12.03.2019 Views

The 10 Most Trusted Public Sector Solution Providers 2018 [ Business Magazine ]

The special edition of Insights Success “The 10 Most Trusted Public Sector Solution Providers, 2018” envisions exhibiting the significance of distinctive public solution providers which has empowered the public sectors from their very inception.

The special edition of Insights Success “The 10 Most Trusted Public Sector Solution Providers, 2018” envisions exhibiting the significance of distinctive public solution providers which has empowered the public sectors from their very inception.

SHOW MORE
SHOW LESS

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.

www.insightssuccess.com<br />

December <strong>2018</strong><br />

THE<br />

1<br />

<strong>Most</strong> <strong>Trusted</strong><br />

<strong>Public</strong> <strong>Sector</strong><br />

<strong>Solution</strong> <strong>Providers</strong>, <strong>2018</strong><br />

$<br />

Market Dashboard<br />

Social Media Marketing for<br />

Pharma Industry<br />

Environmental Talk<br />

Eco-friendly Strategies for a<br />

Better Tech-enabled<br />

Construction World


Empowering <strong>Public</strong><br />

<strong>Sector</strong> and Ensuring<br />

Success<br />

uccess of a nation can be evaluated through the analysis of the development of its public<br />

Ssectors. <strong>Public</strong> sectors are truly the face of a nation. Its revolution or deprivation can be<br />

deciding factor for the country and its overall progress. Hence, any nation requires welldeveloped,<br />

well-equipped and prosperous public sectors to address its key issues. Although, the<br />

public sector is a key to the nation’s success, it’s often witnessed that the response to the queries or<br />

odds faced by the sector is very meager. Either it is funding or a flaccid reaction about volunteering<br />

the public organizations experiences shuffles through several substantially unaddressed obstacles.<br />

However, technology has revolutionized almost every sector with reforming innovations and it has<br />

played a vital part in the improvement of the public sector as well. Comprehending the complete<br />

scenario some tech leaders brought forward a dramatic change in public sector. <strong>The</strong>se solution<br />

providers rose above all and proved their mettle in the evidently stringent atmosphere. <strong>The</strong>se pioneers<br />

have come with exclusive and all-inclusive strategies and solutions which cannot be undermined.<br />

Some of them have created distinctive applications that can automate the complete public sector<br />

progressions. <strong>The</strong> futuristic apps enable public sectors like local governments to organize their daily<br />

routine, refine official proceedings and catalyze their future. On the other side few of them are taking<br />

commendable efforts towards improving the public safety and incident management systems.<br />

Marking the excellence in simplifying Time & Labor Management of public sector the few unique<br />

companies has demonstrated the possible opportunities in the sector. Thus, the special edition of


“<strong>The</strong> <strong>10</strong> <strong>Most</strong> <strong>Trusted</strong> <strong>Public</strong> <strong>Sector</strong> <strong>Solution</strong> <strong>Providers</strong>, <strong>2018</strong>” envisions exhibiting the<br />

significance of distinctive public solution providers which has empowered the public sectors<br />

from their very inception.<br />

This edition features Valor Systems, Inc., a privately held software development company<br />

dedicated to providing emergency response and records management applications to <strong>Public</strong><br />

Safety Agencies and Corporate Security operations on a global scale; Visual Computer<br />

<strong>Solution</strong>s, a leading developer and distributor of proprietary Employee Scheduling and Time &<br />

Attendance Software Systems; and Questica, the recognized leader in budget preparation and<br />

management software.<br />

Also, make sure to scroll through the articles written by our in-house editorial team and CXO<br />

standpoints of some of the leading industry experts to have a brief taste of the sector.<br />

Let’s start reading!<br />

Hitesh Dhamani


12<br />

Maestro’s Insights<br />

<strong>The</strong> Revolution of our Roads<br />

Driving the UK to Zero<br />

Carbon Transportation<br />

Expert’s Outlook<br />

Impact of Predictive Analytics<br />

in Field Service<br />

22<br />

28<br />

Industry Insight<br />

Why Supermarkets Need<br />

to Talk to Millennials in<br />

<strong>The</strong>ir Language<br />

Leadership Viewpoint<br />

Blockchain: <strong>The</strong> Next Opportunity for<br />

Better, Safer, Smarter Cities<br />

36


Contents<br />

Articles<br />

18<br />

Market Dashboard<br />

Social Media Marketing for<br />

Pharma Industry<br />

30<br />

Environmental Talk<br />

Eco-friendly Strategies for a<br />

Better Tech-enabled<br />

Construction World<br />

16<br />

Questica:<br />

Simplifying the Complexities of<br />

<strong>Public</strong> <strong>Sector</strong> Finance<br />

24<br />

Valor Systems, Inc:<br />

Redefining the Benchmarks of <strong>Public</strong><br />

Safety and Security<br />

34<br />

VCS:<br />

Pioneering Time & Labor<br />

Management <strong>Solution</strong>s within<br />

the <strong>Public</strong> <strong>Sector</strong>


Editor-in-Chief Pooja M. Bansal<br />

Managing Editor Anish Miller<br />

Executive Editor Hitesh Dhamani<br />

Assistant Editors Jenny Fernandes<br />

Abhishaj Sajeev<br />

Contributing Editors Keadar Kulkrni<br />

Sharad Chitalkar<br />

Visualiser David King<br />

Art & Design Director Amol Kamble<br />

Associate Designer Sanket Zirpe<br />

Co-designer Savita Pandav<br />

Art & Picture Editors Paul Belin<br />

Jayant Khanna<br />

Senior Sales Manager Passi D.<br />

<strong>Business</strong> Development Manager Peter Collins<br />

Marketing Manager John Matthew<br />

<strong>Business</strong> Development Executives<br />

Steve, Joe, Logan, Anup<br />

Sales Executives<br />

David, Kevin, Mark, Vishnu<br />

Technical Head Jacob Smile<br />

Technical Specialists Amar, Aditya<br />

Digital Marketing Manager Marry D’Souza<br />

Online Marketing Strategists<br />

Alina Sege, Shubham<br />

SME-SMO Executives<br />

Prashant Chevale, Uma Dhenge<br />

Research Analyst Patrick James<br />

Circulation Managers Robert, Tanaji<br />

Database Management Stella Andrew<br />

Technology Consultant David Stokes<br />

Insights Success Media Tech LLC<br />

555 Metro Place North, Suite <strong>10</strong>0,<br />

Dublin, OH 43017, United States<br />

Phone - (614)-602-1754<br />

Email: info@insightssuccess.com<br />

For Subscription: www.insightssuccess.com<br />

sales@insightssuccess.com<br />

December, <strong>2018</strong><br />

Corporate Ofces:<br />

Follow us on : www.facebook.com/insightssuccess/<br />

www.twitter.com/insightssuccess<br />

We are also available on :<br />

Insights Success Media and Technology Pvt. Ltd.<br />

Off. No. 513 & 5<strong>10</strong>, 5th Flr., Rainbow Plaza, Shivar Chowk,<br />

Pimple Saudagar, Pune, Maharashtra 41<strong>10</strong>17<br />

Phone - India: +91 74<strong>10</strong>079881/ 82/ 83/ 84/ 85<br />

Email: info@insightssuccess.in<br />

For Subscription: www.insightssuccess.in<br />

Copyright © <strong>2018</strong> Insights Success, All rights reserved. <strong>The</strong> content and images used in this magazine should not be reproduced or transmitted in<br />

any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission from Insights Success.<br />

Reprint rights remain solely with Insights Success.


