"We were very satisfied with ETCI’s dedication, software application technology and proactive technical support during a most critical time", The Department of Technology, City of Columbus.

Columbus, Ohio is the 15th largest city in the U.S. and one of the most financially prosperous. The City’s Division of Licensing is responsible for issuing, tracking and regulating over 60 different types of licenses, including those for taxicabs, pushcart vendors and home alarms. The Division protects public safety in all areas that are licensed and regulated, and ensures a fair, timely and efficient collection of City revenue.

As part of a broad effort to improve quality and reduce the cost of services, the City continually upgrades its technology base. Recently, however, the hardware platform dedicated to the Division of Licensing no longer supported software upgrades or increases in network traffic. Government agents experienced bottlenecks at the server, delays in file transfers and productivity slowdowns. And then, one day, the system crashed, resulting in an absolute standstill of Division services.

The Department of Technology was challenged with completing an application development project that had stalled. This Department provides leadership on technology-related issues and effectively manages the City’s information and technology infrastructure.

Licensing needed to quickly complete the development of a more efficient application that could take advantage of the City’s improved network capability, as well as establish a technology framework for the future. To address this daunting task, the Department of Technology turned to ETCI. The City had successfully worked with ETCI in the past, so it was no surprise when ETCI was chosen as the strategic partner.

ETCI was recognized not only as a leader in software application and database technology, but also as a team player who could work along side of the City’s hardware, network and application developers. As a result, ETCI was very successful in augmenting the City’s own technical resources. Just as important was the role ETCI would play in the sharing of technical knowledge through training and mentoring during this crucial time.

ETCI was instrumental in completing the City’s new Licensing application using Oracle. This customized solution enabled the City to move from a proprietary closed system to an open-architecture relational database, which was significantly faster, more reliable, secure and efficient.

Working under severe time constraints, ETCI devoted all of its resources to the City, often working around-the-clock to address arising challenges. ETCI developed and deployed the new software application and assisted in the management, maintenance and security of the environment. The installed application, including the graphic user interfaces, was completed in a record 60 days. ETCI also provided ongoing proactive end-user application support and training.

And, almost immediately, there were additional benefits to the City. Licensing began to process its backlog of work and now was able to concentrate on collecting City revenues instead of focusing on the system.