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Maryland Expands Communication Channels with Chatbots & Amazon Alexa Skills

Using the technology of today, chatbots and voice assistants are expanding the state of Maryland's communication channels. Maryland.gov, a best-in-class communication's platform, provides access to hundreds of digital government services offered by Maryland agencies and now features digital assistants to better serve the citizens in Maryland.

In addition to phone and live-person chat, Maryland.gov Chatbot is designed to communicate with and deliver customer service 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.  Customers have instant access to thousands of answers related to Maryland government agencies and services, with a constantly expanding knowledge-base to ensure the best possible customer experience. The Business Chatbot is available on the Maryland Business Express website  to  assist business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs with business questions related to every phase of the business life cycle including planning, starting, managing and growing a business in Maryland.  

Alexa skills for the Maryland Fishing Report and Maryland Government News Flash Briefing are now available for Amazon Echo devices. After enabling the skills on your Amazon Echo device(s), users can say "Alexa, Open Maryland Fishing Report" or "Alexa, What's My Flash Briefing" to access the skills. 

The Maryland Government News Flash briefing helps citizens stay current with top headlines and information from Maryland government agencies.T he Maryland Fishing Report Alexa Skill provides anglers with the latest fishing hot spots, catch of the week, fishing conditions and much more from Maryland fisheries experts.

The Maryland Fishing Report has been a mainstay of DNR's mobile app, news page and website. It is consistently ranked among the top three most visited department webpages. It is authored every Wednesday during the traditional fishing seasons. Paired with the department's mobile app, the new skill makes a perfect fishing companion for a great day on the bay or other waterway. 

Maryland Natural Resources Secretary Mark Belton said "The department continues to be a technological evangelist, innovator and pioneer, utilizing various communications and marketing tools, including a comprehensive email service, mobile app and now Amazon Alexa, to connect and engage with our customers," Belton said. "I look forward to incorporating this technology in more of our services in the near future."  

The Maryland.gov platform was developed for the state of Maryland at no cost by NIC Maryland, through a statewide, self-funded digital government master services agreement with the State Department of Information Technology (DoIT). 

State Department of Assessments and Taxation Sees 47% Increase in Online Filing this Tax Season

This year, businesses and tax preparers could file 2018 Annual Reports and Personal Property Tax Returns online through Maryland Business Express, SDAT's award-winning platform for submitting annual filings, requesting copies of business documents, and establishing businesses online.  

Maryland Annual Reports and Personal Property Tax Returns were due April 16, 2018 for all businesses that are incorporated, qualified or registered to do business in the State of Maryland, unless an extension request was filed. There was a 47% increase in the number of online filings submitted when compared to the same time period last year. What was astonishing was the 50% decrease in customer service engagements. One could make the correlation that the changes made to simplify the filing process this year were truly successful.

David DiPaola, President & CEO of DiPaola Consulting stated "Today, I used the new Maryland Business Express to make my annual filings and it was awesome. Done in 45 minutes or less. Really seamless." and continued  "In the past, I have strongly considered reopening in other states but with the improvements your team and Gov. Hogan has made that makes zero sense and I plan to stay in Maryland. Thank you for working so hard for small businesses in Maryland, you are really making great progress!"

Registering for an account allows users to save their filing information to reference year after year. Tax preparers are also able to file multiple returns for different customers under one login. The online system accepts all major credit cards and is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week with immediate filing confirmation once submitted.
CELEBRATING MARYLAND'S AWARD
WINNING SERVICES
The 2018 winners of the StateScoop 50 awards - which annually highlight the best and brightest in the state IT community - were announced Sunday April 22 in Baltimore, Maryland, at the beginning of the National Association of State Chief Information Officers' midyear conference.  




    State Department of Assessments and Taxation 
   Maryland Business Express
   2018 State IT Innovation of the Year Award
 



Hermes Creative Awards is an international competition for creative professionals involved in the concept, writing and design of traditional and emerging media. The award is administered and judged by the Association of Marketing and Communication Professionals, and with over 6,000 entries, it truly honors the outstanding work. 

 
   Department of Information Technology
   Maryland.gov - Official State Website
   2018 Gold Award - Government Website Category
 
    State Department of Assessments and Taxation 
   Maryland Business Express
   2018 Gold Award - Government Website Category
 

    
  Maryland Department of Natural Resources
  AccessDNR 
  2018 Honorable Mention - Mobile Apps Utility 



UPCOMING EVENTS
    


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NIC Maryland develops and supports digital government services without using taxpayer funds through a master contract with the State of Maryland. Maryland saves money with NIC's online applications that pay for themselves through a proven funding model. 
Janet Grard 
General Manager

Andrea Greer
DoIT Contract Administrator
[email protected]