SUBSCRIBE<br />

T O D A Y<br />

READ<br />

IT<br />

FIRST<br />

Never Miss an Issue<br />

Yes, I would like to subscribe to Insights Success <strong>Magazine</strong>.<br />

Global Subscription<br />

Name :<br />

Address :<br />

Date :<br />

Telephone :<br />

Email :<br />

City : State : Zip :<br />

Country :<br />

Check should be drawn in favor of: INSIGHTS SUCCESS MEDIA TECH LLC<br />

CORPORATE OFFICE<br />

Insights Success Media Tech LLC<br />

555 Metro Place North, Suite <strong>10</strong>0,<br />

Dublin, OH 43017, United States<br />

Phone: (614)-602-1754,(302)-319-9947<br />

Email: info@insightssuccess.com<br />

For Subscription: www.insightssuccess.com


Company Name<br />

Accela<br />

accela.com<br />

Management<br />

Mark Jung<br />

Executive Chairman<br />

Brief<br />

Accela has been an industry leader in designing and delivering<br />

government software to improve efficiency, increase citizen<br />

engagement and enable the development of<br />

thriving communities.<br />

AdventFS<br />

adventfs.com<br />

Josh Hartlage<br />

President<br />

Advent eLearning is the perfect cloud-based alternative for firsttime<br />

and low to mid-level offenders.<br />

CSDC<br />

csdcsystems.com<br />

Erin Nelson<br />

CEO<br />

CSDC helps governments manage all types of compliances.<br />

G2SF<br />

G2SF.com<br />

Gregory Smith<br />

Founder & CEO<br />

G2SF INC. is a Government focused IT consultancy and<br />

enterprise solution provider with core competencies in IT<br />

Service Management (ITSM), and IT Engineering &<br />

Integration.<br />

GCOM Software<br />

gcomsoft.com<br />

Girish Bhatia<br />

Founder & CEO<br />

GCOM is a business and technology consulting firm that<br />

provides a broad range of professional services designed to<br />

deliver cutting edge business and technology solutions.<br />

GovPilot<br />

govpilot.com<br />

Michael Bonner<br />

Founder & CEO<br />

GoVPilot is a cloud-based Government Management Platform<br />

that allows governments to replace antiquated paper processes<br />

with digital automation.<br />

OpenCities<br />

opencities.com<br />

Cynthia Francis<br />

COO<br />

OpenCities is on a mission to help governments of all shapes and<br />

sizes transform how they serve their communities, and make it<br />

easy for every citizen, no matter their situation or ability, to<br />

connect with their city<br />

Questica<br />

questica.com<br />

Craig Ross<br />

Chief Revenue<br />

Officer<br />

Questica is the recognized leader in budget preparation and<br />

management software.<br />

Valor Systems, Inc<br />

valorsystems.com<br />

William Rendina<br />

Chief Executive<br />

Officer<br />

Valor Systems, Inc. is a privately held software development<br />

company dedicated to providing emergency response and records<br />

management applications to <strong>Public</strong> Safety Agencies and<br />

Corporate Security operations on a global scale.<br />

Visual Computer <strong>Solution</strong>s<br />

vcssoftware.com<br />

Guy DiMemmo<br />

Founder & CEO<br />

Visual Computer <strong>Solution</strong>s is a leading developer and<br />

distributor of proprietary Employee Scheduling and Time &<br />

Attendance Software Systems.


<strong>The</strong> Revolution of our Roads<br />

Driving the UK to Zero Carbon Transportation<br />

Green number plates for electric<br />

vehicles. Zero Emissions Zone<br />

trials. Grants for any employer<br />

installing EV charge points. Ideas and<br />

initiatives for boosting the adoption of<br />

electric vehicles (EVs) have<br />

accelerated recently, in an effort to<br />

make electric vehicles the norm rather<br />

than the exception on UK roads.<br />

In September, <strong>The</strong>resa May announced<br />

further support for the industry at the<br />

very first Zero Emission Vehicle<br />

Summit, outlining a plan to ensure<br />

Britain “leads from the front” in the<br />

widespread adoption of electric<br />

vehicles, committing £<strong>10</strong>6m in funding<br />

for research and development into EV<br />

technology. She also elaborated on the<br />

2040 target to make all manufactured<br />

cars emission-free, saying that this<br />

should be reflected in all cars on the<br />

road just ten years later.<br />

Government Backing<br />

This government’s commitment to<br />

electric vehicles is being matched by<br />

an increase in interest from drivers, as<br />

the perceived hurdles - including the<br />

initial cost of switching to an electric<br />

car, and the mile range compared to<br />

traditional petrol and diesel cars - are<br />

being cleared. Last month EVs<br />

accounted for one in every 12 new cars<br />

purchased in the UK.<br />

That’s been attributed to a number of<br />

factors, including the availability of a<br />

range of cars that do at least 150miles<br />

on a single charge, EV drivers are<br />

About the Author<br />

Fiona Howarth, CEO of Octopus Electric Vehicles,<br />

Biography<br />

Fiona leads the Octopus Electric Vehicle business - a<br />

start-up from Octopus Energy. With a passion for<br />

renewable energy, fantastic cars and using tech to create<br />

great customer experiences, this is absolutely Fiona’s<br />

dream job!<br />

Having studied Engineering at Oxford University, she<br />

spent her early career at Dyson and BMW - developing<br />

efficient motors and hydrogen powered cars. She then<br />

went on to work with major energy companies and<br />

government while at Bain & Company, before joining<br />

British Connected Homes start up AlertMe. A move to<br />

British Gas, saw her take Hive, by British Gas, from a tech<br />

pilot to a household name that today has more than one<br />

million customers.<br />

“Octopus EV is offering the electric vehicle equivalent of<br />

Sweden’s famous baby box,” says Octopus Electric<br />

Vehicles CEO Fiona Howarth<br />

12 December MM <strong>2018</strong>| <strong>2018</strong>|


Maestro’s Insights<br />

reducing their fuel spend by 90%, and<br />

with an increase in the number and<br />

visibility of charge points and a<br />

decrease in the cost of the electric<br />

vehicles themselves.<br />

<strong>The</strong>re’s also been better proof of the<br />

environmental impact of EVs, such as<br />

a recent European Climate Foundationcommissioned<br />

report which found that<br />

EVs emit half the CO2 emissions of a<br />

petrol or diesel car through the course<br />

of their lifetime, and the overall effect<br />

has now been shown to be positive.<br />

A New Breed of EV<br />

One company is on a mission to help<br />

drive the adoption of electric vehicles.<br />

Octopus Electric Vehicles is pioneering<br />

an ‘EV bundle’ which will give drivers<br />

everything they need to make the<br />

switch, for one monthly price. <strong>The</strong><br />

innovation has come from energy<br />

supplier Octopus Energy, which is<br />

driven by a mission ‘to make buying<br />

energy as easy as buying cornflakes’.<br />

Similarly, the team at Octopus EV<br />

wants to help to make the switch to EV<br />

as easy as possible, for as many people<br />

as possible.<br />

CEO of Octopus Electric Vehicles,<br />

Fiona Howarth says: “For us, the EV<br />

journey begins long before we start<br />

talking about leasing options and<br />

charge point installation. <strong>The</strong>re’s a big<br />

education job to do - many people still<br />

believe that they’ll need to stop every<br />

few miles to recharge and that the<br />

range of models is limited. Our Drive<br />

Day roadshow has proved enormously<br />

popular, touring the country and<br />

letting people come and see the cars<br />

for themselves, as well as question EV<br />

experts about exactly how it all works”<br />

<strong>The</strong>se events have not only<br />

demonstrated the massive leap forward<br />

that the industry has taken in the past<br />

few years, but also provided people<br />

with a chance to test drive the latest<br />

models. From the sporty BMW i3 to<br />

the family friendly Nissan LEAF, the<br />

cars have been carefully selected as the<br />

best EVs on the market, with each<br />

offering at least 150 miles of driving<br />

per charge.<br />

Continues Howarth: “We’ve found that<br />

people are often surprised at what an<br />

electric car can do. I think there’s a<br />

general misconception that the<br />

technology and the pricing has stayed<br />

largely the same since EVs came to<br />

market a few years ago, whereas in fact<br />

today’s electric car is almost<br />

unrecognisable from its older<br />

incarnation, and a hell of a lot cheaper.<br />

Battery costs came down 80% in six<br />

years – unlocking a better range of<br />

Fiona Howarth<br />

CEO<br />

Octopus Electric Vehicles<br />

electric vehicles at a fraction of the<br />

cost.”<br />

All-in-one EV <strong>Solution</strong><br />

After education, the challenge has been<br />

how to best help customers with the<br />

changes needed to go electric. Here,<br />

Octopus Electric Vehicles is pioneering<br />

adoption with their ‘EV bundle’.<br />

“We’re offering the electric vehicle<br />

equivalent of Sweden’s famous baby<br />

box, giving the driver everything they<br />

need to make the switch” says Howarth<br />

“and unlike babies, our vehicles come<br />

with instructions!”<br />

MM <strong>2018</strong>| December <strong>2018</strong>| 13


About Powerloop<br />

How Vehicle-to-Grid is changing the game<br />

Electric vehicles have been criticised for placing more demand<br />

on an already overloaded grid. But a consortium of industry<br />

experts is hoping that electric vehicles could be the solution to<br />

the grid’s capacity issues, rather than a problem. Led by Octopus<br />

EV and Octopus Energy, the consortium has won over £3m of<br />

funding from Innovate UK (backed by government departments<br />

DfT and BEIS) to test the viability of vehicle-to-grid charging on<br />

UK roads.<br />

<strong>The</strong> Powerloop project offers EV drivers the chance to help<br />

