Accelarate 2018 - Accela Conference

Lori Furlong from Deschutes County attended the Accelerate 2018 Conference and had these items to share with our ePermitting community

One of the big topics of discussion and demonstration was the version update that was then due to come out in November along with Accela’s product roadmap for the upcoming year. This update is said to increase processing speed with an overall more responsive system to include a slightly different look for the UI. Accela reports that they are investing in enhancing and developing their existing product lines in order to stay a market leader.

Migration to Azure was another topic of discussion. Most jurisdictions I spoke with had not yet migrated but were planning to in the near future. Some jurisdictions had questions about how their reports or other customizations would be affected by the change. Accela staff were able to address some of these questions at the conference or point the jurisdiction to someone who could.

There were some sessions of the new Accela Cannabis Civic Solution. This module can automate licensing, renewals, investigations, and hearings if the jurisdiction has that type of program. Colorado has worked extensively with Accela to help create this software as an option for States that have legalized medical and/or recreational marijuana. 
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There was discussion and demonstration of the new Accela Success Community. The CEO discussed how not all helpdesk tickets were previously responded to in a timely manner and how the change in structure and personnel were changing that to improve communication with customers. Accela Success Community has documentation, training, a group site, and users can post ideas for the product teams.