But it s the business case for them that counts most. Prominent consultants such as GartnerGroup, Giga and IBM project significant long-term savings for governments that convert counter services to online services. The status of government IT in Wisconsin includes advancements that might have been difficult to imagine 10 years ago. State government has established BadgerNet, a system of flexible, high-capacity networks that provide voice, data and video services for transportation of electronic information across Wisconsin. The state s e-government initiatives are highly ranked, while 42 counties and 119 municipalities offer Web sites with a variety of information and links.
Experts rate the state s basic IT infrastructure very highly.
But clearly, much more can be done, at all levels of government. We have a long way to go. Some governments are farther along the way toward that vision and they offer reminders of what technology already allows us to do. Residents may not know which unit is processing the service, but they almost certainly don t care, as long as the job gets done and gets done quickly. Portals minimize the number of mouse clicks needed to access services and allow citizens to find information intuitively, without knowledge of bureaucratic structure.