An effective engagement strategy is critical for helping Managed Care Organizations (MCOs) connect and communicate with their members. Our previous post explored the steps MCOs should take to construct an effective and scalable outreach strategy.

Today, on April 1, 2024, Sagitec embarks on a momentous milestone in our journey - 20 incredible years! This milestone fills all of us with immense pride and gratitude as we reflect on our remarkable journey together. Two decades ago, in a small garage, Sagitec’s partners embarked on a mission to redefine excellence in the realm of technology solutions, and today, we stand tall, immensely proud of our achievements, thanks to the unwavering dedication of our employees and the trust of our cherished customers. 

In today's rapidly evolving tech industry, fostering diversity and inclusivity isn't just a trend; it's necessary to drive innovation and create a vibrant workplace culture. Recognizing this imperative, Sagitec has initiated its Women in Tech program, aimed at celebrating gender diversity and supporting the professional growth of women in the tech sector.

Managed Care Organizations (MCOs) play a pivotal role in ensuring the well-being of Medicaid members. They help coordinate members’ services, ensure efficient access to quality care, and promote overall well-being. However, MCOs face a considerable challenge in their efforts: reaching and engaging with members.

Digital transformation is not a choice but an imperative. Traditional giants across various industries, including manufacturing, retail, insurance, and financial services, could be at a crossroads if they stay firmly rooted in their software legacies. These organizations must heed the call of the digital revolution or risk competitive disadvantages, financial troubles, and reputational damage.

Integration architecture is pivotal in the dynamic application development landscape, especially in Low-Code/No-Code platforms (LCNC), because it acts as a backbone that seamlessly connects various elements and functionalities. I’ve spoken previously about how organizations should determine whether monoliths or microservices are the best setup for their organization, and system integration architecture is the key that enables different applications to run smoothly and successfully.

Non-profit organizations’ pursuit of data-driven decision-making remains paramount. Continuing our exploration into the transformative potential of Low-Code/No-Code (LCNC) platforms, this blog builds upon my previous post, “Empowering Data-Driven Non-profits: Overcoming Barriers with Low-Code Platforms.” Here, I delve deeper into three crucial facets that profoundly impact the success and sustainability of non-profit data initiatives.

Non-profit organizations increasingly recognize the value of data-driven decision-making in their mission to create positive change. It’s difficult for non-profits to deliver positive impacts, and data helps ease the struggle.

In a world that often seems rushed and self-absorbed, giving back to the community is profoundly beautiful. It's a reminder that, despite our busy lives, we can make a meaningful impact on the lives of others. Sagitec recently demonstrated its commitment to our core value of being bigger than ourselves through volunteerism. Sagitecians donated their time and effort by serving lunch at The Crossing facility, a vital part of the Denver Rescue Mission.

Every enterprise knows the challenge of getting website visitors and platform users to fill out forms. Whether it’s for gathering critical feedback on a new software feature or to generate new sales leads, form conversion rates have been notoriously low. The average form conversion rate is around 3% - this is a problem when 74% of businesses use forms as their main way to generate online leads.

As the healthcare industry continues to evolve, so do the strategies for engaging and empowering members to take charge of their well-being. Emerging technologies, such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning, are revolutionizing member engagement by offering personalized healthcare recommendations, predictive analytics for identifying health risks, and AI-powered virtual assistants for continuous support.

Data analytics has emerged as a game-changer in healthcare. One of the main ways data plays a role is by improving patient behaviors and engagement. A recent study found that data could help cut healthcare costs by 12-17% while improving care.

In the fast-paced world of software development, time and project management are key determinants of success. 

Communication is key – especially when it comes to software development.

Non-profits face many hurdles in their efforts, including resource constraints and process automation. However, one of the most significant challenges is the lack of integration between their teams and systems. This gap often leads to silos that hinder efficiency and productivity.

A critical aspect of software development is paying close attention to user input. At Sagitec, we make a concerted effort to capture user feedback at all stages, from development to implementation. We aim to create software tailored to clients’ needs and solve their needs today and tomorrow.

Non-profits are often inundated with paper-based and manual processes that are not only antiquated but are time-consuming, prone to errors, and frustrating. It hurts their abilities to improve donor management, raise more in fundraising, and streamline operations for their internal staff.

Medicaid faces significant changes in 2023 that could significantly impact Medicaid Members and Managed Care Organizations (MCOs). The expiration of the Public Health Emergency occurring later in 2023 sets up changes to Medicaid enrollment, impacting and changing the coverage of millions of Americans.

Non-profits are crucial in addressing social, economic, and environmental issues. But, despite their critical role, many non-profit organizations struggle to effectively manage their operations due to a lack of technical and technological expertise. Software development and management can be a significant hurdle for those organizations without access to a dedicated IT staff.

One debate ends, but a second begins.

The first question focused on whether an organization should be on the cloud.

Unemployment insurance (UI) is an integral part of the Labor and Employment industry, and it's been a challenging few years for state workforce agencies in the U.S.

Picture this: you’re on your organization's review and selection committee. You’ve been charged with reviewing the available software vendors and choosing the best one for your organization. You know you have significant needs and require a platform that can scale to meet your increasing workloads over time. Plus, you’re on a budget.

Non-profits face limited resources when it comes to process automation, but the good news is that automation can be a game-changer. It saves time and helps overcome budget, personnel, and technology challenges. Check out these stats:

Pension agencies have faced historically challenging times. Many public funds are still looking for the right solution to meet the needs of their members. The right software system can help public pension agencies meet their goals, but only if the solution implementation succeeds. 

Speed versus scale. Cloud versus on-prem. Monolith or microservice.

There are many factors to weigh when determining the right architecture service for your organization. The right setup for your organization should be one that most aligns with its objectives. Understanding the two most common software structures can help you identify how best to proceed.

It's the holiday season, and Sagitec is proud to give back to our local communities. We know this season isn't easy for everyone, and Sagitec employees are doing their part to help.

The low-code/no-code (LCNC) revolution is in full swing, and, despite first impressions, it's not something that professional developers need to fear. In fact, the growing prominence of LCNC platforms can help even the savviest coder.

One needs to create and implement proper internal controls to operate a business. Companies also must comply with applicable laws and regulations. 

All businesses are responsible for complying with federal and global laws. These laws vary greatly, and compliance in the fluctuating climate of our global business environment can be overwhelming. Keeping track of regulations governing an organization's ethical and legal practices is an ever-changing process.  

After a couple of whirlwind years, meeting new faces and old contacts in the Windy City was great during the 2022 NASWA Summit. This year’s summit was the largest ever, with over 700 attendees and vendors.

Significant tax changes are coming for pension agencies – is your organization prepared?

At the end of July, the eastern part of the state of Kentucky, located in the United States, was hit by a devastating, historic storm that caused hundreds of residents to be displaced across multiple counties.

Health plans have always had trouble engaging their members – particularly when it comes time for members to renew their eligibility. Traditional outreach methods that prompt this engagement are often time-consuming and expensive. Plus, their lackluster results leave many plans wanting more from their efforts.

