Washington State Automates

SafeHarbor Technology Corporation, provider of Web-based customer support services, will add more digital government properties to the growing list of sites utilizing its solutions. SafeHarbor already provides customer and technical support for eight digital government initiatives and four state agencies under a master contract, and now Washington State has signed on with additional government agency sites.

“One of the most important aspects of doing business via the Internet is the ability to provide customer support whenever people use the service, even if it is in the middle of the night,” said Gary Robinson, acting director of the Department of Information Services (DIS) . “SafeHarbor’s self-service support environment allows us to provide 24 hour-a-day customer support, not only making online government services easy to use, but very cost efficient to manage and support.”

SafeHarbor supports the DIS Web site, which centralizes information for anyone doing business with DIS, including other state and local agencies. The Department of Information Services, the third largest data center in the Northwest, manages Washington State’s master customer support contract with SafeHarbor.

Other Washington State projects include:

• A customized Web self-service environment for the Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) to support the Electronic Claims Submission (ECS) system — the new Internet-based electronic billing system for physicians, medical vendors and dental providers that allows for claims updates or submissions in a standardized electronic format. SafeHarbor has found that approximately 80 percent of customers seeking support ask the same questions so SafeHarbor builds the answers into its self-service solution, reducing call center traffic.
• A 24-hour customer service function for the Department of Labor and Industries (L&I) , including the agency’s popular Express Filing site, which allows employers to file industrial insurance quarterly reports online using an electronic payment method.
• Customer technical support for Access Washington and Transact Washington for DIS, and the Department of Licensing, to aid individuals who regularly access specialized data, pay taxes or conduct similar transactions with the state via the Internet.

“Washington State has made an incredible commitment to its citizens, empowering them to interact with state agencies and receive services conveniently online,” said Bo Wandell, SafeHarbor’s president. “SafeHarbor’s Web self-service support helps ensure successful customer interactions — it actually enhances the usability of the state’s online applications — while helping control support costs.”

Headquartered in Satsop, Wash., SafeHarbor delivers support services to companies such as Adobe, American Airlines, Washington Mutual, Inc., OpenMobile, and GeoTrust.