Alex Smith |
Technology has become interwoven throughout our lives, making an increasing number of services available at just the click of a button and dramatically changing our expectations when it comes to good customer experiences. Customers no longer want to wait in a long line and deal with outdated systems, especially when they need to access the essential services provided by a state government’s department of motor vehicles (DMV).
“There are factors both pushing and pulling DMVs to look for new ideas,” says Brian Shell, senior partner at Kyndryl. “On the push side, they’re often dealing with core systems that are difficult to maintain and so outdated that they aren’t flexible enough to handle the demands of the modern world anymore. On the pull side, they need to provide a more modern experience that meets citizens’ expectations, such as the convenience of being able to do things from home rather than going into the office.”
Kyndryl has spent more than two decades partnering with DMVs to help them deliver the innovative services that citizens are coming to expect. As Shell explains, the company takes a consultive approach in building solutions based on integrated technologies and products, which enable DMV systems with powerful and scalable new capabilities. “One of the main things that Kyndryl has is the ability to put together best-of-breed technologies to create a purpose-built enterprise solution for customers that is driven by their business requirements,” he says. “We’re willing to go deep with a customer on their needs and business problems. We understand the DMV industry on both a national and international level and can help any DMV get on the leading edge of development.”
One state that Kyndryl has worked particularly closely with is the Arizona Motor Vehicle Division (AZ MVD). AZ MVD wanted to deliver fast, efficient, and modern services to its citizens, which would allow them to engage with the AZ MVD in the way that best suits them.
“Arizona is one of the fastest growing states in the USA, but the number of AZ MVD offices has actually shrunk,” says Alex Trinh, delivery partner at Kyndryl. “Continuing to serve the quickly growing population is a challenge for the AZ MVD, so we sat down with them to really understand what they needed and where their pain points were. Our aim was to improve and support the customer’s vision and goals to provide the best possible service to their citizens.”
Together, the AZ MVD team and Kyndryl completely rearchitected back-end and front-end processes, rebuilt applications and migrated data, all of which was done on Microsoft Azure. The rearchitected system, named MAX, supports a new customer-centric account portal where citizens can log in to see all their information in one place.
New technology was also introduced across AZ MVD offices, allowing it to update everything from hardware and software to the office flow. Kyndryl also collaborated with strategic partner Microsoft to integrate the new architecture into each office.
“We’ve brought in a lot of new technologies, going down to a very basic level,” says Trinh. “We’ve brought in a virtual support solution, which allows you to contact a MVD support agent from anywhere when you need them and is very useful for small communities which can’t support a complete MVD office. We also brought in a mobile MVD, which is an RV that has been fully outfitted with the necessary technology to carry out the functions of an MVD office, again to cater to remote, underserved communities.”
For those looking to emulate the success of the AZ MVD’s modernisation, Shell advises a forward-thinking approach to ensure they can adapt to future developments.
“I would advise DMV leaders to take a step back and think about how they can build a system that can be continually transformed to accommodate developments in the future,” he says. “A DMV should be looking for the kind of partner who can stay with them for the long-term, who isn’t going to just sell them a solution that will become outdated in a few years and then walk away. We’ve built a fantastic partnership with the AZ MVD, and I think it’s an example of how these partnerships should work.”
This article was originally published in the Summer 2023 issue of Technology Record. To get future issues delivered directly to your inbox, sign up for a free subscription