Caterpillars undergo complete metamorphosis to become butterflies. As caterpillars, they are slow and can't go too far. But as butterflies, they are agile, can cover tremendous distances, and are free.

The ubiquity of technology has given rise to fraudulent digital activities. According to FTC's Consumer Sentinel Network, pretending to be the government may be scammers' favorite ruse, with nearly 1.3 million reports about government imposters since 2014.

Public organizations are expected to do more with less. Sagitec's unique efficiencies in staffing and software make it easier for these organizations to achieve their goals.

Health plans are always looking for new ways to engage with their members. Whether it’s to get members to complete Health Risk Assessments (HRAs) or to promote long-term healthy behaviors, finding effective outreach methods is critical. But, as most Managed Care Organizations (MCOs) know, this is easier said than done.

Sagitec has partnered with Aid India to construct houses for families in need in rural India for the past three years.

Medicaid MCOs benefited from the freeze on redeterminations during the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result of the freeze, Medicaid MCOs have experienced significant member growth.

With surging inflation and COVID-19 (and its continued effect on the global supply chain), it hasn't been the easiest few years for the labor and unemployment industry (UI). Time and again, agencies were put into complex and challenging positions where they needed to meet the needs of claimants today while keeping an eye on planning for tomorrow. Legacy unemployment insurance systems have been tested and stressed to the breaking point, and a debate over a national unemployment insurance system has been renewed.

There's the old saying, "you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink." Managed Care Organizations (MCOs) know this difficulty when encouraging healthy, positive behaviors among their members. From completing health assessments to performing wellness tasks, getting members to act on compliance requirements is a costly and time-consuming affair.

Today’s pace of technological advancement is fast. Scary fast. For the IT professional driving the technological equivalent of a Ford Pinto, every road is an entrance to the freeway and one look in the mirror is enough to send shivers down the spine. Obsolescence has a lead foot. It's got the pedal to the metal (so to speak) and it's bearing down on your legacy system like a Mack truck with the high beams on.

Sagitec partners with clients to create innovative solutions that solve unique business problems and adapt to complex, changing environments. No matter your project’s specific needs, our strategy and expertise enable us to help you provide best-in-class service to your members and customers. We take the time to establish clear communication expectations and organize experts to implement projects successfully.  

The platform vs. custom software debate might not be as epic as Microsoft vs. Apple, Nintendo vs. PlayStation, or even Star Wars vs. Star Trek, but it is a comparison worth taking a closer look.

Fraud continues to be a problem for many state workforce agencies. Unemployment claims surged after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. This rise in claims also saw a sharp increase in the number of fraudulent payments. The U.S. Department of Labor recently announced its distribution of $500 million to assist states with combating unemployment insurance (UI) fraud and equity challenges.

Employer’s number one concern during the pandemic is ensuring the safety of their employees. For most of the lockdowns, this meant changing workplace policies and enabling more work from home opportunities. Before the pandemic, only 6% of the U.S. workforce worked remotely, and over 75% had never completed work outside the office. During the peak period of lockdowns, 71% of the total U.S. workforce worked from home. These new measures cut down the risk of infection and improved the well-being of employees.

Digital modernization is a never-ending transformation journey. Beyond application modernization and digital integration, the journey requires agencies to challenge the status quo, experiment, adapt, and evolve.

This article was first published in the Association of Canadian Pension Management 2021 Issue 1 Newsletter.

2020 is being called the 'remote work year’ due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But recent surveys from PwC and Gartner show that many companies across multiple industries will move more of their employees to a remote environment over time.

This article was first published in the April release of Benefits and Pension Monitor.

Over the past few years, there has been a significant and noticeable shift in the pension and benefits industry when it comes to systems administering their plans. The demands of organizations have moved from looking for an administration system, or administrator, to a modernization approach. Not only has the shift moved in terms of terminology, but there has been a significant increase in demands to modernize. We, at Sagitec alone, have received more than double the demand for modernization projects in 2020 versus the same period in 2019. What has prompted this shift in wording, increase in demand, and what are the benefits of modernization?

Ever since the first mobile app was created in 1997 by Nokia (the popular arcade game snake) and popularized by Steve Jobs, phones have been increasingly using apps. However, some studies have shown that the number of available apps has begun to overwhelm users. A recent survey from Gartner found that 41% of mobile users have not downloaded a new app in the last six months and that mobile users spend 85% of their time on their phones using only five apps. This trend affects Managed Care Organizations (MCOs) and contributes to the growing problem of why engagement rates among members for mobile apps are down. With more than 1.96 million apps available on the app store, this ever-increasing trend is called app fatigue.

Rewards serve as the primary tool for Managed Care Organizations (MCOs) to incentivize healthy behaviors by their members. However, despite the investment some health plans put into these programs, they don’t always reach their intended goals. Rewards are used to promote healthy behavior to drive completion rates, but results are sometimes disappointing. If this has happened to your organization, don’t drop the idea of using rewards just yet. Instead, here are three ways you can create a rewards program that drive the results you want.

Getting ready for payer-to-payer data exchange as part of the CMS Interoperability mandate? If so, your priority as a payer is to address the need to aggregate your members' data from various former payers. While this mandate focuses on empowering members, it also makes payers rethink how member data needs to be aggregated and distributed. 

  

How can you get members to do what you need them to do? This is the number one challenge facing many Medicaid Health Organizations (MCOs). Member engagement is crucial for encouraging healthy activities that can improve outcomes and drive down costs for your organization. Plus, it’s the best way to make a positive impact in the lives of your members.

While we have said it before, it bears repeating: 2020 was a roller coaster year for state workforce agencies and was the most challenging year since the program’s inception in 1935. State workforce agencies struggled with unprecedented claims volume and massive legislative changes to the program virtually overnight. As such, the focus last year was to empower state workforce agencies to respond to the demand and improve customer service with innovative solutions. Sagitec was able to help multiple state workforce agencies with everything from a comprehensive cloud-based Pandemic Unemployment Assistance solution (that was paying people as soon as four weeks after the legislation was signed) to chat technology that reduced call-center volumes and provided another communication channel for claimants.

Mass adoption of DevOps, significant shifts in cloud technology, and real use cases for AI are all trends with some common purpose. Organizations want to build new capabilities faster than ever before and for less money. The truth is, most organizations are struggling with the best way to manage a large portfolio of niche applications across their organization.

Close your eyes and imagine… just kidding! Don’t close your eyes. You need them to read this blog. With your eyes open, imagine working for an organization that has zero IT backlog. As soon you request IT or identify requirements, the IT organization fulfills them without painful processes requiring extra time, extra resources, and additional budget. Also, imagine the applications and technology IT is delivering are flawless. Everyone in the organization works together in a collaborative utopia where end users have a big hand in fulfilling their own IT needs, quickly completing processes, scaling automatically for great performance whenever needed, and the business can just focus on, well, the business.

Does the thought of upgrading your enterprise systems daunt you? You are not alone. According to Gartner, enterprise software upgrades can cost an average of 30 percent of the original software installation price, take months, even a year to complete, and require meticulous planning.

