MANCHESTER, Conn. (WTIC Radio) - Connecticut has taken a major step toward modernizing government services with the digitization of more than 50 million state government documents.
Across nineteen state agencies, Manchester-based Scan-Optics worked with state employees to digitize over 12.4 million images and 4.4 million documents of their Human Resources Department, according to Scan-Optics officials.
With files now easily available online for state employees, services will be significantly improved, State Chief Operating Officer Josh Geballe said.
"It's a key enabler for us to implement our new people doc system which is our online system where employees can access everything having to do with HR," Geballe said.
Governor Ned Lamont noted the importance of this in improving service efficacy, saying that people can manage, share and edit files in real time.
The efforts also save the state money by helping reduce the cost structure of state government, Geballe said. With a reduced cost structure, there is less risk of future tax resources and more resources that can be used for other services, he explained.
For state HR employees, the digitization will allow them to have more time to focus on other pressing matters, Geballe said, such as hiring amid a retirement wave.
With files now electronically available, Geballe pointed out that offices will have more open space that were once dedicated for filing cabinets.
"Some of our state office buildings, you might be horrified to know that we use about 30% of our square footage for filing cabinets. So, we can reclaim that space and save a lot of money on our real estate footprint," he said.
All the work to digitize state agencies documents has already started paying off, Lamont said.
"We were 48th in the country when it came to how long it took us to process your request for SNAP benefits. Now, based upon timeliness, how fast we can get that turned around and available to you so you can get the food support you need, we're now 2nd in the country and that's thanks to Scan-Optics," Lamont said.
According to Scan-Optics officials, security protocols were put in place to ensure all files were kept safe.
