South Carolina Department of Natural Resources Online Customer Service Portal

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1 Application Title: South Carolina Department of Natural Resources Online Customer Service Portal NASCIO Category: Digital Government: Government to Citizens Project Initiation Date: February 2010 Project Completion Date: November 2013 Contact: Scott Speares, Assistant Deputy Director of Outreach and Support Services 1000 Assembly Street, Columbia, SC Phone: (803) Approval Contact: Nathan Hogue, Customer Service Manager, Division of Technology. Phone: (803)

2 Executive Summary The Online Customer Service Portal is offered by the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and has brought a new license sales application to the citizens of South Carolina and those who visit South Carolina. Citizens are offered added convenience with the new sales options available. The new Online Customer Service Portal has created many efficiencies for the agency as well. Online Customer Service Portal provides: Web-based interface for real-time processing of license sales, payment receipt which includes a temporary license for immediate use Convenient 24/7 access Responsive design provides ease of use on any mobile device Secure payment processing by debit or credit card In-house management of all license privileges, enhanced reporting and real-time access to license sales DNR operational efficiencies and reduction in paper applications This Web-based application was built at no cost to taxpayers through a partnership between the Department of Natural Resources and SC.gov. By providing this application through the SC.gov partnership, DNR has benefited from a cost avoidance of $1,407, for software and hardware costs. DNR staff time processing paper applications has been reduced significantly in the first year with an additional decrease expected in the year to come. The initial release of the Online Customer Service Portal added the Lottery Hunt Online Application process allowing hunters to apply for multiple state hunts online versus by mail or in person at a DNR office. The first year brought a 77% reduction in paper applications saving the agency valuable operational time and expense. In the first five months since the full Online Customer Service Portal implemented, the application has processed 207,694 transactions for the Department of Natural Resources resulting in 364,228 licenses and other privileges sold. With more and more of our hunters and anglers adopting new technologies like smartphones and tablets, it only made sense to give them a system that is convenient, easy-to-use, and fits their outdoor lifestyle. This is part of DNR s continued efforts to transform how we can serve our customers more efficiently and effectively, by providing our state s hunters and anglers with additional features and functionality through the convenient and secure DNR Online Customer Service Portal. - Don Winslow, Deputy Director of Outreach and Support Services with the SC Department of Natural Resources.

3 3. Business Problem and Solution Problem Statement The Department of Natural Resources had several objectives in mind when initiating this project. 1. Migrate from a mainframe to a Web-based application and consolidate databases a. DNR in-house administration and sales were housed on a mainframe site, which was becoming costly to maintain. DNR had a strong need to move to a Web-based application for all electronic functions. b. The existing online license sales application was Web-based; however, that was all the site offered while all DNR in-house sales and administration were housed separately. Data was transferred between the two applications. DNR needed one application with one database. 2. Migrate paper functions to online a. Many of the smaller processes within the agency were being done with paper applications and manual reporting. This offered the opportunity to add these processes to the Web-based site for ease of use, tracking and reporting. For example the Lottery Hunt process which brings in over 9,700 applications per year. 3. Add to the online sales options and improve the customer experience a. Even though license sales were available online through the Internet or at Point of Sale locations, there were several other license sales types that were done only at DNR locations throughout the state or by mail. DNR wanted to broaden the online offerings for citizens. As more users move to mobile use, DNR saw the need to have a responsively designed Web application that would allow citizens to purchase licenses anywhere, any time. Solution The SC DNR Online Customer Service Portal was implemented in November This solution is fully customized to meet the needs, processes and statutes related to DNR licensing, permitting and titling and therefore it is the best solution. The DNR/SC.gov partnership outlines joint responsibility for the project scope, oversight and outcomes. The ASP.NET application utilizes two (2) servers dedicated solely to the SC DNR application. The current environment uses load balancing between both of the servers to serve up the application to users and connects to DNR s dedicated Oracle database. Security and Accessibility: All applications within which sensitive data is transmitted are performed using the Secure Socket Layer (SSL) protocol using the registered SSL certificate. Data for this application is stored using DNR s secured Oracle database which connects through a dedicated pipeline. Credit card processing is handled through NIC s proprietary payment processing engine that meets all standards for PCI/DSS

4 compliance. To protect data, each page has a time limit placed upon it. When the limit is exceeded without any activity occurring, the page will force automatic session logout. All pages meet Section 508 accessibility, W3C and HTML 4.01 standards. The new Online Customer Service Portal offers the following: Internet and Call Center - We have offered over 30 types of Recreational Hunting and Fishing License sales, Duplicate License Sales and Advanced License Sales through these channels since Our new application adds Lottery Hunt Registration and Boat Renewals to the service offerings for internet sales. Lottery Hunt Registration was previously only available through the mail or by visiting a DNR sales office. There are 17 different hunts in South Carolina each year. License Vendor Sales - There are over 450 Point of Sale License Sale Vendors in the state that offer Recreational Hunting and Fishing License sales. The new application enhances the sales process for these vendors. Select vendors in the Low Country region of the state also offer certain Commercial Fishing License sales. These sales were previously done on paper and processed by DNR. The new application allows these vendors to sell Commercial Licenses through the online customer service portal and issue a useable license at the time of purchase. DNR Sales & Administration - The new Customer Service Portal moves all DNR offices around the state off of the mainframe application for sales and administrative functions. DNR Sales (1.4 million transactions) DNR offices sell ten different categories of licenses, permits, tags and registrations which include: Titling & Registration Watercraft and Outboard Motor Titles, Registrations, Renewals and Title Searches Recreational Hunting & Fishing Combination Licenses (Annual and Three- Year), Fishing Licenses (Annual, Three-Year and Temporary), Hunting Licenses (Annual and Three-Year), Fishing Permits and Tags, Lifetime Licenses and Disability Licenses. Commercial Licenses & Permits Commercial Saltwater Fishing Licenses, Non-Game Fish Tags, Mariculture Permits, Charter Vessel Licenses and Pier Licenses and Net, Trap, Pot and Other Equipment Licenses. Commercial Fur Licenses & Permits Other Permits Dog Tag and Kennel Licenses, Scientific Collection Permits, Alligator Cites Tags Lottery Hunt Hunt Registrations Collector Stamps Annual Collector Stamp sales