"Technology allows people to connect anytime, anywhere, to anyone from almost any device. This is dramatically changing the way we work, facilitating 24/7 collaboration with colleagues dispersed across time zones, countries, and continents." – Michael Dell

For the healthcare industry, it's evident that the cloud is here to stay. Managed Care Organizations (MCOs) are no longer trying to determine whether the cloud is right for them. Instead, the conversation has evolved to determine how best to leverage the cloud to meet their organization's strategic goals. The cloud has proven to be an effective tool, but there are a few avenues for MCOs to maximize this resource better and achieve their desired outcomes.

API Management is a critical component of the payer’s FHIR infrastructure. It helps in fulfilling the security requirements of the CMS mandate and business services integration requirements to orchestrate with enterprise systems and services. Further, effective management helps you comply with the security requirements for monitoring, reporting, and managing access to the FHIR resources by external stakeholders, including third-party apps and health plans. We will briefly touch upon how this API management functionality is implemented within Sagitec’s HealFHIR in this blog.

When the global Coronavirus pandemic hit the U.S. economy in early 2020, the U.S. unemployment rate spiked. New legislation complicated benefits distribution as new systems, new business rules, and new processes were stood up at a moment's notice to deal with the crisis. Of course, one objective for all Sagitec's customers was performance—we needed to serve the hundreds of thousands of people accessing our applications every day.

For Medicaid plans, there has been a shift in the way members communicate. With a clear preference for texting over calls, it’s important to align with this preference. Further, SMS is an efficient channel of communication and can help your organization serve more members while improving quality. Whether it’s being used to send informational messages and reminders to the members, the benefits are numerous.

ALM tools are the ‘source of truth’ through the software development lifecycle to update all stakeholders in real-time. These tools manage requirements, acceptance criteria, documentation, test cases, problem incident reports (PIRs) – bringing processes, and people together.

Bill Gates once said, “Business will change in the next ten years more than it has changed in the last fifty years.” Technology is changing so rapidly today that it will be even faster tomorrow.

Since the pandemic, State Workforce Agencies (SWAs) have been moving toward online solutions and call center services. However, these approaches could not meet the demand generated by the pandemic. Interactive Voice Response (IVR) systems were challenged under increased load. This led to SWA’s searching for ways to increase customer service during these unprecedented times.

CMS Interoperability compliance is a long-term journey for Payers. IT systems and processes not only have to be realigned to meet the requirements of the new mandate but also must be nimble enough to adapt quickly to changing business models as patient adoption increases. To best meet these demands, payers should focus on putting together an FHIR infrastructure that complies with the mandate and provision it to extend and scale as the mandate as patient adoption evolves.

The COVID-19 pandemic has driven more businesses online than ever before. With health care plans growing their number of older members, this may not be welcome news. Even though remote mobile service is a growing industry trend, a study from the Pew Research Center found only 26% of internet users aged 65 and over were “very confident” when using smartphones. Optimizing your plan’s mobile design to accommodate their needs should be a key focus heading into 2021.

In an effort to provide members with access to their health data, government sponsored health plans are required under the new CMS mandate to better support interoperability and access to patient data. With the mandate coming into effect in only a few months, payers need to act quickly on ensuring their organization's compliance. One of the key steps in ensuring ongoing compliance is to evaluate and choose the right type of cloud deployment model for the FHIR server. The choice comes down between two options: cloud-hosted open-source system (OSS) FHIR server and managed FHIR server offered as Platform as a Service (PaaS).

On March 27, 2020, U.S. Congress passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act in response to the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic. State Workforce Agencies (SWAs) across the nation scrambled to develop technical solutions to accommodate millions of Americans suddenly eligible for unemployment benefits. Throughout the pandemic, rules, policies, regulations, and legislation were—and remain—fluid and evolving and SWAs are interpreting and implementing federal and state changes constantly. 

The first-ever virtual National Council on Teacher Retirement (NCTR) conference was a culmination of great ideas, discussions on the changing pandemic situation and how it affects work, and how technology plays a decisive role in keeping data secure. Our Chief Information Officer Warren Gordon was on a panel speaking about All things IT: from Cybersecurity to Telecommuting. Here are his thoughts and excerpts from the discussion.

“Change is the only constant in life, and if we’ve learned anything from 2020, it’s that you best be prepared.”

With the unprecedented pass of the federal CARES Act to deal with the economic impacts of COVID-19, State Workforce Agencies across the nation scrambled to develop systems that could quickly accommodate millions of Americans suddenly eligible for unemployment benefits. IT leaders and software application developers were hit with an urgent and immediate demand for technology solutions without knowing the volume and scaling requirements—in an environment that was highly visible, politically charged, and frequently covered by mass media.

As we plan for the new normal, it’s time for Medicaid plans to evaluate the change in member expectations and behavior. People are now performing jobs successfully at home in record number, and a recent Gartner poll shows that 48% of employees will continue to work remotely in the future. In short, remote work and service are trends set to control the remainder of 2020 and 2021.

Your organization’s data is critically important – and quite vulnerable – during a new solution implementation. Consequently, your vendor should offer advanced security options to protect your data during your project implementation. Further, they should also provide you detailed security protocols and plans for converting your data accurately and efficiently. In your analysis of determining which pension administration software is best for your organization, be sure to keep maintaining data integrity at the top of your list.

After understanding what to look for in a Pension Administration Software – and how to evaluate whether or not it will meet your organizational goals – it’s time to focus on another obstacle entirely: implementation. Depending on the size of the organization, transitioning to a new solution could take weeks, months – even years. Plus, new regulations and innovations can sometimes cause further delays and overhaul hindrances. In truth, this project is no small feat.

As a health plan, getting members to act on compliance requirements is a costly and time-consuming affair. It’s a key focus for Medicaid plans because non-compliance results in revenue loss and corrective action. Since member participation is voluntary, many Medicaid plans have tried different approaches to meeting this requirement. Incentivizing behavior change among their members has become the most popular route that many have taken – but this is far from the best option. The secret to boosting compliance lies in changing how Medicaid plans approach this problem.

What should you look for in a pension administration software (PAS)? While different organizations have different needs, there are a few key features that a potential solution should have. If you caught our previous blog, we walked through the key questions helpful for analyzing the best solution for your organization. Here, we’ll show you the key features a potential solution should provide. Remember, in an industry inundated by continually changing policies, PAS vendors should meet your needs for both the long and short-term.

With the unprecedented pass of the federal CARES Act to deal with the economic impacts of COVID-19, State Workforce Agencies (SWAs) across the nation scrambled to develop systems that could quickly accommodate millions of Americans suddenly eligible for unemployment benefits.

Choosing a pension administration software (PAS) is a monumental task. Your decision could affect your organization for years or (most likely) decades to come. Dealing with fragmented and outdated technology that can't evolve poses a significant business challenge. Due to limited staff and budget constraints, coupled with the continually changing nature of the industry, choosing the right solution is critical.

