Consolidating Municipal IT Systems Can Reduce Costs – Work Management and Project Management on a Single Platform
Fluent provides municipalities and cities with a work management and project management system that can replace an average of four separate IT systems. The same system can bring together functions such as maintenance monitoring and work management, sports facility management and communications, and construction documentation.
Different municipal departments need efficient work management, up-to-date information flows, and easily accessible documentation. These needs are often addressed with several separate software solutions, even though many of the functions could be combined into a single system — potentially resulting in significant cost savings.
Fluent Progress offers municipalities and cities a comprehensive product suite that can be used across different municipal departments. For example, a municipal property management unit can use Fluent’s system to manage property-related tasks, the sports department to manage sports facility maintenance, technical services to manage street and green area maintenance, and urban development departments to manage construction-related tasks. In tourism and communications, the system can be used to manage information related to destinations, services, and up-to-date public communications.
“Municipalities may currently use numerous systems for these purposes. While the individual systems may work well, purchasing these capabilities from a single provider can generate direct cost savings, which is particularly valuable in an already challenging financial environment”, says Mikko Hassinen, Chief Commercial Officer at Fluent.
“In recent tenders, we have seen a clear need among municipalities for systems that can be used as comprehensively as possible. Many municipalities have also been facing restructuring and workforce negotiations, so it would be great to see savings sought from areas other than personnel as well.”
Many municipalities have also been facing restructuring and workforce negotiations, so it would be great to see savings sought from areas other than personnel as well.
Construction Project Management Brings Scheduling and Work Management Together
For construction projects, Fluent Planner brings together functions such as project scheduling, work management, and document management. In practice, the entire construction workflow can be managed within the same application, from task planning to monitoring progress on site.
“A shared system also makes collaboration easier between a municipality’s own employees, different departments, and external contractors”, Hassinen points out.
A shared system also makes collaboration easier between a municipality’s own employees, different departments, and external contractors.
With a digital site diary, site events, completed work, and observations can be recorded directly in the system, while photographs stored in the site photo gallery provide additional documentation. There is no longer a need to piece together the status of a project from emails, spreadsheets, and separate software solutions, as the document repository brings all relevant information together in one place.
Consolidating IT Systems Can Deliver Cost Savings for Municipalities
“Based on Fluent’s experience, a comprehensive system can replace an average of four separate IT systems within a municipality”, Hassinen says.
By consolidating multiple functions onto a single platform, municipalities can reduce software licensing, maintenance, integration, and training costs. At the same time, employees no longer need to constantly switch between different applications.
“Fluent does not want to be just another information system that adds to employees’ workload. Instead, our goal is to replace several existing systems and make everyday work easier as a result”, Hassinen explains.
“In the current challenging financial environment for municipalities, consolidating systems can provide a tangible opportunity to reduce costs without compromising the quality of operations. Fortunately, we have recently seen more dialogue between different departments about their respective needs, which has also led to more comprehensive procurement processes.”
Could one system replace several of the software solutions currently used in your municipality? Contact us, and let’s explore together where system consolidation could deliver the greatest benefits and cost savings.
Contact us:
Mikko Hassinen
mikko.hassinen@fluentprogress.fi