Accela Announces New COVID-19 Response Solution to Help Cities Manage the Process of Re-Opening Businesses

SAN RAMON, Calif., April 22, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Accela, the leading provider of cloud-based solutions for government, today announced its new Business Re-Opening Management solution to help guide state and local governments as they begin to consider loosening "shelter-in-place" restrictions and allowing businesses to operate again under certain public health criteria. This solution is the latest addition to Accela's suite of cloud-based COVID-19 Response Solutions, which were developed in response to accelerated customer demand for digital service capabilities during the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. The solutions are purpose-built to address immediate challenges of the pandemic and navigate the future of government moving forward. Accela works with 80% of America's largest cities and has been laser-focused on helping agencies offer vital citizen services remotely during this unprecedented time. 

"With government agencies beginning to discuss a gradual and controlled reopening of businesses and activities in their jurisdictions, Accela is collaborating with its customers and other government entities to expand the breadth of capabilities offered under Accela's COVID-19 Response Solutions, built on Accela's Civic Platform," says Troy Coggiola, Chief Product Officer at Accela. "We are committed to partnering with agencies across the world in this next phase of the pandemic response to help them confidently and safely approach their new 'normal'."

Currently, about 95% of the United States is under either a state- or city-mandated shelter-in-place order in an effort to halt the spread of COVID-19. Many state governors are beginning to release their plans to re-open economies later this year, and state and local agencies will need to determine when it is suitable for non-essential businesses to re-open while upholding public health and safety.

Government agencies can use Accela's Business Re-Opening Management solution to manage and monitor requests from establishments to restart operations during the next phase of government response to COVID-19. For example, agency staff can identify what types of businesses are allowed to open, and when, by assessing their essential nature and compliance with new public health requirements such as having shields in place at cash registers, providing added spacing of tables or lines where people gather, or restricting hours of operation. The technology also helps ensure high productivity and speed for agencies to manage the strain of large volumes of applications once businesses begin the re-opening process. Its core components include:

• A flexible and scalable workflow engine, preconfigured for the processes needed to manage the re-opening process.
• A powerful mobile solution for field inspectors and code officers to plan and conduct scheduled inspections and complaint investigations using real-time data about businesses permitted to be open, COVID-19 checklists with new rules and regulations to be followed, and the ability to send comments or rich media from a mobile device directly to an agency's back-office system.
• A citizen interface that allows governments to publish and update critical information pertaining to businesses, accept applications, make payments, and capture complaints.

Accela's full suite of thirteen COVID-19 Response Solutions were developed to help agencies manage high volumes of needed services during stay-at-home directives for citizens and employees. These cloud-based solutions are designed to respond to the pandemic, including tools to provide online citizen services, schedule healthcare workers and volunteers, conduct mobile and virtual inspections to help field workers continue critical, timely inspections or construction projects as scheduled, and more. They were created to help make product evaluation and procurement processes easier and faster for government agencies and can be rapidly implemented in as little as one-14 days to empower agencies to adapt to the circumstances quickly. Accela is prepared to partner with any agency to ensure they can support their citizens during this time, regardless of resource constraints.

Today's announcement reinforces Accela's commitment to partner with state and local governments and deliver modern digital tools to help build thriving communities now, and in future. Its existing suite of out-of-the-box Civic Applications includes solutions to streamline Planning, Building, Environmental Health, Business and Occupational Licensing, and more. Online services keep construction projects, inspections, licensing processes, and applications moving forward, and ensure critical public-safety activities continue. To learn more about how Accela is helping governments address the impacts of COVID-19, read "How Accela Customers Are Protecting Their Communities in Response to COVID-19" and CEO Gary Kovacs's recent blog post here.

On Friday, April 24 at 10:00 AM PST/1:00 PM EST, Accela will host a 30-minute webinar entitled, "Business Re-Opening Management," which will cover how agencies can properly leverage the features of Accela's new solution to ensure the safety of their communities as they navigate the challenges and considerations of the re-opening process. You can register for the webinar online here.

To learn more about Accela COVID-19 Response Solutions, please visit https://www.accela.com/civic-platform/covid/.

About Accela

Accela provides market-leading cloud solutions that empower the most innovative state and local governments around the world to build thriving communities, grow businesses and protect citizens. More than 275 million citizens globally benefit from Accela's solutions, which are powered by Microsoft Azure, for permitting, licensing, code enforcement and service request management. Accela's fast-to-implement Civic Applications, built on its robust and extensible Civic Platform, help agencies address specific needs today, while ensuring they are prepared for any emerging or complex challenges in the future. Accela is headquartered in San Ramon, California, with additional offices around the world. For more information, visit www.accela.com.

Contact: Kate Helete, (805) 458-5093, [email protected]

SOURCE Accela

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