Interview with Dawn Miller, Risk and Compliance Manager at Sagitec

We welcome Dawn Miller to lead Sagitec’s risk and compliance charter. Dawn graduated from Temple University and has obtained numerous risk and compliance professional certifications. She has over 25 years of experience in risk management, compliance, safety, data privacy, and emergency preparedness. Her experience includes workplace safety matters, emergency preparedness, and disaster relief, including playing a role in response to the September 11^th attacks. She has held leadership roles in federal and global healthcare programs as a Director of Risk Management and Compliance and Data Privacy Officer. She has been responsible for managing HIPAA, GDPR, and data privacy requirements.

Is the end of COVID-19 in sight? Though spikes and dips cluster in different parts around the country, a growing trend of businesses have begun preparations to return employees to the office. While many don’t have a specific timeline, planning for the day that employees can return has begun. From desk arrangements to addendum policies, there’s a lot to plan and ensuring that your office is a safe environment for employees is a complicated affair. The following sections identify best practices to consider when preparing your business.  

Sagitec alerted the Maryland Department of Labor (MDOL) of potential fraud activity after identifying a spike in out-of-state Unemployment Insurance (UI) claims including regular and pandemic claims.

The after-effects of national events are no stranger to the workplace. Turnstiles and X-raying briefcases became normal at many offices and buildings post 9/11 due to the perceived need for additional security. Shoe screening began after Richard Reid's unsuccessful attempt to ignite his explosives-laden sneakers aboard an American Airlines flight from Paris to Miami in December 2001. Consequently, TSA estimates that they have examined 10 billion pairs of shoes since. These are only a few of the many examples that indicate this trend.

According to LastPass's Global Password Security Report, the average individual has 85 different accounts. Remembering 85 passwords is not easy, but most people repeat their passwords, causing a password overload.

Most unemployment insurance systems are still crumbling under high claims volumes and calls.  One of the primary root causes is the legacy systems and code base that many state workforce agencies continue to use to this day. According to an ITSC study released in September 2019, only 16 states have fully modernized their tax, benefits, and appeals systems.  Additionally, regardless of modernization status, all state systems are struggling to meet the needs of their citizens.  

Can we use behavioral psychology concepts to provoke action?  Managed care organizations face a daunting challenge in getting members to complete tasks - be it wellness visits or renewing eligibility.  It is not from lack of trying.  Multiple reminders are sent through mailers, SMS, and calls.  What gives?

The Maryland Department of Labor Division of Unemployment Insurance saw a total number of 108,508 new insurance claims for the week of April 4. This number is a spike of 29% from last week's numbers and call center hours and operations are not able to handle the spike. Unemployment insurance claim numbers are increasing in an unprecedented manner given the Coronavirus pandemic across states. While the department has taken measures to address this by asking citizens to submit claims based on their names and days of week, it is also urging people to file claims online. 

Member Guide for COVID-19

COVID-19 is a global pandemic.  With 1 in 5 Americans covered by Medicaid, it is seen as a key player in the response to this national emergency.  There is uncertainty around eligibility, co-pay, testing and treatment coverage.  There has been a surge in search of Coronavirus information on Google.  Below is the search term indexed against popular terms like “Trump”, “music” and “video” – according to News Lab team at Google, there has not been a search term like coronavirus in terms of volume – as you can see in the image, it surpasses all other keywords.

Yesterday, 50 people answered 4000 of 196,000 calls received in one state workforce agency to help citizens about unemployment insurance claims. Each of the 50 customer service representatives was working their hardest and served 80 callers each. Fifty people working their hardest resulted in only 0.2% of callers served.

This isn’t a drill. This is real life. This is the crisis we find ourselves in due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Futurists have been envisioning ‘talking computers’ for ages and they are not just science fiction but reality today. Artificial intelligence is already transforming our daily lives. It is no surprise that the government sector is adopting this rapid technological advancement rather quickly. Governments have already begun to adopt chatbots for customer service. Chatbots are computer programs that one can talk to by text or voice and they are helping government agencies improve their speed and quality of service and citizens’ in-turn are getting a better customer experience.

In many cases, chatbots improve customer service - they can speed up interactions, reduce wait times, by way of answering queries with complete accuracy, pulling knowledge instantly from a database, and freeing up valuable time of call center agents. Chatbots are available anytime, anywhere and are easy to use for today’s digital citizens and are soon becoming an essential IT service.

The novel Coronavirus, COVID-19 has undone the world as we know it. Our relationships and interactions with the outside world and with each other have changed completely in just the last few weeks. These changes are unsettling. Will national and international borders remain closed? When will be able to resume our everyday lives or even be able to do something as simple as step out to our favorite restaurants,  bars or cafés? Will human touch become taboo?  Will our lives ever be the “same” again?

The Coronavirus crisis is global, and many businesses and organizations have enabled their employees to work from home. It is no different for state and local government agencies. Consider Seattle, one of the epicenters of the pandemic in the United States.

It's during times like these that people need to band together and support our most vulnerable segments of the population. You, Sagitec's customers, provide some of the best financial support for those in need. We know you are working hard to ensure the services and benefits you offer are not disrupted. When you chose us as your partner, you became part of the Sagitec family and families support each other. We'd like to offer you a helping hand. What can we do to best support you?

As a global company, Sagitec is closely monitoring the Coronavirus (COVID-19), along with the rest of the World. We are following guidance provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the World Health Organization (WHO) and local health officials. Our top priorities are to protect the health and safety of our clients, employees, and their families, and to ensure the continuity of our business and services.

The goal of any software should be to provide the best value possible while maximizing profits. The software development process is critical in ensuring that the Return on Investment is optimized.

Steve Jobs said, “You've got to start with the customer experience and work backward toward the technology – not the other way around.”

The National Association of State Workforce Agencies' (NASWA) 83^rd Annual Conference just concluded in Boston and, as usual, it was a fantastic event for sharing best practices and fellowship among colleagues from other states. From sessions focused on recession preparation and workforce development to the awesome experience of a full drumline, this will be a conference to remember for years to come.  

Technology is changing the way consumers seek out and interact with, important health information, including locating nearby health providers, securing quality community resources, determining benefit eligibility, and accessing offline and live customer service representatives.

The Opioid Crisis

The number of deaths in the U.S. from prescription opioid overdose has more than quadrupled in the last 15 years and the number of deaths due to heroin and fentanyl use and overdoses has surpassed these numbers. The DEA released a National Heroin Threat Assessment Summary in 2015 after they had issued a nationwide alert that identified fentanyl as a public health and safety threat. In this summary, they observed a spike in overdose deaths in several states, with Ohio, Maryland, and Massachusetts in the top three spots.

Public cloud services will be essential for 90% of business innovation by the year 2022 according to Gartner. But what questions do you need to consider in order to make a move to the cloud? We have compiled a list of questions and answers to help you in this regard. Read on.

PRISM, an IT conference targeted at public pension administrators, is always a fantastic venue to learn about what’s trending, share lessons learned, and network with pension agencies from around North America. And, the 2019 PRISM conference did not disappoint!

Most organizations today have a sound Disaster Recovery (DR) and business continuity plan and they should, given the changing nature of business and technology. DR allows organizations to resume critical functions following a disaster. It involves having a separate physical site for restoring operations.

