INFOMAŽ is currently developing a new module for newsystem public that makes spatial data available in accounting. What was the reason behind it? Eberhard Macziol, INFOMAŽ: We have already integrated different new areas into newsystem public, such as property management, document management and also business intelligence. We now see a need for an additional solution in one field, which has a lot to do with accounting, namely the geographical and CAD data. The module is being developed from new as an integrated component. The corresponding professional know-how comes from our partner CABS, who has its own products and many years' expertise in this field. Reinhard Hecker, CABS: The geo data are now available to the local authorities. However, possibilities in the past were limited to dealing with geographical information. Due to the technical possibilities available today, the local authorities now also want to create an integration here as part of a workflow. How did you come to work with CABS? Macziol: Our cooperation goes back to 1990. It was clear that to access the markets in the new federal states we would need a partner who speaks the language of the customers there. CABS has since developed special software for us many times, for example, the integrated enforcement solution in the past. CABS' know-how and INFOMAŽ's technology contributed to this. This has worked very well and we now have around 130 customers for this solution. In addition to ist own specialist applications, CABS also operates our solutions, introduces the software, trains and provides the first level support. Has the need arisen after integrating the GIS data due to the new accounting system? Macziol: Yes, but the fields were separate previously. Geo Information Systems have been set up in many local authorities and facility management solutions are also available. Now it is clear that a connection to accounting is necessary. New integrated modules are emerging, for example, a new module for the automated land registry in newsystem public, as well as the integration of geo data into taxation. The basis behind this is the official base data from the land surveying and land registry departments. Hecker: As a technology partner of GIS suppliers, CABS is able to integrate different systems. We do not want to develop additional GIS functionalities, but rather use data from different sources to create new information levels. We have developed the necessary interfaces and converter functions. Does the integration of geo data also help with citizen information? Hecker: Certainly. If, for example, the different information levels are available in property and buildings management, then enquiries can be answered quickly and with up-to-date information. A change to the automated land registry requires about half a year before it is processed and entered in the registry. Naturally, the information is available to the local authority, but the change is still not official. This provisionally up-to-date and accurate information cannot be used, because the official version has not been reproduced. We have created possibilities here of classifying the processes as historical, provisionally up-to-date or as official. Staff can see immediately which data to work on and can give precise information accordingly. What were the programming challenges of this project? Silvia Liberto, INFOMAŽ: The challenge is to reproduce the different levels in a user-friendly module. The ALKIS catalogue, for example, comprises 300 pages alone. The idea is to filter out the essentials, as you do not need everything in the practical application. So we have made an adjustment and created interface tables, which we need to capture the transformations that are made by the programme and to distribute the data in our system to the right places. Finally, we had to create an integration with bookkeeping, so that, for example, the sale, acquisition or leasing of a property is possible. This requires special attention, because the financial side must always have access to up-to-date information. That sounds time-consuming. How long did programming take? Liberto: We are going step-by-step. First, the interface tables are created so that everything is ready to capture the transformed data. Then the property register is set up in such a way that integration of transformed data is possible. Finally, the most difficult part is to structure and make fully available the official base data into the different modules like land registry, taxation and accounting. Was there a point when you thought it would just not work? Liberto: There wasn't, I didn't think that. But there were certainly situations and requirements that needed a lot of thought. Macziol: We took a pragmatic approach to the development. Sometimes it is better to stop at 96 %, because the further effort is not worth it compared to the benefit. What base do you programme on? Liberto: The processes have been developed as integrated components based on Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009. Macziol: We are designing all our processes on this basis, so that there will be more integrated modules at the end. How do you secure the quality of the software? Liberto: There is a Quality Management Team that supports the development and quality assurance from different perspectives. And we are working with customers to test the new products partially with real data under practice conditions. How do the other stages look now? Liberto: The land registry module will already be functional with the next update of newsystem public in October. It will go to the first pilot customers and can be tested by them under real conditions. The GIS functionality in the land registry and taxes module can also be tested at this point as an integrated solution. Macziol: We will present the modules at the spring trade fairs in the coming year. This is really bold as we are combining really complex data that, initially, have nothing to do with one another. But by then the pilot customers will have the first practical experience and we can present the solution. I think we are really far on here in terms of functionality and schedule. I didn't know that comparable products are currently being developed. What are the essential advantages for the customer? Hecker: We place a lot of value on workflow when developing our solutions. There is still a lot of room for optimisation in the workflows of our local governments. The more digital information there is in the different departments, the more effectively they can work. Working processes practised for decades can be overridden, because integrated relevant information is available at the touch of a button in seconds. Matthias Oehler, CABS: It is currently standard practice for workers to re-enter data in the system for certain areas, which is already available electronically. If, for example, spatial data from the Geo Information System can be used directly in other applications, there is no need for manual re-entry and the information is up-to-date. This brings new perspectives to planning approval processes, for example. Problems, such as with neighbouring properties, can be recognised much earlier. Hecker: Local authorities today are frequently accused of not keeping their data up-to-date and of duplicating processes by different workers in different departments. A practical example: in the planning approval process a quarter of a year passes before all the necessary documents are in place. The whole process can occur much more effectively with browser-based technology and a consistent database. So each worker can see the correct state of proceedings. How do you want to convince the decision makers in local authorities about the new solution? Macziol: We have presented the concept at various user events and have enjoyed huge interest. The experts understand that we are bringing together completely disparate data that were previously handled separately, and they see the enormous advantages. So, we will convince at the an expert level. Is the new module just an expansion of newsystem public or is this something more? Macziol: The new module is - after the property and buildings management - a further milestone on the road to a universal database for local authorities. Thus, we are really distancing ourselves from all other suppliers of software for municipal accounting. We do not necessarily need to create each specialist process as an integrated newsystem public module. In local authorities there are always finances, properties and people. Our task is to dovetail the different information. Here, accounting acts as a data platform for local authorities. Newly developed modules for accounting software newsystem public will give supplier INFOMAŽ a unique selling point. Representatives of INFOMAŽ and CABS explained the stage of development and the advantages of the solution in a round table discussion. At the table were (f.l.): Eberhard Macziol (INFOMAŽ, Managing Director), Matthias Oehler (CABS, Head Software Development), Reinhard Hecker (CABS, Managing Director) and (not in picture) Sven Heß (INFOMAŽ, Team Leader Property and Buildings Management) and Silvia Liberto (INFOMAŽ, Module Responsibility for Land Registry).

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