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Accela’s Fall 2023 Release Highlights User Experience Improvements, New Civic Application Functionality and SaaS Capabilities for a Modern Government Agency Experience

New product updates streamline critical services, aid with disaster preparation and recovery, and improve solution accessibility

San Ramon, Calif. (October 10, 2023) — Accela, the trusted provider of cloud solutions at the heart of government, today announced its Fall 2023 Release, outlining system administration improvements, SaaS functionality updates and a new solution integration to expedite community disaster preparedness and recovery. The release includes improvements across the Accela Civic Platform, Accela Citizen Access, Accela Mobile and Civic Applications. The updates increase ease of use for Accela’s products, and were built from user input to continue improving the government experience for both agency staff and residents.

“Agencies continue to turn to digital tools to overcome staffing shortages and enhance the delivery of critical resident services,” said Brian Wick, vice president of product marketing at Accela. “Our Fall 2023 product release represents our ongoing commitment to providing state and local governments with the latest cloud-based solutions to power their operations and elevate resident and staff experiences.”

The Accela Civic Platform’s V23.2.x SaaS and on-premise improvements feature security enhancements, ease of use improvements, scripting updates, accessibility features and a new help system. Users are now able to file a new object class, modify statuses on transaction records and incorporate upgrades for customers using ESRI Javascript V4.25 to streamline internal agency processes. The ESME tool enhancement and Master Scripts upgrade enables more efficient script coding and deployment.

Other changes to improve user clarity and usability include:

• Accessible labels added to the Transaction Record Status and Status History pages for users who require accessibility aids.
• The introduction of an improved in-product help interface with enhanced search capabilities.
  Customer transition to payment integrations with existing providers such as CSG Forte and Paypal.

To help government agencies prepare for and respond to natural disasters, a new Rapid Damage Assessment (RDA) functionality is now available within the Building Civic Application. RDA accurately and immediately collects disaster data to use within the Building Civic Application’s pre-built record types, workflows, inspections, checklists and templates to expedite community recovery.

The Fall 2023 Release includes SaaS-exclusive updates for the Civic Platform focused on boosting productivity for back office users and the expansion of Accela Insights, the platform’s data visualization tool. Changes include restoring the Record Custom Fields tool with filtering functions, supporting passwordless authentication and adding the ability to download past coding scripts to reduce time spent managing passwords and debugging systems. The script download function will be a limited release, with a general availability in future product releases.

The new Community Workspace creates a centralized database where agencies can share their data dashboards with each other, extending the functionality of Accela Insights across various agency environments. To assist with sharing, customizable dashboard templates will be available in the Community Workspace.

In addition, Accela Citizen Access now features several usability improvements – such as consolidating logins for resident users in larger jurisdictions, improving address searches in Global Search, adding single sign-in and multi-factor authentication for enhanced security, and updating to a SaaS-exclusive password requirement. For SaaS users, password requirements are now consistent across the Civic Platform and Accela Citizen Access, simplifying password management for those with access to both solutions.

Accela Mobile also underwent useability improvements which include:

• Standardizing a single application by marking the end-of-life for the Inspector, Code Officer and Work Crew apps. For hosted customers, the Accela Mobile Office (AMO) server will be shut off June 30, 2024.
• Adding observational and split-screen checklists, general comment assignments and filters, history details and job list grouping to improve the user experience for inspections and reporting.
• Enabling map services for agencies with the Esri’s Federated Enterprise Model, connecting Accela Mobile uses with Esri to enable geocoding features.

These product updates were shaped by customer feedback. All Fall 2023 Release updates will be implemented by December 2023. To learn more about Accela’s solutions, please visit https://www.accela.com/solutions/.

About Accela
Accela is the trusted provider of cloud solutions at the heart of government operations. The company works with governments across the globe to accelerate their digital transformation, deliver vital services, and build stronger communities. The company offers agile, purpose-built solutions and the power of a platform that provides users with a consumer-like experience, shares data across departments, and ensures world-class security.

With Accela, government agencies experience rapid and effective digital transformation. Accela’s government software meets agencies wherever they are on their modernization journey, while also helping them prepare for whatever comes next. The company is a four-consecutive year Microsoft US Partner Award winner for its innovative SaaS solutions. In 2022, Accela was honored as a recipient of Inc.’s Best in Business award for SaaS, and selected by Fast Company for its World Changing Ideas Award. Accela is headquartered in San Ramon, California, with offices around the world. For more information, visit www.accela.com.