edens samIn 2010, the framework for massive technology updates in healthcare was set in motion. It started with the introduction of the health insurance marketplace for the public sector. This resulted in hospitals, medical facilities, insurance companies, claims processors and third-party agencies racing to upgrade systems and technology for patient-account management, privacy and data security, compatibility, and simply to keep up with the changing trends. For the agencies servicing healthcare accounts, technology updates and upgrades were necessary to stand out and to survive as a provider of receivables management services.

Now, in 2017 and stepping out of the healthcare vertical, are we about to see another massive technology update impacting third-party agencies? For those in the government space, the answer is probably yes. Without launching a political debate, there is uncertainty surrounding what is taking place and will take place with the federal government as well as with state and local governments. Nonetheless, technology advancement and increasing IT budgets appear to be a priority. A report from Forrester Research published on govtech.com forecasts that IT spending at the state and local levels will overtake IT spending at the federal level as soon as this year and then continuing into 2018.1 More specifically, the report details that the largest investment will be in cloud-based software and solutions.

Technological advances are nothing new but there does appear to be an evolving understanding that a fundamental change is underway. Innovation is essential. Younger generations rely heavily on mobile devices and therefore are always “connected.” The device market is growing and changing rapidly. There is an expectation that technology in other markets is keeping up. Increased IT spending at the state and local levels could help to close this gap.

We can tie this all together by looking back at the question raised – Will any of this impact third-party agencies? Sooner or later it will so the new question is how can agencies prepare? In my opinion, agencies should upgrade their technology so it stands out as if they were attempting to sell their services to government entities. Essentially, make your operation appear cutting edge. “Appear” is the most important word in that statement because nothing needs to change with your collection process. Instead, pretend you are working a state government contract and are in a position to give them the data they need, the reports they are looking for and the analytics they want. Here are three things your agency can do to stand out:

1) Data Centralization

Use a data warehouse, data lake, master data management (MDM) system or whatever you want to name it to gather all the data from all your systems. Most agencies have many database systems in place to run the business. Common cases include collection software, client or debtor access portals, accounting software, outside vendor services and a CRM. These are all standalone systems with their own data sets. By getting as much of the overall data as you can into a central location, you are in a position to report on the entire enterprise and to use the data to really understand how the business is performing. To stand out even further, put your data centralization solution in the cloud.

2) Performance Reporting Package

Develop a package of canned reports about your agency’s performance at the portfolio level that rolls all the way up to the entire organization. There is a good chance you already have a pile of client reports to start with. Having a performance reporting package available shows you are ready to take on more business and you have an understanding of what creditors and first parties want to see from their agencies. If your client does not have hard report layout and formatting requirements, use your package to eliminate a large chunk of the new client onboarding work. You will onboard quicker and will not miss reporting deadlines with your new client.

3) Business Intelligence

An element of this includes report development but with business intelligence (BI), you are adding the bells and whistles. A BI solution can be tough to implement because similar to developing a reporting package, you must know the information that is critical and the data points that are key performance indicators. Only when those elements are understood, a slick set of dashboards and analytictype reports can be developed. To really achieve a noticeable BI solution, an outside provider is almost always necessary. BI is a popular topic these days and there are many good providers in the industry but Tableau offers the best product I have seen. I highly recommend their product and at the very least, it is worth a demo.

An initial push to upgrade your technology and keep up with trends does not have to break the budget or involve a massive overall in how your business operates. It is forecast that government IT spending will be increasing in the coming years and a few updates now could reduce the amount of work that may be required later this year or next. Additionally, the element of change is naturally a challenge and most are comfortable with the way things are but a little change now could ease the pain from a big change coming soon.

1 http://www.govtech.com/civic/Stateand- Local-IT-Spending-to-Outpace-Federal- in-2017-and-2018.html


Sam Edens has been with Emprise Technologies since 2006 and is currently serving as Vice President. Prior to his time with Emprise, Sam designed and developed performance and flow management software for UPS.