A recent report released by The National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA) revealed that the use of vaping devices has dramatically increased among America’s teens. In just one year, the number of 12th graders that reported using some type of vaping increased from 27.8 percent in 2017 to 37.3 percent in 2018. Within the same group, nicotine vaping increased nearly 10 percentage points and marijuana vaping increase 9.5 percentage points in one year.

There are many parts working together in our bodies and research has shown that those individuals needing treatment for more than one condition of the mind and body, die on average more than 10-25 years earlier than those that do not. Many medical professionals and researchers believe that this is an increasing trend and that the number of individuals with co-morbid conditions will continue in the years ahead.   Even more important, is that many behavioral health disorders are often overlooked by non-psychiatric physicians and general practitioners.

Sagitec strives to be bigger and better every year and we challenge ourselves to do more than is expected of us. We aim to make positive contributions to the communities we live and work. 

Affordable Care Act

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) was signed into law on March 23, 2010, by President Obama. Since that time the Republican party has tried without success to repeal or partially repeal this program. According to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, as of  2018, there were approximately 11.8 million consumers that selected or were automatically re-enrolled in Marketplace Healthcare plans.

At its most basic level, Business Process Management (BPM) improves system functionality by managing and tracking work. At a deeper level, BPM is an operations management discipline, using a combination of methods, which can include discovering, modeling, analyzing, measuring, improving, optimizing, and automating business processes.

However, what organizations will want to know is this: How does effective BPM save time and cost?

Since the 1970’s our population has faced an increasing number of chronic health concerns. Many of these have been related to lifestyle choices that lead to the most common non-communicable diseases, including obesity, physical inactivity, sexual behavior, and substance use (tobacco, alcohol, and drugs). During this time, these “lifestyle diseases” have been addressed by looking at personal choices, behavior, and responsibilities. Recent research though suggests that an individual’s actions are strongly influenced by their own physical and social surroundings. Many of these studies have shown that alterations in one’s environment may be an effective tool for changes in behavior.

Sagitec took part in the Toys for Tots toy drive again this year!

This year’s conference round-up for the national Unemployment Insurance and Workforce areas were great. Sagitec made it to many of the conference sessions and learned a lot. Most sessions were super-charged with current issues dealing with labor and employment, workforce development and Unemployment Insurance (UI) topics. We started with the NASWA Winter Policy Forum and ended with the NASWA Workforce Summit & UI Directors’ Conference, where Sagitec was the Diamond sponsor. Over 500 people attended this conference, which was the largest conference NASWA has ever held!

September was Hunger Action Month, a month where people all over America stand together with non-profit organizations and the nationwide network of food banks to fight hunger. It’s a month to spread the word and take action on the hunger crisis, and dedicate ourselves to a solution.

Automation with Artificial Intelligence (AI) is becoming common today. AI unlocks productivity gains and it makes process outcomes precise and accurate and is scalable technology. Intelligent machines are likely to open new avenues for us to explore, freeing us from mundane, routine tasks and giving us an opportunity to leverage our creativity and imagination.

The National Pension Education Association (NPEA) annual conference is always a great forum to discuss how retirement education and communication initiatives can help members, employers, and agencies. This year was no different. We had great conversations and learned a lot from our clients, peers, and all attendees. We also found that most are also interested in talking to their peers (or identifying peers they can talk to) to get lessons learned and see how they’ve tackled different issues – I hope this blog throws some light on what is important to participants we spoke to.

CHALLENGE

Benefits administration is complex. Thousands of business rules and decisions are made every day to determine tax/contribution rates, validate transactions, compute benefits, process claims, and manage exceptions. If these rules were set in stone, managing them would not be so difficult. However, business rules are always in flux, placing strains on your systems, processes, and employees.

Many people still confuse workflows with processes and it is easy to understand why. The earliest Business Process Management (BPM) solutions were based on workflow – or how individual processes coordinated.

Application development today has become much easier than a few decades back. You don’t need a working prototype or even a pre-existing database to design the workflow and behavior of your application. All you need is an entity-based approach.

1. What is MVVM?

MVVM – short for Model-View-ViewModel – is an architecture pattern that takes advantage of user device capabilities and browser memory to improve application performance.

http://www.sagitec.com/blog/a-to-z-of-pension-terminology 

Any organization today is a complex set of departments and communication is crucial between them. For example, the IT department knows how to build a computer system and the business teams have knowledge of how the system should behave. How can the IT and business teams communicate effectively? How do they manage business rules that are always in flux, especially in the benefits administration area that is frequently subjected to policy changes?            

Are you well versed with pension/retirement terminology? If not, take a go at our pension alphabet.

Digital Health has been a hot market space in recent times with investors collectively pouring $26 billion since 2010 and over $7.2 billion just last year.  Mobile health or mHealth apps were seen as a crucial element in managing chronic conditions like diabetes and asthma, by helping patients take care of their lifestyle and medications.  In fact, mHealth Apps were the largest funded category in digital health, with over 325,000 apps available by end of 2017.   

Application performance management, including monitoring and logging, are critical success factors for almost any IT shop. The problem is that many of the tools available on the market to provide you with insights into the root cause of an issue are expensive and need a good data feed from the native application to work well.

Lessons Learned from the 2018 PRISM Conference

Cloud addresses all the needs of an organization, changing how we work, where we work, and the ways we do business. Here are some key benefits that an organization derives if the cloud is implemented correctly.

Imagine a patient just diagnosed with a life-changing chronic illness such as diabetes, arthritis, asthma or a combination of these illnesses. A patient’s knowledge might range from complete unfamiliarity on these conditions or just a basic understanding from episodic visits to the clinic. And in most cases, patients have lots of questions that go unanswered like how it will change their daily routine? What therapies are best for them? Are there any clinical programs they can be part of?

Only 10% of health is determined by care received at a doctor's office. Other factors like economic stability, residential environment, education, food, and community play a significant role in health outcomes. Individual behavior, including, where we live, what we do for a living, and what services we have access to make up 60% of our health. Clinical advice when combined with focus on individual behavior and social factors can result in superior health outcomes.

While every public pension agency has their unique differences, a common purpose unites them: to maintain the financial security of the trust fund and provide exceptional service to external stakeholders. In terms of protecting pension funds, there are numerous investment strategies to close the funding gap: using asset monetization and dedicated revenue sources, issuing well-designed pension obligation bonds, closing tax loopholes, among other tactics. Investment strategies aren’t the only way to maintain the sustainability of the plans, however. By updating the technology that is used to administer pension benefits, pension agencies can ensure financial security while simultaneously achieving customer service excellence.

In today’s digital world, your website and online presence must comply with accessibility regulations. The Department of Justice (DOJ) published the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) standards for accessible design in September 2010. These standards state that all electronic and information technology must be accessible to people with disabilities.

