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.

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.

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.

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.