In my job as VP of Solutions Marketing at KANA, I’m privileged to get to meet a lot of customers and prospects across many different industries and countries.  One of my focus areas is the public sector. What I’ve found is that regardless of where you go in the world, public sector organizations are looking either to start or advance their channel shift strategies—enabling them to exploit the savings possible from lower-cost online services. Their common motivation is to address both seemingly impossible budget constraints and citizens’ increasingly insatiable desire to transact online.

However, most of these organizations (if not all) face difficult obstacles in their efforts to transition to new media. I’ve outlined some of the most pressing issues in my new white paper, “Overcoming the Barriers to Channel Shift.” Moving forward, problems such as the proper integration of online services with back and front office systems, or, for instance, the need to balance convenient access to services against secure access, must be addressed.

Take the example of a mobile app recently launched in the UK and endorsed by a high profile politician. The app was designed to empower citizens to report “street services” problems (such as graffiti) to government.  The app, however, was not properly integrated with any of the organizations responsible for taking care of the issues. As a result, the cost to serve wasn’t reduced—if anything, it will end up costing government (and ultimately citizens) more. And the gap in communication caused by poor integration? Well, it served to further frustrate citizens. A clear lose-lose. Integration is a problem that has to be addressed.

Another example relates to a government organization I spoke to early in 2011. In the process of designing a new transactional web site presence, all was golden until I brought up the subject of mobile smart phone access. Smart phone access wasn’t part of their plan, but it was a sore spot. Online services designed solely for traditional PC dimensions can’t take advantage of what is becoming the primary source for online service access—mobile devices. The citizen experience—the customer experience—is headed there right now. In many instances it has already arrived.

The power and cost-benefits of a good channel shift strategy, if done correctly, are transformational.  Many of our customers know it. But it takes more than just awareness to make it happen. I recall one government organization, again early in 2011, that had determined it could get a significant return on investment by offering a selection of online services. But those services required a fairly high degree of identity authentication (i.e. being sure that the person transacting with you is who they say they are).  Their problem—along with everyone else’s—is how to do this at reasonable cost.

The purpose of the white paper is to urge you to think about the problems, precisely so you can make informed decisions that will hold up over time.  It goes without saying that KANA continues to develop its channel shift solutions to address these problems and anticipate future challenges.

I’d welcome your thoughts and comments.

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