Unemployment Insurance (UI) benefit fraud is the inappropriate collection of benefits by using false information. According to the Washington DC Department of Employment Services, examples of UI fraud include:

For an enterprise to be able to deliver Azure Managed Government Services is like holding a hot ticket to digital transformation and this is precisely what Sagitec Solutions brings to the table. Since its inception, Sagitec has been catering to the public sector’s needs with solutions powered by Microsoft technology. Witnessing the escalating demand for cloud-based, cost-effective solutions that meet the stringent security and certification requirements of the public sector, Sagitec works closely with Microsoft and leverages its Azure Government Cloud solution—which boasts world-class security—to ensure compliance. The company embraces Microsoft’s cloud-first approach to offer state and local government agencies the tools they require to create transformational solutions.

Futurists have been envisioning ‘talking computers’ for ages and they are not just science fiction but the reality today. Artificial intelligence is already transforming our daily lives. It is no surprise that the government sector is adopting this rapid technological advancement rather quickly. Governments have already begun to adopt chatbots; computer programs that one can talk to by text or voice. This is helping government agencies improve their speed and quality of service and citizens’ in-turn are getting a better customer experience.

The National Pension Education Association (NPEA) annual conference concluded last week and as always, it is said to have been an invaluable forum to stay informed and up to date on retirement education, communication trends, and important issues facing the public retirement community.

 The global chatbot market is expected to reach $1.23 billion by 2025, a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 24.3%, according to a recent report by Grand View Research. What must you know about chatbots, at a minimum? View our infographic here.

The main purpose of theft and robbery is to take prime assets away to make money or become rich. In today’s world, data thieves operate on the same principle – to take personal and financial data in exchange for money or recognition. Data is the main asset of consumers today. The retail industry is a target for payment card data, the finance industry for financial assets and investment data and even the media industry is not spared and prime-time shows like HBO's Game of Thrones’ episodes were hacked and leaked. Even the recent Equifax data breach only shows that personal data can be as valuable as any financial asset.

The early days of computer programming were quite daunting for everyone. Different types and makes of desktops and PCs had their own unique features and architecture and computing power was expensive. This forced programmers to create specific machine instructions so that different machines could understand and interpret the code. This proved to be slow and tough for programmers. When Object Oriented Programming (OOP) languages came into existence, it helped programmers to solve many problems instead of spending time on writing machine instructions.

Industries that have matured on managing customer satisfaction, like airlines or retail, understand that expectations around service quality, delivered quality and communication are key drivers of consumer satisfaction.  One mantra that has become universal is - small variations in delivered quality can result in significant differences in satisfaction/complaints, depending on how expectations and communication are managed. 

Looking introspectively at knowledge and learning management results in putting blinders on and doesn’t allow organizations to fully realize the benefits of their knowledge and learning management initiatives and solutions.

On July 1, 2017, Cost of Living Adjustments (COLA) will go into effect at a majority of pension agencies across the country. COLAs protect members’ annuity from inflation erosion, but without a modern benefits administration solution, COLAs can erode the patience of the staff trying to administer them.

Less than 30 years ago, defined contribution (DC) retirement plans were a rather novel retirement savings vehicle. Now, DC plans are the most popular employer-sponsored retirement plan in the United States, according to the American Benefits Counsel.  Within the public sector, DC plans are playing an ever more increasing role in state and local retirement programs.

It’s estimated that American businesses lose $31.5 billion each year simply because information is not shared effectively. This staggering loss of revenue is the result of employees and customers not having information to make the best decisions; wasted time in trying to find information; wasted time and effort in reinventing something that’s already been created; and simply being misinformed. 

After working hard developing a tailored unemployment insurance solution for the Maryland and West Virginia Consortium project, a group of Sagitec employees are practicing the 3,000 year-old tradition of yoga once a week after work. A licensed yoga teacher is leading the 10-week yoga class, which takes place at the office building of Sagitec’s client, the Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation.

At its very essence, knowledge and learning management is simple. It is about giving internal and external stakeholders the information and resources that they need to be successful in their relationship with the organization that they work for or buy from. But, knowledge and learning management is much more complex than it actually sounds.

Practitioners have the mentality that if they develop content that stakeholders need, success will come organically. It’s the whole “if you build it, they will come” mantra. But, the fact is that a lot of organizations have developed great knowledge and learning opportunities that actually fill a real-world need (i.e., developed a good solution to a confirmed problem) without much impact. And, here are 7 deadly reasons why.

Part 3: Using web analytics data to identify insights and develop business strategy

When it comes to a web analytics strategy, organizations go through a natural progression. The first step in the process is to develop a method for capturing the data. As the first blog post in this series states, many organizations are finding Google Analytics (GA) to be a helpful and cost-effective web analytics service. Once the data is captured, the next step is to develop a data reporting strategy. The second blog post delves into how one can use GA’s basic reporting functionality to apprise business leaders. The next stage is to use the captured data and reports to identify insights and develop business strategy.

Let’s stop beating our heads against a brick wall: 4 fundamental disconnects with outmoded contract terms and conditions

In the last decade, state and local agencies changed the way they implement large software modernization projects; however, the same is not true for the contracts that govern these projects. For this article, we discuss four categories of terms and conditions that are outdated and don’t reflect the evolution of software products or the product implementation approaches required for today’s modernization projects.  Consequently, vendors, procurement professionals, lawyers, and client leadership spend significant time, money and emotional capital trying to solve the proverbial “fit a square peg in a round hole” conundrum during negotiations.

Technology has changed the face of the world. Especially with the advances made during the last decade. However, if you look at new homes in the U.S., you will realize some outdated technology is still deeply entrenched.  Take, for example, telephone jacks; these still come as a default option provided by homebuilders. But how many of us use these telephone jacks? Technologies like VOIP and smartphones have taken over with aggressive pricing, marketing strategies, ease of use, and business value that cannot be overlooked.

Last week, Sagitec employees from five different office locations throughout the U.S. all had one thing on their mind: give back to their local communities.  From Denver to Baltimore and points in between, Sagitec employees rolled up their sleeves and fed people in need.

Part 2: Understanding your audience through website analytics

Organizations are increasingly using the web to interact with their customers. Besides websites, web portals are becoming a ubiquitous component of organizations’ customer service strategy. These technologies allow customers to serve themselves and satisfy their need for instantaneous information. However, as self-service is replacing traditional customer service methods, organizations may be lacking critical information about their most precious asset.

The Public Retirement Information Systems Management (PRISM) conference is known for spurring thought-provoking discussions about how technology can improve public pension systems and this year was no exception. The educational sessions are the primary catalyst for these highly important discussions and this year’s conference in Nashville, Tennessee was chock-full of them. In an effort to move the conversation beyond the conference walls, I, Jordan Bartlett (JB) interviewed two Sagitec employees who attended PRISM to see what they learned.

 Part 1: Integrating Google Analytics with your websites and portals

In today's business world, metrics are paramount for they pave the way toward business process optimization. As a previous blog post stated, one way to obtain metrics is through a Business Process Management engine. To augment that data, organizations can also utilize Google Analytics (GA). By integrating GA with an organization's website and web portal, stakeholders are able to obtain useful data that can help them make impactful business decisions.

