From paper-based bureaucracy to electronic efficiency

The county of Ludwigslust in former East Germany is investing in state-of-the-art information and communications (ICT) technology from T-Systems to achieve greater efficiency. As a result, it has succeeded in replacing sluggish bureaucracy with citizen-friendly and cost-effective services.

The customer

A local government committed to the delivery of citizen-friendly services.

The county of Ludwigslust was established in 1994 within the state of Mecklenburg-Eastern Pommerania, in former East Germany, through the integration of the districts of Hagenow, Ludwigslust and Schwerin-Land. With approximately 132,000 inhabitants, the county its shares with the capital of the state, Schwerin in the north, with the county of Parchim and the state of Brandenburg in the east, with Lower Saxony in the south, and the state of Schleswig-Holstein in the west.

Ludwigslust is one of the largest counties in Germany, with a total area only slightly less than the state of Saar. However, the county only has 680 employees, making it one of the smallest in terms of headcount. The county is an attractive base for business operations, with ample land and property, and a skilled workforce. It is only sparsely populated, with an intact countryside, and rich flora and fauna, creating the ideal conditions for tourism.

The challenge

Integrated IT and e-government solution

The county has a clearly defined vision. It wishes to minimize bureaucracy, and maximize citizen- and business-friendliness. In mid-1995, the county was one of the first in former East Germany to launch a comprehensive modernization project. A year later, the first concrete steps were taken: administrative processes were analyzed and optimized, and new monitoring, management, and financial-control methods deployed. At the same time, work began on the introduction of a state-of-the-art IT infrastructure. The aim was to implement an e-government strategy for the entire county.

This entailed more than just simply digitizing administrative tasks: the county intended reengineering and optimizing processes both within and between departments and agencies, making them more cost-effective, employee-friendly and citizen-friendly. The ICT platform is the basis for achieving these ambitious goals, and a key driver of change. Heinrich Busse-Souchon, Deputy Chairman of the County Council, recalls the situation in the early days, “On the one hand, we required completely new hardware and software. On the other hand, we were not able to make any additional human resources available for the administration of the new infrastructure.” After all, the introduction of a new IT environment was meant to relieve employees of routine tasks, and not to burden them with new ones. Against this background, the county chose to enter into a strategic partnership with Deutsche Telekom.

As a result, Europe’s biggest telecommunications company was tasked with planning, implementing and operating the entire IT infrastructure. “Deutsche Telekom was the only bidder with a truly persuasive, coherent outsourcing concept,” explains Busse-Souchon. The decision in favor of Deutsche Telekom was also based on the cost effectiveness of the solution, and its ability to support the introduction of e-government applications, in other words the delivery of local-government services via the Internet.

The T-Systems solution

A future-proof IT infrastructure for local-government applications.

A contract was signed between the county and Deutsche Telekom in 2001. The first stage saw the implementation of five components: T-LAN service, desktop solutions, computing services, application service providing and a user help desk. These components were combined by T-Systems, a division of Deutsche Telekom, to create a tailor-made answer to the county’s needs, comprising all three key steps, i.e. the development, implementation and operation of the entire IT infrastructure (plan, build, run).

The scope of supply includes a total of 450 desktop computers, servers and the network, plus an option for a further 500 PCs for local schools. The heart of the communications landscape is the Corporate Voice Solutions, a virtual private network based on the Deutsche Telekom voice network. The Corporate Voice Solutions is used for all 110 telephone lines, with users integrated via a standardized telephone-number system. Connections are charged by the second, with a standard tariff for all callers within the county. The benefits of the Corporate Voice Solutions became quickly apparent: as Heinrich Busse-Souchon explains, “The voice network solution has already generated tangible cost savings for the county.” A further benefit is the support provided by the user help desk: via a toll-free number, county employees can gain advice and assistance from T-Systems when they encounter technical problems – around the clock.

The new ICT infrastructure has created the foundations for e-government: the digitization of local-government processes with the aim of creating citizen-friendly, cost-effective services. Within the scope of the partnership agreement with Deutsche Telekom, the local-government portal, www.kreis-lwl.de went live in December 2002.

The scenario: the e-government portal enables citizens to perform many tasks remotely, without having to physically attend government agencies, and for the county it means leaner, more efficient processes. The new Website provides the local population with visibility into the workings of the county, and into all local-government agencies and facilities. Moreover, citizens can interact with the county – via e-mail, chat rooms, or online polls on selected topics. The portal not only helps users to identify the correct agency for their requirements, but also enables them to complete many applications online, or to download them. For example, members of the general public can now apply for a new refuse container online, or request that particularly bulky refuse be collected on a specific date. The aim is to gradually integrate all local government agencies into a single portal, providing a comprehensive online service portfolio. T-Systems has implemented future-proof technology that enables later enhancements. Chairman of the County Council Rolf Christiansen: “The portal is modular in nature, enabling it to be expanded, and is also compatible with other systems throughout Germany. As a result, we can incorporate new services at any time, and cooperate with other public-sector organizations.”

For local citizens, the portal means greater convenience. For the county itself, it means considerable savings. International studies by the Fraunhofer Institute have shown that digitization can bring about huge savings in practically all areas through process acceleration. The expense of managing the needs and requests of approximately 90,000 inhabitants can quickly mount up: the cost of processing an estimated 25,000 applications per year for refuse collection, for example, approximately €189,000. Two days elapse between the receipt of the written application and the delivery of the confirmation by post. First, the application arrives at the mail room, where the data is entered into the computer system by hand. This is then printed out, and forwarded to the corresponding refuse-collection company, where the data is again captured manually. A total of 21 minutes are required for manual processing and data entry.

Stand-alone IT systems and manual data transfer mean significant wastage. E-government leverages the integrative strength of the Internet to enable seamless access to information, anywhere, anytime, and without redundancy. For example, when a citizen submits an online application, all data is transferred automatically to the IT system operated by the county. There is no need for manual data entry – all local-government agencies and facilities are fully networked, with integration across all internal departments, and connectivity to external service providers, such as refuse-collection companies. The citizen receives confirmation of his request within a day, again via the Internet. The application takes just 7.5 minutes to process, a saving of 13.5 minutes. As a result, annual administrative costs can be cut by some €75,000 to around €119,000.

The future: the Internet as the driver of internal process optimization.

However, against the backdrop of tight budgetary constraints, the implementation of a comprehensive e-government concept is also a question of available resources. Council Chairman Christiansen believes T-Systems has resolved this dilemma: “The e-government platform offers us all the components needed to automate administrative processes. T-Systems is not only responsible for operating the infrastructure, but also for phasing in the individual platform modules.” As a result, the county has plans for the introduction of further online services in the near future: for example, citizens will be able to apply for an ID card or driver’s license. The services provided to local businesses are also to be expanded. Christiansen: „The Internet does obviate the need to reform local government, but it is increasingly a driver of internal process optimization.”

Customer benefits

Future-proof solution with the ability to deliver significant savings.

The county of Ludwigslust is making full use of the e-government solutions available from T-Systems. In addition to the end-to-end ICT infrastructure, including hardware and service management, a local-government portal has been implemented that enables the step-by-step deployment of online service modules. Digitization opens up significant opportunities for savings through process acceleration. As the portal is compatible with other public-sector systems, local governments throughout Germany can cooperate to implement e-government applications, and to integrate legacy solutions.