– I am very proud of the way the municipality has handled the digitization business. Two years ago, we started developing a digitization strategy with action plans. This has helped us define three foundational foundations we need: Technology, Maturity, and Delivery. We need technology that can contribute to the maturity of the organization, so that the organization, in turn, can offer to the end customer, that is, our compatriots. In this way, they will participate in the benefit we create, says Ahmet Akl, digitalization strategist, Staffanstorp Municipality.
– This work has resulted in a robust digital services portfolio consisting of platforms, services and functionality. We have, among other things, an e-services platform and process automation and control solutions. The latest addition is Secure Digital Communications (SDK) which is a nationwide project run by Digg and Inera.
What is the SDK and why is it important?
– It’s a project that started to cancel the fax machine, so to speak. There is a lot of service information being sent between different authorities, and you don’t want to send that sensitive information in a way that isn’t secure for the recipient. This often means that the information has been faxed or mailed. But along with the investment in the SDK, we are building a kind of node system so that we can communicate in a secure way. This means we get much shorter lead times; We reach our authorities and our citizens get better support on many different fronts.
How did Staffanstorp take the lead on this?
– We saw significant benefit, even if it was very limited at first because only a few municipalities were connected to each other. Despite that, we felt this was a very good thing and something needed. That’s why we’ve collaborated with Region Skåne, Arbetsförmedlingen, and other Skåne municipalities, and now we’re putting the platform in place.
What are the biggest gains now that more people are joining?
– secure connection. It’s less vulnerable, and we get to our citizens and authorities more quickly. We have previously had occasions where I had to get in the car and drive with documents to health centers and the like, and we hope to reduce these occasions.
Speaking of collaboration, many IT decision makers are attesting in CIO’s latest analysis that IT is taking ever bigger steps to support and collaborate with other businesses. Do you feel like you do that too in Staffanstorp?
– Yes, I totally think so. We’ve gone from being a more support-oriented function, to looking at the whole and working more strategically to try and tie the municipality together. We’re working on opening APIs and we’re out there in companies trying to help them. Now that this digital infrastructure is in place, we’ll move on to change management and start working with operations planning to find the benefits with businesses.
In conclusion, where do you hope Staffanstorp is in one to two years?
– Sweden’s pioneer in the municipal sector in digitization.
Do you aspire high?
– Haha, you should do it. It’s very important.
“Entrepreneur. Freelance introvert. Creator. Passionate reader. Certified beer ninja. Food nerd.”
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