The new government app Digital Office for the platform oesterreich.gv.at did not fare well with the users in the first test. However, there were no complaints about the features coming from two domestic startups Anyline and Ubitec.
It just does exist, the good reason why certain innovation processes at corporates and institutions sometimes take a little longer. For example, setting up a new app. However, the Austrian federal government did not want to burn anything on its prestigious project oesterreich.gv.at and its app Digital Office. Within a few months, the app was set up by the Federal Computing Center and then presented with much pomp by Chancellor and Co. The user feedback on ratings in the app stores was then unfavorable to say the least. The majority rated the apps as just one star.
Digital Office: Government project in Startup style
The main problem is reportedly the interface to a service that has been around for years the cellphone signature. Without them there is no progress in the digital office. There are also some bugs. The fact that the Neos delegate Gerald Loacker then moved via the app easily and especially media effective his main residence in the Ministry of Economic Affairs, shows another start problem. So, if the government tries trial and error in a startup manner, that’s not what we all know.
Chatbot Mona answers questions about cellphone signature
And, with the startup style, it’s such a thing. In fact, two domestic startups are involved in the development of the app. And they have apparently done their job flawlessly, bad feedback on their features is at least not known to the editors. On the contrary, one of these features is currently working diligently to provide relief in the largest problem area. Chatbot Mona, behind which the framework of the Linzer startup Ubitec stands, responded according to the Ministry of Economic Affairs in the first days after the release of the app thousands of user requests for cell phone signature.
Ubitec: on premise as a trump card for institutions
“Our system runs completely in the infrastructure of the Federal Computing Center,” explains Ubitec Co-Founder Dieter Perndl. The startup, which he founded in 2016 together with Dominik Aumayr, has built his own framework including some open source components. “Our customers get a 100% on premise solution. We do not use cloud services of large companies. This also prevents dependencies, “explains Perndl. This is exactly what has allowed the startup to convince several institutional players. The city of Vienna and the city of Linz are also currently working on larger projects, whose release is expected later this year, reveals the founder.
The chatbot will grow with you
Very quickly, as mentioned, it went with the App Digital Office. “We started our work in January. We were ready in mid March,”says Perndl. He emphasizes the good cooperation with the Federal Computing Center. If that did not work out so smoothly, that would not have worked in the short time either. Now the chatbot will gradually grow in parallel with the services on the platform oesterreich.gv.at. Another content field, which is already shown, is the information about the passport.
Anyline: Reading passport made easy
There, the Viennese startup Anyline contributed a central function. With the help of its AI based text recognition application, Digital Office users can read their passport data directly into the app via their smartphone camera. At Anyline, too, the emphasis is on waiving cloud services. “The project focused on the security of citizen data. For this reason, our text recognition technology works 100 percent offline, “explains Jakob Hofer, Anyline co-founder. He describes the cooperation with the Federal Computing Center as excellent. But in the meantime, Anyline has extensive experience working with institutions.
Also published on Medium.