From 39 ATOs to 600,000 financial disclosure filings, even the agencies that know us are often surprised to learn how much we’ve grown and what we can do for them
by Intelliworx
Intelliworx got its start about 20 years ago by transforming paper forms into dynamic web-based forms for the federal government. As you might suspect, the government maintains a vast array of forms – a reported 23,000 – many of which can be long and complicated.
The complexity requires citizens to spend some 10.5 billion hours a year figuring out how to complete them. Our approach simplified selected forms making them easier to complete – in less time – and with better data quality.
How was this possible?
We use an intelligent interview style format, much like the format popularized by tax preparation software. This works well because it breaks complicated forms down into smaller and simpler steps. More to the point, at each step the software could ask just the right questions and provide exactly the right instructions.
This conjures the question: what is a form?
It’s a means of collecting data as part of a larger business process. We realize there was more we could do and started building cloud-based software products to support these processes.
Today we serve nearly 40 government agencies. While we still offer a conversion from paper to automated forms, we also host a range of complete software solutions including:
- Application management which is used to manage large government scholarships and grant programs with tens of thousands of applicants and awards. We’ve customized this solution for several agencies to manage similar functions, such as applications for various government permits.
- Financial disclosure is widely used by government ethics shops to prevent or mitigate the risk of conflicts of interest.
- Telework management accounts for all the federal requirements of managing telework or remote work – and provides performance data to measure productivity.
These are just a few of the solutions we’ve built on top of the Intelliworx platform. All this means that we’ve learned quite a bit over the years and have collected a few merit badges and milestones along the way, so to speak. Yet even among the agencies that know us, many are often surprised to learn how much we’ve grown and what we can do for them.
Some examples follow below.
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1. Intelliworx has 39 authorizations to operate (ATOs).
Agency customers are always surprised to learn we have 39 different authorizations to operate (ATO) at federal agencies. Those familiar with the government’s process for procuring technology know this is no small feat. It tells agencies that we know how to execute and get things done – in accordance with government rules and processes.
2. Intelliworx is FedRAMP-authorized.
The Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) helps to ensure the security of software products based in the cloud or sold as a service (i.e. SaaS). Obtaining FedRAMP-authorization was a daunting task we’re proud to have earned. It’s a useful litmus test for agencies as well. It helps them ensure their solution providers have the right architecture and processes in place to protect the personally identifiable information (PII) that many agencies must collect, process and store.
3. Intelliworx is section 508 compliant.
Section 508 is the five hundred and eighth section of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Under this section, “agencies must give disabled employees and members of the public access to information comparable to the access available to others.” In a digital world, compliance means providing ways for those with visual or audio impairment to use websites and apps despite their disability. Our software is Section 508 compliant.
4. Intelliworx is scalable.
Scalability means the ability to easily support more users. As a cloud-based platform, we can scale to support hundreds of thousands of users. In fact, our Financial Disclosure solution easily supports about 60% of non-DOD filings across the entire U.S. Government – nearly 600,000 in recent years.
5. Access to the Intelliworx executive team.
One of the benefits of going with a smaller (but not small) technology supplier is access to the leadership team. This means customers are able to engage the decision-makers. This isn’t a one-off meeting either. Our senior technology leaders are on customer calls every week and are active participants in those conversations.
6. Intelliworx is flexible and customizable.
We can (and do) build out additional features, functions and even entire systems on top of the platform – if an agency so desires. Most of our work has some level of customization to meet the unique needs of an agency. In this way, other agencies benefit from the things we’ve learned helping their peers.
7. Intelliworx customer support doubles as internal client advocates.
Customer support is table-stakes – both agencies and their suppliers put service level agreements (SLAs) in place to ensure customers get the support they need. We strive to take this to the next level: Our support staff are more than that – they are product specialists who advocate for their customers inside our organization. This helps ensure customer needs remain front and center in all the work we do.
8. Intelliworx supports system interoperability and data integration.
As we note in the beginning, forms are merely a means of initiating data collection in support of a process. That data often needs to be integrated with another system. This has been a driving force behind our company as we have developed more robust solutions. As a result, we support dozens of bidirectional integrations at several federal agencies.
9. Intelliworx brings government-first experience.
Sometimes private sector software companies get started by working with private-sector clients. After they get going, they might start a government-focused division. At Intelliworx, we did the opposite: our founder is a former government employee so that’s where we started.
This is an important point because government work is just different. The product requirements, specifications and even the contracting and procurement process vary from the private sector. While we do have some private sector offerings today, the government is how we got started and remains an important, if not our largest, customer.
10. Intelliworx delivers a better customer experience.
Everything we build is designed with the customer in mind. Customer experience can and does have a direct impact on the government. For example, if filing taxes is complicated, then it costs more to complete, and the government has to wait longer to see them paid. Therefore, it’s in the government’s interest to make sure the experience – for citizens, employees and stakeholders – is a good one.
The way Intelliworx got started – converting static paper forms into dynamic web forms – was a project inherently focused on improving the customer experience (CX). It made data collection a better experience for every party involved, which improved the efficiency and efficacy of the process. That lesson is baked into the culture here at Intelliworx and is pervasive across everything we do.
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