Technology is driving up customer expectations. Modern technology has almost eliminated the need to go to the bank, the post office, the DMV—even retail stores. These days you can order just about any product or service today and get it delivered tomorrow. And “Customer Service” means allowing customers to interact with your company 24-7. That was the concept behind some major changes in how the San Diego County Land Use and Environmental Group interacts with the public.

In San Diego County, the land use group includes the people who approve building plans and inspect construction projects—and, they had a problem. First, they had a growing backlog of construction projects that needed approvals, inspections and final sign-offs. Many of these were rooftop solar projects that are very popular in sunny San Diego. And they had more than 40 different legacy computer systems that didn’t talk to each other and were becoming a problem even without the solar boom.