balance demand by supplying the grid with power from their car<br />

batteries during the peak hours of 4-7pm, before recharging in<br />

the early hours of the morning while demand is lowest. In return<br />

for plugging in their cars 12 times a month to supply charge<br />

during the evening, Powerloop drivers will get money off their<br />

monthly leasing cost.<br />

As well as the monthly lease of an electric vehicle, Octopus EV organises the<br />

installation of a home charge point and smart meter. <strong>The</strong> monthly lease cost can<br />

also include insurance, service and maintenance, as well as help and support for<br />

the duration of the contract.<br />

<strong>The</strong>re’s even a bespoke electricity tariff, designed specifically with EV drivers<br />

in mind. Dubbed Octopus Go, it offers renewable electricity at just 5p/kWh<br />

between the hours of 12.30am and 4.30am, allowing people to charge their cars<br />

for just a fraction of the daytime cost for 70% less than a standard variable tariff<br />

from a Big 6 supplier.<br />

Octopus EV has also partnered with myenergi, to offer the innovative Zappi<br />

charge point, which automates charging to take advantage of these prices.<br />

Octopus can arrange the installation of<br />

the Zappi via trusted installers that can<br />

help unlock the £500 home charge<br />

point grant from the government.<br />

This world-first tariff is possible thanks<br />

to Octopus EV’s relationship with<br />

Octopus Energy. <strong>The</strong> supplier is<br />

already taking advantage of the<br />

potential of smart meters with the<br />

Agile Octopus tariff, which lets<br />

customers see the fluctuations in<br />

wholesale energy prices and adjust<br />

their usage accordingly. It’s just the<br />

beginning of how the company intends<br />

to use smart meter technology, which<br />

allows them to measure and record<br />

electricity usage in real-time and offer<br />

cheaper electricity when demand on<br />

the grid is low.<br />

Fiona Howarth believes this will be a<br />

landmark year for electric vehicle<br />

adoption in the UK. “Tesla has<br />

revolutionised the market and now all<br />

other vehicle manufacturers are rapidly<br />

bringing their EVs to the market. Think<br />

of the switch from analogue phones to<br />

smart phones - we’re in a similar<br />

transitory phase. If the Government<br />

can deliver on their EV plans, and we<br />

think they can, the carpark of<br />

tomorrow is going to look very<br />

different to the gas-guzzling lot<br />

of today.”<br />

14 December MM <strong>2018</strong>| <strong>2018</strong>|


Questica<br />

Simplifying the Complexities of<br />

<strong>Public</strong> <strong>Sector</strong> Finance<br />

<strong>Public</strong> sector solution providers in their pursuit to be<br />

responsive and customer centric are embracing new<br />

technologies and innovative service delivery models<br />

to effectively serve the larger populace. Questica is one<br />

such adept public sector solution provider. Questica is a<br />

leader in multi-user budgeting software, performance<br />

management and transparency, and data visualization<br />

solutions.<br />

TJ Parass, Founder and CEO, started Questica in 1998 in<br />

order to build a best-in-class public sector software<br />

solution. Craig Ross is the Chief Revenue Officer and one<br />

of the partners at Questica. Craig is a seasoned management<br />

leader with over 25 years of public sector financial<br />

technology-related experience.<br />

Improving Trust of Stakeholders<br />

For over 20 years, Questica has been providing public<br />

sector organizations access to complete budgeting,<br />

performance, transparency and citizen engagement<br />

solutions to better enable data-driven budgeting and<br />

decision-making, while increasing data accuracy, saving<br />

time and improving stakeholder trust. It goes beyond<br />

having great solutions: it is about culture and personality,<br />

approach and expertise, and accountability to its customers.<br />

Highly Developed and Efficient Offerings<br />

Questica’s core offering, Questica Budget, drives budget<br />

transformation by creating a single source of data truth.<br />

Craig Ross<br />

Chief Revenue Officer<br />

This allows public sector organizations to shift from data<br />

collection to focus on what is important, deeper analysis<br />

and data-driven decision-making. Questica Budget is an<br />

easy-to-use, comprehensive cloud-based solution for budget<br />

preparation and management which includes: forecasting<br />

and analysis, workflow, role-based security access,<br />

amendment tracking, and performance measurement and<br />

reporting. As a true commercial-off-the-shelf cloud<br />

solution, Questica Budget is highly configurable.<br />

Questica Budget’s flexibility allows its customers to<br />

establish the update schedule that best meets their specific<br />

needs and business cycles. A few of the key product<br />

features that sets Questica Budget apart include its robust<br />

workforce planning, adjustable formula and scenario<br />

builders, change requests, and advanced analytics and<br />

reporting capabilities.<br />

Questica introduced OpenBook, its integrated data<br />

visualization and transparency tool to create an opportunity<br />

for better accountability, and to build trust with an<br />

organization’s stakeholders by communicating the budget<br />

and finances with easy-to-understand visuals. OpenBook<br />

allows public sector organizations to showcase their<br />

financial and non-financial data with interactive charts,<br />

tables, and graphics with descriptive text and informational<br />

16 December MM <strong>2018</strong>| <strong>2018</strong>|


pop-ups. It allows stakeholders to visually access and<br />

evaluate information that is generally hidden in printed<br />

reports and/or complex spreadsheets. Users can easily find<br />

out what they want and need to know about the agency’s<br />

plans, projects and issues in their community with<br />

OpenBook’s robust searching and filtering options.<br />

Questica’s OpenBook and Budget Suite integrate with<br />

leading budget simulation tools providing organizations a<br />

way to promote and support deeper two-way stakeholder<br />

consultation and engagement.<br />

Questica’s transparency solution includes its recently<br />

introduced OpenBook Project Explorer visualization for<br />

capital projects. This feature allows public sector agencies<br />

to present infrastructure projects on a map, including the<br />

budget, actual spend, funding sources, and accompanying<br />

documentation, images, video, etc, which enables<br />

stakeholders to learn more about the projects taking place<br />

within the community, without having to contact the<br />

organization directly.<br />

Current <strong>Solution</strong>s and New Technologies<br />

Questica’s 20-year focus on and commitment to exceptional<br />

customer service, the development and investment in<br />

solutions, plus its driven yet friendly corporate culture has<br />

resulted in long-standing relationships with its customers,<br />

high customer satisfaction rates (a 60+ NPS score), and<br />

continued growth of its customer base. <strong>The</strong> company<br />

continues to expand and evolve its current solutions both<br />

with new features and functions but it is also incorporating<br />

and adopting new technologies. Questica is nimble in<br />

adapting to the changing needs of its customers and the<br />

public sector. <strong>The</strong> company places an emphasis on its<br />

continued investment back into R&D which helps to foster<br />

the collaborative partnership it enjoys with its customers.<br />

Empowering Customers and Communities<br />

Customers choose Questica because of the company’s<br />

consultative approach. It has a shared customer centric<br />

focus and it takes incredible pride in delivering an<br />

exceptional experience for each and every customer.<br />

Founder and CEO of Questica, TJ Parass mentions that they<br />

are pleased that the company will become part of GTY<br />

Technology Holdings early in 2019. Being able to partner<br />

with its fellow GTY peer companies to advance the digital<br />

transformation of public sector agencies to cloud-based<br />

solutions helping them to accelerate their financial health<br />

and operational sustainability will be key focus for the<br />

organization. While describing the vision and future of<br />

‘‘<br />

Questica’s budget, performance,<br />

transparency and engagement<br />

solutions result in better public<br />

sector finance for everyone.<br />

Questica, Craig Ross, Chief Revenue Officer also states,<br />

“Questica will ensure that government, healthcare,<br />

education and non-profit organizations have the best<br />

technology, support and reporting tools to meet their<br />

everyday challenges.” He further clarifies that it is about<br />

delivering solutions to address funding changes, new<br />

legislation, stakeholder engagement, and a shifting<br />

workforce, while increasing accountability and producing<br />

greater organizational and community impact.<br />

Endorsements by Customers<br />

“Having Questica Budget has given our team more time to<br />

focus on managing the budget now that we spend less time<br />

assembling it.” – Sound Transit, Washington<br />

“We’ve been pleased with how easy and logical the<br />

Questica Budget system is to use. We now have a powerful<br />

budgeting tool that enables all users to properly track and<br />

manage their own budgets, allowing the Finance team to<br />

spend more time on analysis and planning.” – <strong>The</strong> City of<br />

Arvada, Colorado<br />

“If we can find out what the public cares about, and<br />

translate that into budget impacts, while driving them to use<br />

Questica OpenBook, which is interactive and easy-to-use;<br />

that would connect all the dots.”– <strong>The</strong> City of Largo,<br />

Florida<br />

MM <strong>2018</strong>| December <strong>2018</strong>| 17


Social Media<br />

Marketing<br />

for<br />

“ he absence of pharma brands on social media creates a significant void of reputable healthcare information to aid<br />

