Economy is key for the generally cash-strapped public sector. Yet, many governments and public organizations continue to rely on high-maintenance, pricey legacy software. Realizing the lower costs and vastly increased flexibility of some commercial offerings, the Air Force Targeting Center (AFTC) and King County in the state of Washington decided to purchase systems from Agiloft. Because Agiloft offers a deeply-configurable solution without the need for coding, AFTC and King County implemented an economical, near-custom solution in no time.
In a dramatic move, the AFTC replaced a multimillion-dollar custom software solution provided by a traditional defense supplier with Agiloft for less than $250,000. Unlike the older system, which ran hundreds of thousands of dollars in modifications and maintenance (including a dedicated, on-site rep), Agiloft costs less than $10,000 per year in license renewals. Since the solution was prototyped, tested, and customized in an agile development environment hosted by Agiloft, the AFTC yielded an ideal solution with only four months of Agiloft consulting.
Thanks to its powerful business rules engine and workflow editor, Agiloft has completely automated and expedited AFTC’s production management process. The browser-based solution enables customers worldwide to easily view its product offerings, request production, track production status, and submit feedback on quality of service, saving the AFTC countless man-hours per week in email and phone communication, according to AFTC SSgt Amanda Marshall. Since it generates reports automatically (no more manual report creation), Agiloft cuts even more work time. Any modifications to the system take mere hours, and can be done easily by AFTC staffers.
As John Vona, Technical Director at the Air Force Command and Control Integration Center (which helped the AFTC find Agiloft), told the US Air Force, in an article for Defense News, “This effort provided the AFTC with a huge improvement in usability at a fraction of the cost of the custom system. In a tight fiscal environment, this approach points a way forward in providing better technical tools and efficiency at substantially reduced cost.”
Meanwhile, when Jeff Brown of King County’s Health Department learned that its contract management software would no longer be supported, he set out to find a commercial, hosted solution. In particular, he wanted a flexible system where changes could be made easily and inexpensively. Why? With the legacy product, just one major change would cost a whopping $10,000 in vendor consulting fees. Moreover, they once experienced a six-week-long failure due to issues resulting from an upgrade.
During his search, Brown discovered that most contract management software is intended for corporations, and does not meet the unique needs of the public sector. Specifically, Brown needed a system that could link and track the terms of each individual source of funding with recipients and usage.
Enter our partner Agiloft’s CLM Suite which met all the requirements on his checklist. Brown implemented the product in less than three months — ahead of schedule and under budget. In fact, Agiloft paid for itself in the first year.
“In the public sector, we are always aware of our budget and doing all we can to reduce expenses,” he said. “In this case, the small amount of money that we pay does a lot to make us a more efficient and effective department. It speaks volumes for the Agiloft product.”
