLATFORM INTEGRATES STATE AGENCIES, STREAMLINES CITIZEN PROCESSES Flemish GOvErNment Case STudy When the Minister-President of the Flemish Government launched an e-government initiative to free citizens from the burden of repetitive paperwork, EDS, an HP company, delivered a revolutionary service-oriented architecture (SOA) platform that now enables citizens to complete tasks online in just minutes, while saving the government millions. CLIENT PrOfile The government wanted to reduce the administrative burden www.flanders.be on citizens Flanders is the northern Approximately 55 percent of Belgium’s 10 million citizens are Flemish and reside Dutch-speaking region in Flanders, the nation’s northern Dutch-speaking region. Yet, regardless of where of Belgium. With a one lives, Belgium affords every child the birthright of government subsidization to population of 5.5 million, support and strengthen the family unit. Whether they are infants or young adults Flanders is home to more bound for college, children are entitled to benefits as long as the correct paperwork than half of the country’s population. is filed on their behalf. However, with 75 disparate agencies and departments in the Flemish administration, purchasing a bus pass or applying for child benefits often Industry: Government required submitting the same information to multiple agencies at multiple times. Headquarters: Brussels, Belgium These manual paper-based processes created costly backlogs for the government and delayed distribution of benefits to Flemish citizens. So, with help from EDS, Business Needs Addressed: the Flemish Government set out to revolutionize the way it gathered and Innovation exchanged citizen data. Productivity EDS’ SOA platform seamlessly integrated government agencies and departments A team of 20 EDS specialists contributed to the service-oriented architecture (SOA) project. They are part of a consortium of 450 staff, managing up to 100 simultaneous projects on any given day at the Flemish Government. After an initial assessment and road map in September 2005, EDS started working on the core solution, a state-of-the-art, inter-agency data exchange platform known as Maximum Data Sharing Between Administrations and Agencies (MAGDA). MAGDA is supported by EDS’ SOA, which provides one common Web services platform for the Flemish Government’s 75 agencies and departments. MAGDA allows access to the authentic sources of citizen and enterprise information, harnessing reusable technologies and applications that can be easily adapted to different government administrations, from the federal to the local level. As a result, MAGDA allows agencies to deploy new citizen-focused Web-enabled services swiftly and seamlessly, vastly improving citizen services. FLEMISh GOvERNMENT With data centralized and stored in one place, all communications with citizens are focused and deliberate, minimizing correspondence and duplicate requests for information. Citizens simply have to enter personal data once and can expect their information to be consistent, up-to-date and complete across all of the agencies with which they interact. Here’s how it works. Citizens log on to Flemish e-government services and applications using electronic ID cards, which automatically transfer data to the state registry. Therefore, if a citizen is applying for benefits such as a bus pass, for example, the system bypasses preliminary identity questions, allowing users to complete tasks quicker and with less red tape. Every company in Belgium also has a unique ID that when accessing government services online gives government administrators access to the company’s comprehensive profile from production to personnel. With mAGDA, citizens can apply for government benefits online EDS delivered the SOA framework and services in different releases, all on time and within budget. Today, when a child turns 18, parents no longer have to fill out extensive paperwork and mail proof of school attendance to the government to extend the child’s education benefits. Now, data is automatically transferred to the agency that is responsible for the payment of that benefit, and benefits are automatically delivered to the student’s family. Obtaining a bus ticket for a child once required going to the city council to request proof of family size and then taking that information to a retail outlet to purchase the ticket. Today, using a digital ID card, citizens can validate family composition and purchase bus tickets online in minutes. Students can now apply for scholarships online without having to mail such personal information as income statements to the Department of Education. A digital ID card is all it takes, and MAGDA retrieves the relevant data from the state’s registry. The platform protects citizen privacy by ensuring the highest levels of security and organizational control. By streamlining redundant, labor-intensive manual processes, MAGDA optimizes information gathering and ensures more complete, accurate data. What’s more, the solution lays the foundation for migrating all government tasks to the Web, even local government processes such as applying for permits to build a house. The Flemish Government is currently working to develop a digital process that connects communities to the state MAGDA solution. So, for instance, if a person wants to build a home, an architect could upload renderings and blueprints to the Web, making them instantly accessible to all of the agencies involved in approving the project, ultimately expediting the home-building process. Standardization also creates processing efficiencies, virtually eliminating data duplication and human error, while driving government costs down. In fact, the government saved €8 million in the first year with a projected savings of €40 million after five years. EDS delivered the SOA framework and services in different releases, “Within the Flemish Government, all done on time and within budget. 25 agencies and departments are already using MAGDA with The real advantage of the MAGDA solution, however, is that government officials 50 more on the waiting list to can quickly implement new policy decisions and continually expand and enhance be implemented in the next the solution to meet the changing needs of Flemish citizens. few months.” Geert mareels e-Government Manager Flemish Administration Independent COmponents Enable SOA’S multiplatfOrm Capabilities Services featured MAGDA delivers Web services that are technology-independent components defined • Applications Development by a behavior and interface. The same service can be deployed as an XML document Services or a text version and can be provided via FTP (asynchronous) or HTTP(S)/SOAP • Composite Application (synchronous) protocol. This enables the multiplatform capability of the SOA. and Portal Services • Integration and Developers and users employ different technologies such as Java, .Net and SOA Services Coolgen applications, proving that a well-designed architecture of services can integrate a diversity of technologies, without having to migrate legacy systems to other technologies. Contact us About EDS EDS Headquarters EDS, an HP company, is a leading global technology services provider, delivering business 5400 Legacy drive solutions to its customers. EDS founded the information technology outsourcing industry more Plano, Texas 75024 uSA than 46 years ago. Today, EDS delivers a broad portfolio of information technology and business 1 800 566 9337 process outsourcing services to customers in the manufacturing, financial services, healthcare, communications, energy, transportation, and consumer and retail industries, and to governments EDS Regional Headquarters around the world. Asia 36F, Shanghai Information Tower 211 Century Avenue Pudong Shanghai, ShA China 200120 86 21 2891 2888 Australia & New Zealand Level 1, The Bond 30 hickson Road Millers Point New South Wales 2000 Australia 612 8965 0500 Canada 33 yonge Street Toronto, Ontario M5E 1G4 Canada 1 416 814 4500 1 800 814 9038 (in Canada only) Europe, middle East & Africa 2nd Floor Lansdowne house Berkeley Square London W1J 6ER 44 20 7569 5100 Latin America Estrada Samuel Aizemberg, 1707 Tower C – 4th Floor São Bernardo do Campo, SP Brazil 09851-550 55 11 4399 8875 HP Worldwide Corporate Headquarters 3000 hanover Street Palo Alto, California 94304-1185 uSA 1 650 857 1501 EDS and the EDS logo are registered trademarks of Hewlett-Packard Development Company, LP. HP is an equal opportunity employer and values the diversity of its people. © 2008 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, LP. Created 09/2008. 80288-RCS_A4.
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