Tpatients,” writes Dawn Lacallade, LiveWorld’s Chief Social Strategist.<br />

Social media infiltrate virtually every facet of an individual’s digital life. Today, patients are using social media as a major<br />

source of information and healthcare research. Thus, it is essential that pharma companies should be present on social media<br />

to provide full and accurate information to the consumers. To comprehend how social media can assist patients, it is crucial<br />

to understand what compels people to use social media as a source of information.<br />

Social media allows interaction among people which involves exchange and creation of information. It is the perfect conduit<br />

for pharmaceutical companies to connect with their customers, patients and physicians.<br />

According to the current FDA regulations, pharma companies are not able to easily join in a conversation to provide accurate<br />

and balanced information. Regulations dictate that, in a single social post, brands are required to provide precise facts on the<br />

benefits and hazards associated with conditions and products. Due to the character limitations on many social media<br />

platforms, most pharma companies prefer to stay out of the conversation. This results in circulation of falsified information.<br />

This information can be either marginally inaccurate or significantly harmful.<br />

18 December <strong>2018</strong>|


Market Dashboard<br />

Although the communication of pharmaceutical industries is highly<br />

regulated, they are gradually adopting social media platforms to reach and<br />

interact with consumers and healthcare professionals. Here are some of<br />

the top social media practices to look out for:<br />

Crafting Customer Experience<br />

Several marketers think that their job is finished once the sales team<br />

takes over, but in reality, it is just the beginning. <strong>The</strong> way people<br />

experience your brand will impact the way they think about you, which<br />

will have an enormous effect on the success of your company in<br />

the long run. Devoting a part of the marketing budget to<br />

nurture the existing clientele will make their experience<br />

splendid and thus promote brand loyalty. It is also crucial<br />

to respond whenever your brand in mentioned publicly,<br />

whether positively or negatively, which will help<br />

cultivate a strong and lasting relationship with your<br />

customers. Younger generations are increasingly<br />

withdrawing from traditional social media platforms<br />

and adopting more innovative channels that are more<br />

intimate in the way of communication. To keep up with<br />

this challenge, companies need to find a way to automate the<br />

process wherever possible.<br />

Regulating Content<br />

Pharma companies need to develop content marketing strategies that merge each<br />

piece of content on every channel with their organization’s objectives and<br />

customers’ needs. Creators need to have a clear business objective including the<br />

value that will be delivered to distinct audiences. All companies need to have a<br />

social media compliance officer who will work closely with a corporate legal<br />

counsel and develop a complete strategy and decide if there will be consolidated<br />

social media posting or if individual employees will have the consent to<br />

participate. And lastly, it is critical that all employees understand their role in<br />

corporate social media and be trained on the rules.<br />

Overall Integration<br />

Pharma companies should stop thinking about content marketing and social media as<br />

add-ons. To boost their outcome for clients, content and social marketing need to be a part<br />

of almost every program. To develop a fully integrated program, companies need to involve<br />

influencers and content marketers during the initial stages. Implementing an organized<br />

approach to content and moderation will not only optimize the processes, but also aid in assuring<br />

authorities that all the bases are covered to protect and provide value for the brand.<br />

Investing in Employees<br />

An independent survey discovered that 72% of social media users expect response within an<br />

hour from the brands they follow. This has caused brands to start heavily investing in crossfunctional<br />

social media teams that can keep up with the increasing number of client pings<br />

December <strong>2018</strong>| 19


every day. Encouraging and incentivizing team members to share brand messages on their own social media accounts, is<br />

predicted to be a game-changer in the coming days. However this cannot be forced, it is essential for employees to want to<br />

share company posts, and along with this the content has to resonate with their own audiences.<br />

Influencer Marketing<br />

Influencer marketing will continue to develop and become an even more established part of the strategy. Currently many<br />

brands try influencer marketing and fail as it is not easy to find effective influencers. Additional data will help in selection<br />

of the right influencers and analyze the results from influencer campaigns. Today, in healthcare, influencers are often<br />

regular people. Some are directly affected by a disease or are being treated with a specific product, while others have<br />

gained a lot of knowledge about a condition and are considered as Subject Matter Experts. <strong>The</strong> common trend is to select<br />

someone who has an ever-increasing community of followers who value their opinion.<br />

Numerous companies still think of social media as merely a marketing tool which is not true anymore. Consumers learn<br />

about products on different social networks and seek customer service on messaging channels. Moreover, good<br />

storytelling has always been an essential part of effective marketing. But social media is changing the way audiences<br />

consume stories and pharma companies will be required to keep up with the evolution of social storytelling if they want to<br />

remain relevant.<br />

Yet there is still a note of caution with compliance being the foremost priority of pharmaceutical companies. But as<br />

industries are starting to adopt social media without clear regulatory guidance, remaining compliant will be the main<br />

challenge to face.<br />

BUSINESS<br />

MARKETING<br />

20 December <strong>2018</strong>|


THE FUTURE IS HERE<br />

Predictive Analytics for Field Service management<br />

Samar Singla<br />

Founder<br />

JungleWorks<br />

22 December <strong>2018</strong>|


Expert's Outlook<br />

Astrologers and science-fiction writers have entirely<br />

lost their professional exclusivity with big data<br />

coming into action enabling anyone to predict the<br />

future backed by statistically analyzed complex data, that<br />

too in a matter of seconds. <strong>The</strong> key to the future lies in the<br />

past and the present has to connect the dots to make the<br />

time travel journey successful. Astonishingly, this entire<br />

process is reduced down to an operational duration of just a<br />

few minutes with advanced predictive analytics tools.<br />

Field Service, in particular, is a goldmine of data from GPS<br />

and location to client details which had always been lying<br />

dormant inside company servers but are now, gradually,<br />

being channeled for greater purposes. Predictive analytics<br />

has become so important in field service because customers<br />

are, blatantly, expecting companies to understand their<br />

needs and customize their offerings before them expressing<br />

it. Companies can no more merely sell products and<br />

services and have to shift their focus to selling experiences<br />

to make a huge impact on the results.<br />

<strong>The</strong>se are the major impact points of predictive analytics in<br />

the field service sector:<br />

1. Demand<br />

Forecasting demand for products and services can support<br />

enterprises in better inventory management and help in<br />

calculating the number of staff required to meet a certain<br />

objective.<br />

2. Pricing<br />

Although enterprises are still slow in adopting modern<br />

methods of pricing and still rely on the traditional ones,<br />

times have changed with predictive analytics making the<br />

pricing process much more accurate and flexible to various<br />

internal and external factors.<br />

3. KPIs<br />

Superior performance strongly relies on actionable<br />

information which is why predicting KPIs has become so<br />

important for enterprises. <strong>The</strong> ability of predictive analytics<br />

to measure, monitor and react to KPIs becomes imperative<br />

in formulating both short-term and long-term strategies.<br />

4. Operational efficiency<br />

Task scheduling and route optimization becomes much<br />

more efficient especially with a heavy reduction in<br />

unnoticed slack using the multifunctional aspects of<br />

predictive analytics.<br />

5. Maintenance<br />

Preventative maintenance becomes much more sensemaking<br />

with predictive analytics supporting accurate<br />

planning using historical data about when a part is likely to<br />

fail.<br />

Although there are abundant benefits of using Predictive<br />

Analytics not just in field services but in any domain,<br />

however, we cannot shy away from the risks that it brings<br />

along with it. For Predictive Analytics to properly work,<br />

there should be a huge volume of relevant data sets from a<br />

wide range of activities and even with the availability of<br />

such heavy data sets, algorithms can fail in anticipating<br />

human behavior which in itself is full of complexities. If we<br />

bring time into the frame, it makes things even more<br />

completed. <strong>The</strong> analytics design might be successful at one<br />

