Rome wasn’t built in a day and neither are smarter communities. These things take planning, preparation, forethought and collaboration. After getting to know the challenges and processes that communities face when implementing new technology, we created a simple list of things your community needs to help make sure it’s on the way to “smart.”

1. Goals

It’s one thing to say “We should get some new software” and another entirely to bring about comprehensive and collaborative forward-thinking change to your community. Identify your highest level goals and then drill down to more specific and actionable items. Next, you’ll want to create a timeline to accomplish your to do list.

2. A Team

Once you know what direction you need to work in, you need to find the right combination of people who will help you get there. When looking at vendors, consider their experience both in the government sector, but also any applicable private sector work they’ve done. Take note of how responsive and attentive they are to your needs and questions. The software may have all of the checkboxes marked, but if their services and implementation arm is lacking, you may as well uncheck most of those boxes.

3. A Timeline

In addition to identifying a software and a team for your new technology, it’s also important to have a good understanding of the expected time-frame you’re working in. Be sure to ask the vendor when you can expect to be using the software daily after you signed up for the solution. If they tell you that it would be months or even a year before you can have your team using the system, you might need to go back to step 2 to reevaluate if that’s truly the best software for your goals.

At GovSense, we pride ourselves on being the best and fastest vendor in the space. If you’re ready, your team can be up and running in the new software after your first demo. We want to ensure that every community is working as efficiently as possible and we don’t think anyone should have to wait months to see value in a new software solution.