Gosport takes a geographical view of customer care with GGP integrated CRM  

Gosport Borough Council has become one of the first UK councils to implement an innovative call centre system that live connects to maps and key council information via the web. A result of developments by Geographic Information Systems (GIS) supplier GGP Systems and IT developer Status Computers, the system will give call centre staff instant on-screen access to addresses, council records and location maps.

Gosport had been using a conventional Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system.  However they needed a solution that would allow their call centre to more easily deal with enquiries on a wide range of council services.  A key requirement was the  seamless integration of CRM, GIS, a central NLPG-standard address gazetteer, and  key back office systems.  The specially developed Geospatial CRM provides a window to live operational information; all connected by common addresses and map locations.  

We had direct experience of conventional CRM systems and investigated all current offerings, says Mike Glavin, Gosports GIS Administrator. We realised that these systems were not designed to handle the complexities of local government where operatives handle calls on literally hundreds of different issues.  One minute they are sorting out a missed bin collection, the next collecting a council tax payment and then dealing with a  planning enquiry.  This requires fast and easy access to an array of information and that is exactly what the combined GGP and Status solution offers. 

Status Computers has looked at council requirements from the ground up and has developed the first commercial CRM-type system specifically for local authorities. Ease of  integration with GGPs NGz gazetteer management system and the eGGP web mapping  solution has been key to the development. Now Gosport is integrating back office system such as CAPS used in Planning and Environmental Health, Respond in Leisure Services and another Status-developed system in Waste Management.     

GGP Systems provides a complete solution for the creation, maintenance, management and analysis of geographically enabled information, for example an address, postcode or map reference. The Croydon-based company also offers a range of other solutions  including tools for the creation and management of corporate property databases,  systems integration, training and consultancy.