point of time but it might falter with changes in variables<br />

with respect to time.<br />

However, modern predictive analytics tools have managed<br />

to rise beyond the risks and have hit a very high accuracy<br />

mark in making analytical predictions. Especially in field<br />

services, the algorithms have been modified to adapt to the<br />

changes in location-based data and customer insights<br />

considering time intervals as well. Such level of accuracy<br />

becomes imperative in shaping how historical data is used<br />

in making business level and functional strategies for the<br />

organization.<br />

Predictive Analytics platforms have started to become<br />

extremely prominent since 2017 with modern technology<br />

giving a push to business intelligence platforms supporting<br />

predictive analytics. Enterprises in the field service industry<br />

can look at platforms like Tookan and Kato to take a dive<br />

into predictive analytics and transform how they carry out<br />

their business.<br />

Tookan is a robust one-stop shop for all the field service<br />

management problems. Its analytical prowess gives you a<br />

glimpse of the future. Tookan diagnoses and understands<br />

the business with the help of its data mining and analytical<br />

functions helping to make business intelligent decisions to<br />

thrive in this volatile industry.<br />

Kato is a fully equipped analytical platform which has a<br />

wide range of analytical offerings from data preparation,<br />

analytics dashboard to predictive insights. It acts as an AI<br />

and predictive analytics tool by offering plug and play ML<br />

algorithms that solve specific use cases for your business<br />

model.<br />

With predictive analytics supporting functional activities at<br />

every step, enterprises can, literally, visualize a better future<br />

and make business intelligent decisions based on historical<br />

data defining patterns of activities and behavior.<br />

MM <strong>2018</strong>| December <strong>2018</strong>| 23


Valor<br />

Systems, Inc:<br />

Redefining the Benchmarks of <strong>Public</strong><br />

Safety and Security<br />

William Rendina<br />

Chief Executive Officer<br />

Taking into consideration, the drive to ceaselessly<br />

transform the ever-evolving Incident Management<br />

ecosystem, formulation of contemporary public<br />

safety and security strategies, delivery of reformative<br />

solutions and services, and a profound knack for<br />

innovation, Valor Systems, Inc. has been recognized as the<br />

most trusted public sector solution providers.<br />

For 24 years, Valor Systems has provided solutions and<br />

services to the State and Local <strong>Public</strong> Safety Agencies, the<br />

Private Security market, and the United States Department<br />

of Defense, with absolute commitment. <strong>The</strong> organization<br />

takes pride to have served numerous market segments as a<br />

trusted Incident Management resource for Law, Fire, EMS<br />

and Security. When it comes to the question of customer<br />

satisfaction, the organization has successfully and<br />

efficiently maintained relationships from the first year of its<br />

sales with reinforced commitment towards its vast and<br />

diverse clientele.<br />

<strong>The</strong> organization has always been extensively agile and<br />

customer-driven. It evidently comprehends that the world is<br />

changing, and public safety and security needs and<br />

requirements are growing more complex every day. Valor<br />

also understands that as a solution provider, it must be<br />

willing, and be efficient to adapt quickly to any and all<br />

kinds of public safety and security needs.<br />

Retaining the essence of its motto, “We listen. We learn. We<br />

deliver,” the organization, before demonstrating its Incident<br />

Management System, makes sure to completely understand<br />

where the client agency has come from, both technically<br />

and operationally, the current environment of the client, and<br />

what vision they hold for the future. Valor Systems also<br />

recognizes that agencies of all sizes have distinct<br />

requirements. Whether an agency operates independently,<br />

or in a consolidated model, a true solution provider must<br />

identify the differences and deliver a solution that adapts to<br />

the clients’ versatile needs, and that is what Valor Systems<br />

asserts and follows.<br />

<strong>The</strong> spotlight is now on an Incident Management System<br />

developed by Valor Systems, that is flexible enough to<br />

empower an agency to build and configure new user defined<br />

fields and business rules that keeps up with future<br />

requirements.<br />

Personifying Optimism and Excellence<br />

William Rendina aka Bill is the Chief Executive Officer<br />

at Valor Systems, Inc. He acknowledges the endless<br />

possibilities one can achieve with the right team. Bill has<br />

undergone the enlightening process of self-development<br />

through his tenure and numerous positions held in fortune<br />

500 tech companies, allowing him to fully understand<br />

responsibility and accountability at all levels.<br />

24 December <strong>2018</strong>|


Bill’s passion for public safety and security is contagious,<br />

and that has pushed the organization’s team to exemplify<br />

total commitment to this special industry. Serving as the<br />

CEO allows Bill’s creativity, vision and passion to merge<br />

and develop into new products. He has also presented in<br />

various speaking engagements on U.S. Military Bases and<br />

Crisis Preparedness Symposiums at Fortune 500<br />

Companies.<br />

Crafting Innovation<br />

Valor Systems has ceaselessly focused its efforts in<br />

developing and delivering Dispatch and Records solutions<br />

with an exceptional User Experience. <strong>The</strong> organization has<br />

palpably realized that a great user experience is imperative,<br />

while serving a role wherein a dispatcher works extended<br />

hours at the console, to the field officer who needs timely<br />

and accurate bi-directional information on a smartphone.<br />

Valor Systems has also taken initiatives to eliminate silo<br />

applications and deliver a ‘unified’ User Experience across<br />

various technologies for the dispatcher and all field<br />

personnel, offering maximum efficiencies throughout their<br />

operation. To help solve cases, agencies utilize a newly<br />

developed Valor Link Analysis to visualize and connect<br />

incidents, people, vehicles and more.<br />

A Triumphant Voyage<br />

Through various experiences, Valor Systems has learned the<br />

value of offering a solution that scales to various markets.<br />

<strong>The</strong> organization also realizes that many agencies work<br />

within a common public safety framework but have many<br />

unique requirements. Similarly, mandates and various needs<br />

are based on the size of area serviced, demographics,<br />

geography, and whether state, local or federal.<br />

Pertaining to this, Valor Systems has a strong track record<br />

of serving <strong>Public</strong> Safety Answering Points with 2-20<br />

dispatchers, to U.S Military Bases around the world, and<br />

many Fortune 500 Companies, one of which dispatches<br />

across 27 countries. All of this achieved with the same<br />

scalable and configurable software.<br />

Valor Systems also comprehends that often times, vendors<br />

say anything to win the business. Shedding light over this<br />

issue, the organization believes, vendors should “earn” the<br />

business by engaging in a fully-functional, no-cost, trial of<br />

the software as proposed. This allows the agency to clearly<br />

understand Valor Systems’ approach to their specific needs<br />

and ensure that expectations are met. <strong>The</strong> organization has<br />

