Nashville Adopts CRM Strategy

In what is becoming a trend among local agencies, Metropolitan Nashville Government and Davidson County (Metro Nashville) will implement a comprehensive CRM solution for its residents. Most recently, the City of Chicago deployed BroadVision self-service applications and New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services chose Seneca Corporation’s online customer management technology.

Metro Nashville has selected a solution that will combine Pivotal Corporation’s software with Link2Gov. Pivotal develops comprehensive e-business and CRM applications, and Link2Gov provides electronic government solutions that enable citizens and businesses to efficiently complete transactions with government entities over the Internet or telephone.

According to Bo Manning, president and CEO, Pivotal, “In this changing, technology-driven economy, governments are looking for ways to create greater operating efficiencies while still providing excellent service to their citizens. As a result, public sector organizations are adopting customer-focused business practices and CRM technologies to enhance access to government services and improve relationships with constituents.”

The combined CRM solution will result in centralized city information across all departments and communication, allowing more than 6,000 city employees to collaborate and have immediate access to information in order to provide fast service to all constituents. Comprehensive reporting tools will enable Metro Nashville to accurately determine budgeting, assign resources, make intelligent hiring and staffing decisions, and assess levels of service and accountability.

The enhanced functionality will allow citizens to access all government departments across any communication channel — including the telephone, e-mail, Internet, fax and in person — and inquiries will be immediately routed to the appropriate Metro Nashville employee. Employees will also be able to offer interactive, Web self-service capabilities that intelligently guide citizens through their service inquiries.

“The time has come for government to leverage proven, innovative technologies to make significant improvements in how we do business and serve our citizens,” said Richard McKinney, CIO, Metro Nashville. “The Metropolitan Nashville Government is meeting the needs of its citizens by responding to the demand for more responsive, more accountable government. We see Pivotal and Link2Gov playing a key role in delivering the type of world-class, integrated customer service that the citizens of Metro Nashville deserve. We are excited about our partnerships with Pivotal and Link2Gov and look forward to the opportunity to work closely with both of these companies as we redefine how a government can and should interact and serve its citizens.”

Based in Nashville, Link2Gov Corp. provides government solutions that enables citizens to electronically perform functions such as driver’s license registration, vehicle registration and paying utilities. Currently, the company is operating multiple Internet or interactive voice response (IVR) applications with local or state agencies in Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, New Mexico, Texas, Tennessee as well as The District of Columbia.

Headquartered in Vancouver, BC, Pivotal Corporation develops and delivers e-business and CRM applications to global customers, including Hewlett Packard, CIBC, Goldman Sachs, HarperCollins Publishers, Hitachi Telecom Inc., Intrawest Corporation, Vivendi, Royal Bank of Canada, Southern Company, and Ziff Davis Media Inc.