In today’s digital and highly automated business environment, there is a growing trend to expand operational performance benchmarking. This fixation on continuous process improvement was evident in a recent study by the National Conference on Public Employee Retirement Systems (NCPERS). The study, which compiled responses from 159 state, local and provincial government pension funds, found that 23 percent of pension funds have expanded operational performance benchmarking and 8 percent are considering it.

In healthcare, the availability of new data sets (variety) and the pace at which the data changes (velocity) is driving the rapid adoption of Big Data techniques.  New data sets from social patient reviews, physician payments, sensor/ personal medical devices, and patient behavior are leading the change. 

Digital Transformation is definitely the rage du jour – and for good reason.  Traditional business models have been assaulted as innovative companies radically improve performance and customer reach.  Digital advances such as analytics, mobility, social media and smart embedded devices are changing business models, customer relationships, and entire value propositions.

“It's a terrible thing to look over your shoulder when you are trying to lead - and find no one there" - Franklin D. Roosevelt

“Oh boy! What happened? I thought we all agreed that this new system would be a good thing? Why won’t people just trust?” Does this sound like you?

View this infographic to learn more about how data and analytics can help improve health literacy

“Projects with excellent change management effectiveness were nearly six times more likely to achieve project objectives.” ~ Prosci 2015[1]

You’ve made the decision to upgrade or recreate your IT system. You’ve considered technology, parameters, oversight, vendors, money, timing, schedule and much more. But have you considered what can be your biggest asset or your most tenacious roadblock – your people?

Adoption of digital technologies has been more rapid in industries such as retail, financial services, and media than in the Healthcare and Life Sciences (HLS) industries. Mobile and social communications, analytics, cloud computing and the Internet of things are just a few of the technologies that can make a big impact in how HLS organizations go to market faster, engage with patients better or transform their healthcare programs.

We live in a world of rapid change – technological, social, economic and political. In the midst of this flux are organizations, which are trying to make sense of these changes and how they can perform better. And within these pressured organizations, the function of Human Resources (HR) is more important than ever.

Did you know that two of three Americans own a smartphone today? Smartphones are used for almost everything today – ordering food, banking needs, shopping online or booking doctor’s appointments. Most industries have realized the potential of mobility solutions and have leveraged it for better customer experience and detailed behavior analytics leading to personalized products and services.

According to the National Assessment of Adult Literacy, only 12 percent of adults in the U.S. have proficient health literacy. In terms of numbers, that is nine out of ten adults who lack the skills needed to manage their health and prevent disease. Low literacy has been linked to poor health outcomes such as higher rates of hospitalization and less frequent use of preventive services, which leads to higher healthcare costs. This is especially troubling for individuals over the age of 65 because they have low health literacy, live on a fixed budget and Medicare doesn’t pay for all the costs.

Homelessness is a continual problem in many countries and the same goes for the U.S. Though many states have reported a decrease in homelessness, there are as many states where there has been an increase in the number of people without proper homes. While there are quite a few shelter homes and organizations trying to provide daily accommodation, they are always in dire need of resources and donations.

The tax season is upon us and this time of year happens to be a busy time for pension agencies. In addition to compiling and sending out annual 1099-Rs, pension organizations must also increase their level of member communication and engagement to ensure their membership is updated with important tax information. Members are anxious to know when their annual 1099-R will be mailed out, what exemptions they may qualify for, or if they should update their tax withholding amounts.

Replacement of a pension administration system is a big decision for an organization to make. Determining which solution is best, and the feasibility of implementing said solution, pose even bigger challenges.

Pharmaceutical companies rely on closed loop marketing to drive sales, but without a DataOps platform, the real time data and collaboration that is required makes closed loop marketing nearly impossible to achieve.

Having your “head in the clouds” is an idiom used to describe someone who is not paying attention or who is out of touch with the everyday world; however, with the emergence of cloud computing, this phrase has taken on new significance. Most of us our have our “heads in the cloud” on a daily basis; updating a Facebook status, uploading photos to a photo-sharing site, and checking a bank account from a mobile device all happen in the cloud. Unfortunately, the lack of awareness part remains.

Organizations across all industries have an immense amount of knowledge, both in tangible and tacit form. Despite the proliferation of information, most organizations are dealing with a knowledge gap that inhibits innovation, growth and the cross-pollination of ideas. In order for organizations to benefit from their knowledge base and turn it into a true value proposition, it must be harnessed. The most effective way to capture and create knowledge for easy consumption is by investing in an Enterprise Knowledge Solution (EKS). According to Oztemel and Arslankaya (2012), an enterprise knowledge solution assists with “the representation, organization, acquisition, creation, use and evolution of knowledge in its many forms.[1]”  In addition to bridging the inherent knowledge gap that exists in organizations today, below are several other reasons why organizations should invest in an EKS.

Life Sciences firms have witnessed an explosion in available data sources. The chief catalyst for the proliferation of data within the health care and life sciences industry is the Internet of Things, specifically personal digital care devices. The wearable devices serve many purposes, from monitoring daily fitness activity to measuring glucose levels. For pharmaceutical companies, these devices are an efficient way of administering clinical trials.Instead of patients going to the hospital numerous times throughout the trial for health monitoring, patients can simply wear a digital device that captures all of the pertinent information.

In 2015, flooding in South India claimed over 500 lives, and displaced more than 1.8 million. The city of Chennai was particularly hard-hit.

With an office located in Chennai, Sagitec felt compelled to help their community rebuild. Sagitec teamed up with Aid India and donated funds to have seven homes built for underprivileged families who lost their homes as a result of the flood. All seven homes have been completed and handed over to displaced families.

The 80th Annual NASWA Conference is coming up, and Sagitec is getting excited to attend. This year, the conference will be held in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma at the Renaissance Convention Center Hotel from September 27th through the 29th. Sagitec proudly supports the 2016 NASWA conference as a gold sponsor.

Sagitec is helping their client, WorkForce West Virginia, rebuild their community after a one-in-a-thousand-year flood damaged homes and businesses and claimed the lives of 23 people in late June. The donation to the West Virginia Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (VOAD) will go towards the on-going recovery effort in some of the hardest hit areas in West Virginia. One of those areas is Kanawha County, which is where Workforce West Virginia’s central office is located.

For the past 39 years, Little Canada has hosted an annual, weekend-long community festival dubbed Canadian Days. This year marks the 40th annual celebration, which will be held from July 29th through July 31st. This year’s theme is "May the 40th be with You," a nod to the festival’s 40th year and cultural phenomenon, Star Wars.

The Sagi Stallions, a team comprised of employees from the Minnesota office, joined together to compete in the Minnesota Cricket Carnival on July 16 in Eagan, Minn. The Sagi Stallions, with the help of fellow coworkers, raised $1,750 for charity, which was the highest amount of money raised out of the 34 teams that competed in the tournament.

In 2012, Sagitec implemented a MWP for the Missouri Local Government Employees Retirement System (LAGERS) to satisfy the agency’s desire to offer their members and retirees increased access to their information.

Ever since the MWP went live in October 2012, LAGERS has experienced significant adoption rates and enormous business benefits. For instance, currently 24.6 percent of their active members and 25.4 percent of retirees have enrolled in the MWP.