delivered many successful implementations from start, to<br />

go-live, within a one-week period and without any prior<br />

commitment from the potential customer.<br />

‘‘<br />

Valor is committed to delivering<br />

flexible, scalable solutions and<br />

has earned 23 years of<br />

customer-retention.<br />

which the first responders and other emergency personnel<br />

face in their daily operations. Valor participates in security<br />

and safety training courses to help define new solutions for<br />

multiple stakeholders across an enterprise.<br />

Where many of the organization’s competitors have merged<br />

and offer competing systems within the same company,<br />

Valor System remains focused on developing scalable,<br />

configurable, customer-driven solutions. It has achieved this<br />

by listening to customers, staying ahead of the competition,<br />

and with focus on a single-code base Incident Management<br />

solution, Valor Systems will retain its position as a true<br />

leader in public safety and beyond.<br />

A Gratified Clientele<br />

“When it comes to providing a Computer Aided Dispatch<br />

solution, Valor Systems makes it happen. Too often, we<br />

have encountered organizations, on other projects, that<br />

promise to meet the needs of the DOD only to disappoint.<br />

Valor Systems, has met the unique Navy requirements to<br />

insure the safety of our overseas installations and the people<br />

who call it home.” – Mr. Brad Krull, Technical Project<br />

Leader IV, Navy Emergency Response Systems<br />

“Valor Systems is one of the few vendors we partner with<br />

who consistently deliver what they promise.” – Mr. Peter<br />

DeNutte, Assistant Director, New Hampshire Bureau of<br />

Emergency Communications - Department of Safety<br />

“Valor Systems has proven to be extremely responsive to<br />

our needs, and have implemented many new concepts as the<br />

system has evolved.” – Mr. Michael Kindle, 911 Services,<br />

Macon County, Missouri<br />

Valor Systems believes it is important to immerse oneself in<br />

the environment of public safety officials. New solutions<br />

cannot be developed without understanding challenges<br />

MM <strong>2018</strong>| December <strong>2018</strong>| 25


Why Supermarkets<br />

Need to Talk to<br />

Millennials in<br />

<strong>The</strong>ir Language<br />

About the Company<br />

<strong>The</strong> word millennial has been<br />

thrown around carelessly for<br />

a while now but only a few<br />

have understood the significance of<br />

what this means. <strong>The</strong>y are not the<br />

loud and self-absorbed demographic<br />

that the media has made them to be,<br />

but rather a highly intelligent, welleducated,<br />

multitasking generation<br />

with a spending power of close to<br />

$3.39 Trillion in <strong>2018</strong>, according to<br />

Oracle.<br />

So who are they, and why do they<br />

matter? Millennials are those born<br />

between 1977 and 2000. 1 in 4<br />

millennials are parents today, and are<br />

2.5 times more likely to adopt a new<br />

technology compared to their older<br />

counterparts. Millennials are a<br />

generation of smartphone wielders,<br />

and the growth on the reliance of<br />

mobile applications that save time is<br />

on the rise. According to Edelman<br />

Digital, 42% of millennials have<br />

already made purchases using their<br />

smartphones.<br />

InstaShop is the easiest<br />

way to order groceries<br />

and have them delivered<br />

to the customer’s<br />

doorstep in less than 30<br />

or 60 minutes average<br />

time depending on the<br />

location. <strong>The</strong> organization<br />

offers a convenient and<br />

seamless grocery<br />

shopping experience that<br />

frees its clients from the<br />

unavoidable chore of<br />

heading to the<br />

supermarket with all the<br />

challenges they may face<br />

there. <strong>The</strong> result?<br />

Customers get much<br />

more time to enjoy doing<br />

the things they love the<br />

most with the people they<br />

love the most!<br />

How you communicate is as<br />

important as what you<br />

communicate<br />

A conversational tonality that is<br />

accessible and human is what<br />

connects the millennials to a shop<br />

and brand. By taking a more personal<br />

approach ad campaigns, customers<br />

can feel more valued. Rather than<br />

just talking to the masses, brands that<br />

have started using social media<br />

networking pages to advertise their<br />

products are able to communicate<br />

directly with individuals.<br />

Intelligently persuasive content will<br />

inevitably attract an audience. It’s<br />

this type of audience that will also be<br />

interested in future content pieces<br />

and accept the brand as a trusted and<br />

informative source of wanted<br />

information. This long term<br />

relationship can then be dotted with<br />

compelling reasons to purchase and<br />

convert readers to buyers.<br />

28 December <strong>2018</strong>|


Industry Insight<br />

About the Author<br />

John Tsioris<br />

Founder & CEO<br />

Mobile grocery shopping is now the next big trend<br />

A 30-year old working mother comes home to a crying<br />

baby, and remembers that she needs to purchase milk.<br />

She quickly whips out her phone and places an order<br />

from the nearest online grocery shop without the hassle<br />

of calling, communication mishaps, and cash<br />

withdrawals.<br />

To connect with this rising smart demographic, brick and<br />

mortar supermarkets cannot simply rely on traditional<br />

industry techniques that were prevalent in the 1990s and<br />

the 2000s. In that period, marketing was done through<br />

conventional techniques of leaflet distributions, and<br />

general word of mouth. But this has shifted slowly but<br />

surely. A reputation of a brand or a supermarket may in<br />

fact be dictated solely based on whether they have an<br />

online presence or not. A trending on-demand app<br />

culture has been taking over the millennial generation. In<br />

2015, online grocery sales in US alone amounted to $7<br />

billion, and is expected to rise to $18 billion by 2020.<br />

Convenience and reliability is the critical factor that<br />

keeps this generation loyal. InstaShop, a UAE based<br />

online grocery delivery app backed by Souq.com, Jabbar<br />

Internet Group, and Venture Friends who partner with<br />

local supermarkets and brands, noticed that those who<br />

have downloaded the apps order at least once per week.<br />

John Tsioris is the Founder and<br />

CEO of InstaShop, the leading on<br />

demand grocery shopping app<br />

in the GCC, operating in the<br />

region since 2015 and having<br />

been nominated for two<br />

consecutive years as one of the<br />

most promising startups in the<br />

Arab world by Forbes. InstaShop<br />

is present in 4 countries &<br />

expanding.<br />

<strong>The</strong> platform allows users to<br />

access their nearby supermarket<br />

directly through their mobile app<br />

and shop for groceries with<br />

delivery straight to their door in<br />

30 to 60 minutes depending on<br />

location. in 2016, Souq.com<br />

invested In Instashop.<br />

Limited push notifications on phones with regular<br />

discounts has been quite successful in increasing grocery<br />

purchase. However, too much of that, and the user may<br />

uninstall the app.<br />

At the end, brick-and-mortar groceries and supermarkets<br />

need to build a new content strategy and partner with<br />

online delivery shopping applications that will help to<br />

transition to this new era of digital delivery options to<br />

ensure existing demographics are not missed out on.<br />

MM <strong>2018</strong>| December <strong>2018</strong>| 29


ECO-FRIENDLY<br />

Strategies for<br />

A BETTER<br />

Tech-enabled Construction World<br />

30 December <strong>2018</strong>|


Environmental Talk<br />

oday, the national and global economies are on a<br />

Tconsistent booming pathway. <strong>The</strong>re is an<br />

upsurge in the use and implementation of<br />

cutting-edge technology in the construction-tech<br />

companies. Recognizing these technology trends, many<br />

construction-tech solution providing companies are<br />

focusing on its usage and adoption. Additionally, these<br />

global corporations are now majorly swinging their<br />

interest in executing sustainable construction procedures<br />

thereby leading to an increase in sustainable building<br />

materials reaching to the masses.<br />

It is essential for the construction-tech companies and<br />

developers to adopt the ecological values which can<br />

ensure sustainability and longevity to withstand the<br />

market complexities. <strong>The</strong> customers and corporations are<br />

shifting towards preserving the environment and the<br />

construction-tech industry is following the suit. Besides,<br />

rapid population growth demands an eco-friendly<br />

environment to live in. <strong>The</strong>re is a need for strategies that<br />

provide alternative construction solutions to safeguard<br />

the environment. <strong>The</strong>refore, the construction-tech<br />

companies are planning to implement cost-effective ecoconstruction<br />

practices.<br />

Using Eco-friendly Material<br />

Sustainable tech-based construction operations can<br />

involve the use of environment-friendly and non-toxic<br />

paints, solvents, and building materials. This can<br />

enhance an organizations’ productivity highgrounds in<br />

the construction-tech industry lending a hand towards<br />

construction of an eco-friendly building. This creates<br />

healthy and safer indoor spaces in homes, offices, and<br />

recreational areas. Besides, the integration of ecoconstruction<br />

practices in the technology will prove to be<br />

a long-term benefit for commercial and industrial<br />

buildings leading to the end-to-end customer satisfaction.<br />

Using the safe, natural and readily available insulation<br />

material like the sheep’s wool can prove profitable for<br />

the construction. <strong>The</strong> recycled cotton sourced from<br />

shreds of discarded clothing can be a strong move<br />

towards non-toxic insulation and sustainable<br />

construction. Also, the by-product of the timber industry<br />

wood fiber made from wood chips can represent a good<br />

eco-friendly insulation option.<br />

Reducing the Demolition Procedures<br />

Instead of dumping the hazardous materials like concrete<br />

and structural steel into landfills, these can be recycled<br />

and reused for various other tech-based construction<br />

operations. Using the industrial crushing amenities, the<br />

small-scale as well as large-scale construction-tech<br />

organizations can recycle these materials into dry<br />

aggregate for new construction operations. This would<br />

provide the organizations with a substantial savings<br />

opportunity and can help reducing the demolition<br />

construction procedures. It will also aid and cut-costs<br />

associated with the disposal of toxic materials from the<br />

site. Additionally, recycling and reusing the carpet,<br />

flooring and ceiling materials can be a small but strong<br />

move towards eco-friendly construction environment.<br />

Implementation of Locally-obtained Resources<br />

Construction materials are transported over an extremely<br />

long distance with greater consumption of energy in that<br />

transportation phase. But emphasis can be placed on the<br />

use of locally-sourced materials with green construction.<br />

Also, this would reduce the carbon footprint, and creates<br />

a far more efficient tech-based construction processes.<br />

<strong>The</strong> use of the resources available in any city or town<br />

can help, support, and grow the local businesses on a<br />

large scale.<br />

Conserving and Recycling the Water<br />

Water is the key enabler for every construction-tech<br />

operations; residential, industrial or commercial. Hence,<br />

water must be conserved to power the implementation of<br />

eco-construction processes into any kind of constructiontech<br />

project. This can involve simple techniques like<br />

rain-water harvesting and or watershed management.<br />

This collection and storage of rain-water can be used for<br />

December <strong>2018</strong>| 31


landscape irrigation. In addition, the recycled rain-water and its condensation from HVAC units can also be collected<br />

