A key aim was to provide visitors and staff with quick and easy access to information they need from a wealth of data available. It's good e-government at the back-end.
Software from Zeus Technology, ZXTM, was used to standardise paths for all online documents. Seamless migration of over 24,000 documents to its new content management system would have been a labour intensive task - but this was automated using ZXTM’s intelligent scripting language, TrafficScript. Three lines of code enabled the web development team to dynamically rewrite requests that map into the new path name in a matter of hours as opposed to months - delivering a significant return on investment. Mark Neilson, Infrastructure Manager at Newport City Council said, “ZXTM fitted effortlessly into our web infrastructure and we are already seeing the benefits. One key advantage is the Graphic User Interface (GUI), a simple colour-coded screen that provides instant visibility of any problems. It is hoped that ZXTM will eventually enable Newport City Council to provide staff with transparent access to public and restricted information from one website.”
ZXTM intelligently manages traffic from external visitors to the website routing requests to the appropriate server using sophisticated TrafficScript rules. By automatically re-routing requests to different servers, ZXTM provides faster responses and ensures end users are never faced with unhelpful error messages.
The Zeus solution also manages the Council’s internal traffic to the intranet. Adding value to the existing content management system, ZXTM provides a gateway for internal staff to access a wider range of documents than was previously possible. This allows contact centre staff to respond to residents’ queries efficiently and effectively, by accessing up-to-date and relevant information at the touch of a button.
Newport City Council is a unitary authority formed in 1996, and is the 8th largest in Wales, providing all major services such as education, leisure, housing, social services, planning and highways. The council employs approximately 7,500 people and has an annual revenue budget of around £290 million.
As part of an authority wide project to transform access to services, Newport City Council identified the need to improve its web infrastructure in terms of performance and resilience. It has also striven to increase the amount of information provided via its web site for example by including information on planning services. It has also increased its transactional capabilities by providing online bookings for its new “Riverfront” theatre and arts complex.
Quelle: Publictechnology, 26.08.2005