The digital revolution is altering how organizations conduct customer service. Gone are the days of businesses relying solely on manual, in-person customer service delivery. The major impetus to adopt a more dynamic and technically driven method of customer service is from the customers themselves. They are demanding modern and convenient ways of accessing their information and communicating with organizations.  Pension agencies are not exempt from this external pressure to modernize their customer service delivery model. Therefore, many pension organizations are integrating a member web portal (MWP) with their benefit management solution. (To learn about how one of our clients is benefiting from a MWP, stay tuned for a future blog post that delves into the tangible business benefits that this client is experiencing).

Studies show that mobile app adoption rates amongst older generations are significant and climbing. A recent study (2015) from the Pew Research Center shows that 58% of Americans aged 50 to 64 own a smartphone¹.

According to the Association on Information and Image Management, “Enterprise Content Management (ECM) is the systematic collection and organization of information that is to be used by a designated audience – business executives, customers, etc. Neither a single technology nor a methodology nor a process, it is a dynamic combination of strategies, methods, and tools used to capture, manage, store, preserve, and deliver information supporting key organizational processes through its entire lifecycle.”

More than 50 Sagitec employees located at various offices across the United States participated in a day of giving to help feed people in need within their communities. Sagitec Solutions’ leadership believes that the company should be more than just a leader in developing innovative IT solutions – it should also be a positive influence within the community. This notion is underscored in one of the company’s core values, which states “Be bigger than ourselves.” Specifically, Sagitec is a company that believes in contributing to the communities in which the company operates; to see things from different perspectives; and to do more than is expected.

MOBIAS Pension is a mobile app that provides your members access to their pension accounts via a downloadable application. MOBIAS differs from a traditional member web portal in that it offers mobile-optimized account access with the integrated native features of a mobile phone (i.e. camera, GPS, phone, email, etc.).  With MOBIAS, the power of self-service is at your member’s fingertips, allowing them to access and update their information anytime, anywhere.

It’s easy to get caught up in the possibilities when it comes to designing your new pension administration system. And of course, you want to make sure that your new system makes up for the inadequacies of your old one. However, fixating too heavily on such details can lead the system design process astray.

The Sagitec Framework™ provides the foundation upon which Sagitec’s benefit management solutions, Neospin™ and Neosurance™, are built. It is a domain-neutral technology architecture designed to mitigate the risk of technical obsolescence and simultaneously respond to rapidly changing business requirements.

Are you contemplating whether to invest in a new pension administration solution? If so, this blog will provide you with compelling reasons why you should make a strategic investment in your IT infrastructure.

Data conversion is the process of transforming data from one format to another. While the definition of data conversion may be straightforward, the process itself isn’t. Converting data can be a challenging process; it involves extracting data from its original source, transforming the data into the desired format, and finally, loading the data into a new location.

In a perfect world, a newly implemented software system would go-live with no PIRs (Problem Incident Reports). And everything would look and function exactly how the client had envisioned - flawlessly. Surely, an understandable aspiration; however, let’s look at whether or not that is a realistic expectation.

MVVM – short for Model-View-ViewModel – is an architecture pattern that takes advantage of its user’s device capabilities and browser memory to improve application performance. This results in a better user interface experience for the user.

Sagitec Solutions is gearing up for the annual Public Retirement Information Systems Management (PRISM) conference April 24-27 in Austin, Texas. This year’s conference theme, Adapt to Survive and Thrive, will surely generate interesting and thought-provoking discussions about how technology can improve public pension systems.

Sagitec's donation of 10 computers is helping CAN DO assist even more individuals in need.

Sagitec Solutions recently donated 10 desktop computers to CAN DO, a non-profit organization that provides skills and employment training to people with disabilities in Chennai, India.  The computers, which are being used by individuals with hearing, visual, intellectual or motor disabilities, represents CAN DO’s first donation since launching in 2012, said the organization’s founder Anu Shekar.

There has been some confusion in the market about the scalability of Sagitec’s pension administration solution, Neospin™. Some industry representatives assume that Sagitec can only serve large agencies, this however, is not accurate.

After contemplating this inaccurate assumption, I have surmised that these comments are merely a product of how the human mind operates. People use available information to explain the cause and effect of events in an effort to make sense of the world. Therefore, these individuals are attributing Sagitec’s recent project acquisitions to the market segment the firm is able to serve. This attribution, however, is not accurate.

Sagitec Solutions, in collaboration with AID India, donated money to rebuild seven houses for families who lost their homes during the 2015 Chennai floods.

Sagitec Solutions is helping Chennai, India rebuild after a 100-year storm ravaged the city in December 2015. The storm, which dumped nearly 11 inches of rain, came on the heels of the rainiest November in the city’s history.  The storm left incredible damage in its wake: more than 500 people were killed and more than 1.8 million people were displaced.

Managing change is a tricky thing indeed. When I consider the concept it immediately brings to mind my parents. That is to say, it makes me reflect on how my Mom manages the change and my Dad blankly stares into any conversation regarding it. When my parents went to Italy for a few weeks when I was a teenager, I distinctly remember how it all played out. My Mom was in charge of the tickets, hotels, packing, money conversion, etc. On top of which she also made sure to collect all their important paperwork and sit me and my two sisters down to discuss what to do in the event of an emergency. 

 Sagitec has outgrown their 220 person office that they purchased less than two years ago, propelling the company to acquire more office space in  Pune, India that can accommodate an additional 320 employees.

Did you know that there is a mobile application that tells you where you parked your car in a pirate voice? Yes, there’s an app for that. An ARRR-guably useful app for some, what about the benefits for a member of being able to update contact information or view annual statements via a pension app?   

Sagitec Solutions successfully completed the largest Enterprise Content Management (ECM) migration in the company’s 12 year history for one of their clients, the University of California (UCal). Sagitec’s ECM team was tasked with migrating 7.2 million documents from the client’s legacy system (IBM Image Services) to IBM FileNet P8 and completed this objective in less than 7 months.

Correspondence is a moving target. Changes in public policy that a pension agency must comply with and internal decisions to update the language, tone, or style of a correspondence all contribute to the need for frequent updates over the course of a project. And since such requests for change can happen at any time, it is difficult to enforce an organized update and review process.

How will the pension system affect your future?

The Pension Perfect Storm infographic depects the 3-critical converging forces changing the landscape of the pension system today. Aging Technology, Aging Population and Reform Oriented Plan Design are all affecting how future generations will be impacted by these changes. The storm in the middle poses the question, "What does this mean?"

This is the reason why many pension systems are looking for new pension software and solutions like Sagitec. To learn more take the Free Pension System Assessment online today for your customized solution.

The Fiji National Provident Fund’s (FNPF) ProMIS application, which was designed, developed and implemented by Sagitec Solutions in 2014, received a Certificate of Merit award from the International Social Security Association (ISSA) on Nov. 2, 2015 in Muscat, Oman.

The regional competition recognizes agencies that have implemented innovative solutions to address a specific issue, with the ultimate goal of reaching excellence.