and used for same causes. <strong>The</strong> construction-tech companies can take advantage of recycling water through readily<br />

available water resources which would otherwise go down the drain.<br />

Long-term Sustainable <strong>Solution</strong>s<br />

With the soaring energy costs, investing in solar power could be a long-term sustainable solution for tech-based<br />

construction companies. It can cut-costs, reduces grid reliance, and lessens the strain on electricity providers. <strong>The</strong><br />

construction companies can transform the rooftops of the homes and buildings into generators with the use of this solar<br />

power and maintain a good electricity flow. To take one step further, use of photovoltaic windows consisting of solar<br />

cells can boost the operations controlling interior temperature.<br />

Another way to execute successful eco-friendly construction practices can be achieved through the use of wind power.<br />

Having turbine fans at the rooftop of a building can help in producing energy and also reduce electricity consumption.<br />

Besides, they require little maintenance, maintain indoor air quality, and reduce utility investments.<br />

Appropriate Use of Land<br />

With the increasing population, urbanization of smart cities is also on its way. Planning for green space and<br />

multipurpose areas can be significant in avoiding land degradation. <strong>The</strong> construction techniques can support the<br />

ideology of eco-friendly tech-based construction with the suitable use of landscape. Appropriate use of land by the<br />

builders, architects, and designers while developing a building, will encourage the addition of green spaces on rooftops<br />

or in other parts of that building. This will provide the masses with a multiuse space.<br />

<strong>The</strong> future construction world would witness transformations with more sustainable and alternative construction<br />

methodologies. However, creativity and innovations in tech-enabled construction practices will ensure the maximum<br />

longevity of resources for future generations. Also, these innovations will be the cornerstones of the developments and<br />

could help in leaving a better landscape for next-gen. Eco-construction practices and technological advancements will<br />

open the future doors for the green construction leading to a cleaner and greener construction-tech world.<br />

32 December <strong>2018</strong>|


VCS<br />

Pioneering Time & Labor<br />

Management <strong>Solution</strong>s within<br />

the <strong>Public</strong> <strong>Sector</strong><br />

Guy DiMemmo<br />

Founder & CEO<br />

In an interview with Insights Success, the Founder and<br />

CEO of Visual Computer <strong>Solution</strong>s, Guy DiMemmo<br />

shares the key insights over his organization’s delivery<br />

of reformative software solutions with an implied emphasis<br />

on disruptive innovation and a state of being au fait with<br />

contemporary technology. Considering these influential and<br />

inspirational traits, Insights Success recognizes Visual<br />

Computer <strong>Solution</strong>s as one of the most trusted public sector<br />

solution providers of <strong>2018</strong>.<br />

Below are highlights from the interview:<br />

Give a brief overview of the company, its uniqueness<br />

and its vision.<br />

VCS strives to provide the public sector with state-of-theart<br />

Time and Labor Management software, in an effort to<br />

improve the efficiency and quality of their workforce. Our<br />

ultimate goal is to create unparalleled software solutions<br />

that address the rapidly changing technological<br />

requirements and governing laws of the public sector.<br />

What are the cutting-edge products and solutions<br />

offered by Visual Computer <strong>Solution</strong>s?<br />

a) POSS for Police: POSS is <strong>Public</strong> Safety’s top choice<br />

for time and attendance software that handles unique<br />

challenges due to the complexity of shift patterns,<br />

rotations, minimum staffing requirements, FLSA labor<br />

laws, agency/union rules, etc., and gives users the<br />

ability to customize the scheduling system to their<br />

precise needs.<br />

b) COSS for Correctional Agencies and Jails: COSS is<br />

the only corrections scheduling and time & attendance<br />

solution that exists in the marketplace today. As<br />

requested by Correctional Administrators who best<br />

understand the complexity of their mandated rules and<br />

laws, COSS was designed to include the ability for<br />

customization to a facility’s unique requirements.<br />

c) FIRES for Fire and EMS Agencies: FIRES is an<br />

indispensable management tool for supervisors who are<br />

responsible for managing the complex and variable<br />

schedules of Fire and EMS agencies. <strong>The</strong> flexible, userfriendly<br />

screens automate everything from calendaring,<br />

overtime and certifications to payroll, reporting, and<br />

broadcast messaging.<br />

d) AION for Government: AION is a fully integrated<br />

scheduling and time/attendance solution for municipal<br />

scheduling needs that automates the labor-intensive<br />

processes involved with the management of employee<br />

time and attendance. With the ability to integrate<br />

civilian and non-civilian time keeping needs, AION<br />

allows for accurate schedule creation that aligns labor<br />

with need while observing all municipality regulatory<br />

policies and compliance issues.<br />

e) Jobs4Blue – Managed Services for Extra Duty:<br />

Powered by POSS, Jobs4Blue’s mission is to simplify<br />

extra duty management by eliminating the daunting<br />

and time-consuming administrative tasks that are<br />

typically associated with this process. Jobs4Blue acts<br />

as a liaison for the administration of extra-duty jobs, so<br />

the extensive man hours and labor costs that typically<br />

consume public safety agencies’ time can now be better<br />

spent to protect and serve their communities.<br />

34 December <strong>2018</strong>|


Give a detailed description of your influence over the<br />

company and the industry.<br />

Influenced by industry leaders in the public sector, I took on<br />

the task of creating a software solution to combat their<br />

workforce and scheduling challenges. In 1998, I developed<br />

VCS and its flagship solution POSS, the very first<br />

computerized system for police scheduling.<br />

POSS was an instant success when it hit the market just a<br />

few years later, guiding VCS to almost exclusively service<br />

the law enforcement industry. <strong>The</strong> immediate success of<br />

POSS enabled us to take further steps by creating additional<br />

products that serve the diverse needs of each government<br />

entity. We’re dedicated to running the public sector’s entire<br />

behind-the-scenes show so they can remain focused on the<br />

frontline.<br />

‘‘<br />

For over 20 years, we have been<br />

immersed in the public sector,<br />

taking on the burden of handling<br />

time and labor management<br />

24/7, 365.<br />

Describe the experiences, achievements or lessons learnt<br />

that have shaped the journey of the company.<br />

a) Initially created as a solution to assist a local police<br />

department, POSS quickly became a phenomenon, now<br />

embodying the phrase “the sky is the limit.” In 2016,<br />

VCS topped Inc. 5000’s list of the fastest-growing<br />

private companies, and POSS is currently powering<br />

more than 700 police departments across the U.S.<br />

b) We’ve learned that technology needs to be ever<br />

evolving in order to meet the changing needs of today’s<br />

public sector workforce. VCS prides itself on listening<br />

to the issues our clients are facing and responding<br />

accordingly with software that resolves them.<br />

What are the challenges faced while providing public<br />

sector solutions and how is Visual Computer <strong>Solution</strong>s<br />

serving to tackle them?<br />

a) Through thorough research and working first-hand with<br />

members of the industry, VCS has developed a deeprooted<br />

knowledge of “the way things work” in the<br />

public sector. We’re completely immersed in the public<br />

sector and know not only how to handle – but the<br />

precise way to handle – any time and labor<br />

management hurdle that may arise.<br />

b) Hot topics like Overtime and Extra Duty management<br />

are challenges within the industry that are easily<br />

handled through automation and logic inherently built<br />

within the VCS platform.<br />

Where does Visual Computer <strong>Solution</strong>s see itself in the<br />

long run and what are its future goals?<br />

VCS pioneered time and labor management solutions<br />

within the public sector and will continue to be the front<br />

runner. After experiencing much success within this<br />

industry, VCS’ goal is to expand to include HCM offerings<br />

for any business looking to efficiently and effectively<br />

manage its workforce.<br />

Client Testimonials:<br />

“Since implementing POSS our payroll processing is much<br />

faster and efficient. We were additionally able to get rid of<br />

all handwritten slips that we had been using for sick time,<br />

vacation time and overtime requests which has resulted in a<br />

tremendous cost savings for the department. <strong>The</strong> amount of<br />

report options available in POSS is incredible. <strong>The</strong> system<br />

