Islington Council is using LogiXML (www.logixml.com) business intelligence software to trim resources as well as increase ticketing and revenue while improving customer service – and value for money for ratepayers. The Council has reduced contract costs, reduced staff overhead and improved customer relations within the first few months of using Logi Info, the business intelligence (BI) software solution from LogiXML.

Before using Logi Info, Islington Council’s parking enforcement system was not providing the overview of operations or providing meaningful real-time information. Generating information that would optimise processes was choked by large amounts of data from disparate sources. Live reporting was available but caused massive technical issues and it did not feature write-back capabilities to data sources and stored procedures. In addition, managers, operatives and the Council’s civil enforcement officers (CEOs) – the people who issue parking tickets – did not have mobile access to reports in the field. They could only access the front end of the system.

John Galsworthy, head of parking and business service at Islington Council, said: “Our systems were good for running day-to-day processes, but we needed greater insights. Being a local authority, we need technology that is cost effective, scalable, and easy to use. Additionally, all technology must integrate with rather than replicate data. Corporately, we have Business Objects and Cognos, but development was too expensive, complex, impractical, and time consuming for our application to make them viable. We considered all the BI vendors on the Gartner Magic Quadrant for BI and selected LogiXML because it was the simplest to use, was conveniently priced, had the lowest ongoing cost overhead and was able give us a level of integration that was better than we needed.”

The reporting system now scans 2.5 million records in only 1.6 seconds. Previously, similar queries required eight hours with the embedded Crystal reports. Additionally, Islington parking enforcement managers can now see the activity of all CEOs in real time. Customisable dashboards integrate with Google Earth Enterprise and include real-time parking performance, live ticket issuing and the whereabouts of the CEOs.

Logi Info includes the ability to access individual parking tickets, analyse CCTV evidence to judge if complaints are justified, view the history of individual vehicles and drivers, query the system (to find addresses for those receiving tickets), and issue immediate responses. This settles cases effectively, improves customer service and saves money – whereas cancelling unwarranted tickets used to cause problems because of the high administrative cost involved as well as the number of innocent – but angry – motorists.

Comment: No one likes getting a parking ticket. So, if some BI software can prevent – or substantially reduce – mistakes being made, it’s got to be a step in the right direction. Moreover, producing value for money for ratepayers is always a welcome thing.