5 DNR Administration The administration of DNR license sales and other DNR functions are performed through this new online portal. Other than a few functions that will be added in a later phase, all functions are moving to the new application. These include: Managing of License Sales Corporations and Vendors Add/Edit Corporations and Vendors User Management Add/Edit Users Application Management Manage Customers, License Lookup, Customer History, Boat/Motor Management, License Sales Vendor Supply Management, Content Management, Permit Management, Deer Depredation Management, Collector Stamp Management, Order Fulfillment, Flat File Management, Commercial Vessel Management, Trap and Pot Management, Commercial River, Marina and Boat Landing Management and Mariculture Permit Management Financial Task Management Void Licenses, Cashier Override, Credit/Debit License Sales Vendors Sales and Customer Service Reports Sales Reports, Void Reports, Transaction Reports, Fulfillment Report Boat & Motor Reports Lookup Reports, Boat Dealer Report, Boat Expiration Report, County Boat & Motor Report, Homemade Boat Report, Stolen Boat Report In addition to the DNR Administration functions, a County section has been added for County Auditors and Tax Collectors to run reports of Boat and Motor records by County. A section was also created for DNR Law Enforcement to have access to License Lookup, Customer History, Deer Depredation Permits, Mariculture Permits, Boat Lookup and Motor Lookup while in the field. 4. Significance Beneficiaries: Citizens, license sales vendors, SC county auditors and tax collectors and DNR benefit from this online service. Customers can now purchase additional license types, lottery hunt applications and boat renewals online. License sales vendors have a more streamlined process and Commercial License sales vendors can now issue these licenses through the online portal. SC counties now have Web-based access to Boat and Motor reporting rather than having to connect to DNR over VPN. The impact to DNR is significant in that the new Customer Service Portal moves all DNR offices around the state off of the mainframe application for sales and administrative functions. Innovation resulting in improved government operations: such as the new real time connections for County and Law Enforcement. These enhancements keep the agencies connected and up to date. As more Law Enforcement Officers move to advanced

6 mobile devices in the future they will have license information available at their fingertips and will be able to save valuable time. The Online Customer Service Portal is heavily used by the citizens, License Sales Vendors and DNR. In the last 12 months, 1,249,371 privileges were sold generating $17,920,740 in revenue for DNR. The Online Customer Service Portal allows selfservice by citizens at their convenience and more efficient service to be provided by DNR. 5. Benefits of the Project Benefit to Citizens The Online Customer Service Portal allows DNR customers to purchase licenses using an enhanced, streamlined application which can be viewed from all mobile platforms. The ability to purchase licenses, permits, registrations and titles is available around the clock. Customers receive their licenses immediately. DNR customers no longer need to apply for Lottery Hunts on paper giving them added convenience. Low Country Commercial applicants have the added convenience of purchasing licenses through a Point of Sale vendor and getting their license the same day. Benefits to Businesses Commercial Point of Sale vendors no longer need to file paper applications with DNR, instead they are able to provide real-time sales and licenses to their customers. Benefits to the State The new Customer Service Portal provides DNR with a robust administrative tool for license management, customer management, reporting, boat and motor title and registration records, and Commercial license and permit records. The new online service provides a systematic approach to the enforcement of business rules and sales are now consolidated to one application and one database bringing improved data integrity and data management. Records no longer need to be updated nightly between two systems so all sales and customer records are now available real-time. The addition of Web-based access for County Tax offices adds efficiency for County offices by providing a more stable connection and quicker download of large reports. Real-time license access for Law Enforcement provides added value in the field with the ability to view records via a mobile device. Staff time spent processing transactions and fulfilling orders manually has been reduced thus allowing them to focus on other responsibilities. Staff inefficiencies have decreased and data integrity has increased now that the application performs systematic enforcement of business rules.

7 SC.gov provides 24 hour support to DNR. The new licensing system has two dedicated servers purchased and maintained by SC.gov. This online service has allowed DNR to begin to decommission their unstable mainframe. Financial By providing this application through the SC.gov partnership, DNR benefited from a cost avoidance of $1,407,515 for initial development, $104,162 for ongoing maintenance in The cost avoidance will continue to grow as enhancements and ongoing maintenance will continue to be provided through the SC.gov partnership. We are already currently working on making additional license and permit types available for sale through the application and adding administrative reporting capabilities to the Online Customer Service Portal.