is truly invaluable to us.” - Norma Zamudio, Arcadia Police<br />

Department, CA<br />

“POSS has enabled Atlantic County (a department of 250<br />

employees) to save more than $70,000 per year simply by<br />

effectively managing payroll and overtime while paying for<br />

itself in the first year alone.” - Sgt. Anthony Minetti, Atlantic<br />

County Department of <strong>Public</strong> Safety, NJ<br />

According to you, what could be the potential future of<br />

public sector solution providers and how does Visual<br />

Computer <strong>Solution</strong>s envision sustaining its competency?<br />

<strong>The</strong> future is bright as the public sector has really come to<br />

understand the importance of technology in the<br />

management of their workforce. VCS prides itself on its<br />

ever-evolving nature, which means that as the industry<br />

grows, we will continue to grow alongside it by always<br />

meeting the changing needs and demands of the public<br />

sector.<br />

MM <strong>2018</strong>| December <strong>2018</strong>| 35


Blockchain:<br />

<strong>The</strong> Next Opportunity for<br />

Better, Safer, Smarter Cities<br />

Today, about 55% of the world’s population lives<br />

in urban areas, but this share is expected to<br />

increase to 68% by 2050. Combined with the<br />

overall growth of global population, this could add<br />

another 2.5 billion people to urban areas by 2050, with<br />

close to 90% of this increase taking place in Asia and<br />

Africa, as reported by the United Nations’ <strong>2018</strong> Revision<br />

of World Urbanization Prospects.<br />

Since the world continues to urbanize, a wiser and farsighted<br />

management of urban resources is more and<br />

more needed, especially in low-income and lowermiddle-income<br />

countries where the pace of urbanization<br />

is projected to be the fastest. Smart technologies and<br />

smart urban platforms can support City managers in<br />

tackling the increasing demand for energy,<br />

infrastructures, affordable housing, well-connected<br />

mobility systems, healthcare and education, as well as<br />

quality of life and jobs.<br />

To understand how smart technologies work, we should<br />

picture Cities as distributed communication systems,<br />

where urban objects – think of streetlights, meters,<br />

parking lots, waste bins, Wi-Fi hotspots, video<br />

About the Author: Gianni Minetti<br />

Passionate and eclectic technology<br />

expert, Gianni Minetti is the President<br />

and CEO, Paradox Engineering SA has<br />

about 25 years of business experience<br />

in information and telecommunication<br />

systems, with peculiar interests in<br />

Internet of Things, smart technologies,<br />

blockchain and cryptography. In 2005<br />

he founded Paradox Engineering as<br />

the vehicle for bringing his unique<br />

technology vision to the market<br />

through pioneer IoT platforms for<br />

Smart Cities and Smart Factories. He<br />

is currently President and CEO of the<br />

Company, which has been part of<br />

MinebeaMitsumi Group since July<br />

2015. Gianni is also chair of the<br />

Southern Alps Chapter of the Crypto<br />

Valley Association, active investor<br />

and advisor to several blockchain<br />

venture projects. He is based in<br />

Ticino, Switzerland.<br />

36 December <strong>2018</strong>|


Leadership Viewpoint<br />

surveillance cameras, etc. – are not dumb, isolated<br />

devices, but smart nodes of a citywide network. With the<br />

Internet of Things (IoT), all these objects are injected<br />

with intelligence and acquire the capability to receive<br />

and transmit data and execute commands, thus enabling<br />

remote monitoring and dynamic, adaptive control<br />

functions.<br />

Acquiring and correlating data from urban assets is a<br />

significant step forward to improve quality of public<br />

services and citizen satisfaction, reduce energy<br />

consumption, optimize costs and simplify processes for<br />

City operators and managers. Even more, it provides<br />

actionable information to feed strategic decisions about<br />

services efficiency and improvements, and take<br />

evidence-based actions where and when needed.<br />

Let’s apply what we’ve just described to a basic service<br />

such as street lighting. By connecting street lamps to a<br />

wireless IoT network, it becomes possible to turn them<br />

on/off and adjust brightness according to daily solar<br />

times and ambient light levels, defining variable patterns<br />

for working and festive days, residential and industrial<br />

districts. Sensors can be integrated to bring lights up<br />

when human or vehicle presence is detected, and on<br />

demand actions can be triggered in real time for single or<br />

grouped lamps – for instance when a car accident or an<br />

emergency requires intense lighting in a specific area.<br />

It is proven that implementing LED lighting and an IoT<br />

remote management and control platform can cut energy<br />

consumption and greenhouse emissions up to 70%.<br />

Moreover, connected lamps can monitor key operating<br />

parameters and automatically report failures, generating<br />

extra savings on maintenance costs. Considering LED<br />

technologies last about 50% longer than traditional light<br />

sources, the US Federal Department of Energy estimated<br />

that if the entire country converted to LED lighting over<br />

the next 20 years, it would save a total of USD 120<br />

billion.<br />

Even more interesting developments are possible with<br />

blockchain technology, which can make Smart Cities far<br />

more secure, transparent, efficient and resilient. As an<br />

original combination of mature technological concepts,<br />

including peer-to-peer networks, distributed consensus<br />

algorithms, validity rules, ledger technologies and<br />

cryptography, blockchain can be successfully applied in<br />

MM <strong>2018</strong>| December <strong>2018</strong>| 37


any domain where stakeholders’<br />

relations are based on trust and may<br />

be entirely disintermediated. This is<br />

particularly true in Cities, as they<br />

rely on accurate, secure, authentic<br />

and trustworthy information<br />

exchanges to deliver services to<br />

people and businesses.<br />

About energy distribution, for<br />

instance, blockchain-based metering<br />

solutions can accelerate the adoption<br />

of real-time differential pricing<br />

models and encourage users to<br />

participate to power generation by<br />

connecting their renewable energy<br />

microgrids to the main grid. In water<br />

networks, blockchain technologies<br />

enable smart contracts and validated<br />

rules to automate water supply in the<br />

most possible efficient manner,<br />

minimizing leakages and tampering.<br />

Blockchain technology can be<br />

combined with IoT solutions to<br />

provide better waste collection<br />

services: it allows to accurately track<br />

waste input and optimize waste truck<br />

routes upon parameters like bin<br />

status, filling levels, etc. This<br />

increases service quality and<br />

efficiency, and generates further<br />

savings on fuel expenses and overall<br />

maintenance costs. Garbage-related<br />

data could also support the<br />

introduction of customized fees for<br />

household and commercial users,<br />

thus rewarding recycling and correct<br />

waste separation.<br />

Coming to public government and<br />

administration, blockchain can be<br />

used to automate and digitalize civil<br />

registries, as well as property, real<br />

estate and business registries,<br />

generating notable cost savings and<br />

increasing quality of service.<br />

Considering citizen participation,<br />

blockchain-based voting platforms<br />

can improve present, analogue<br />

electoral systems by achieving<br />

secure, anonymous and unique<br />

voting in a decentralized manner.<br />

Same platforms can be used to poll<br />

citizens on specific urban initiatives,<br />

making sure contributions from civil<br />

society are recognized in Smart City<br />

planning and development.<br />

Blockchain technology is still in its<br />

early days, but most experts agree it<br />

has a potential for disruption. And<br />

some pioneer experiences – from<br />

Dubai to Tokyo, from New York to<br />

Tallinn – demonstrate that benefits<br />

for Smart Cities can really be<br />

worthwhile.<br />

38 December <strong>2018</strong>|

Hooray! Your file is uploaded and ready to be published.

Saved successfully!

Ooh no, something went wrong!