Accenture Launches Service-Oriented Architecture Platform for High Performance Citizen Services

The
Accenture Public Service Platform integrates commercial as well as open
source application components using an approach that enables updating
and replacement with minimal impact, reducing clients’ maintenance
costs. By combining preconfigured public service components,
Accenture’s Public Service Platform addresses the needs of multiple
levels of government and individual public agencies for:

Accelerated implementation:
Preconfiguration means agencies can eliminate from 6 to 18 months of
time associated with typical technology platform development.

Risk mitigation:
Proven components and methods from implementations of the architecture
at numerous clients help to reduce technological, operational, security
and delivery risks.

Flexibility and modularity:
A modular approach makes it easy to work with existing technical
architectures and integrate with legacy and external systems. The
architecture supports incremental approaches as well as total
operational function replacement. The platform is vendor-independent,
giving clients flexibility now and in the future.

Enhanced and expanded services: The
Platform includes many convenient ways for citizens to access the
system, such as via telephone, self-service web sites and mobile
devices to drive better outcomes for citizens and maximize agencies’
use of limited staff and budget.

Improved communication and collaboration:
The Platform helps agencies work collaboratively across departmental
and agency boundaries by enabling cross-program and enterprise-wide
solutions. 

Lower total cost of ownership: The
Platform is composed of standardized, modular components and is
comparatively easy to modify. Accommodating and implementing changing
requirements and maintaining systems over time is less costly and
faster than custom development, and spells lower costs for taxpayers.

Standards compliance:
The Platform follows Service Oriented Architecture (SOA), open
standards as defined in the Federal Technical Reference Model and
industry coding standards such as OASIS and w3C.  

The
Platform’s structure uses technology architecture successfully deployed
with hundreds of public and private sector clients. It includes the
following layers:

·         Portal-based user interface for presenting multiple applications in one place.

·         A rules engine makes complex policy elements easy to maintain.

·         Business services to support business functionality.

·         Service
integration for consistent enterprise service delivery using most
commercially available or open source Enterprise Service Bus.

·         Shared components services support technical requirements.

·         Data services for data access for inter-agency and external communications.

·         Data storage uses industry standards for application flexibility.

·         Security services allow users to sign on once and access only the information they should see.

·         Batch and reporting architecture.

·         Infrastructure services and administration and operational services.

“Accenture’s
Public Service Platform, drawing on our Service Oriented Architecture
capabilities, is designed to address public agencies’ unique needs for
flexibility, integration to enable agencies to better meet citizen
needs, and reduced cost and risk, and provides those benefits without
being tied to a specific vendor’s offerings,” said David McCurley,
Accenture’s managing director for global human services.

Accenture
has been named a leader in the systems integrator market worldwide by
IDC for the past three years. (IDC, Worldwide and US Systems
Integration Services 2008 Vendor Shares: Top 10 Vendors for 2008, Doc #
219466, August 2009)