Striving to break down IT and data silos
In the Dolomites of northeastern Italy, the Autonomous Province of Bolzano-South Tyrol-runs on two languages and one goal: make public services simple. For more than 30 years, Sudtiroler Informatik AG (SIAG) has been the digital backbone for the province, the Consortium of Municipalities, and the Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol Region.
Over time, that backbone got crowded. Nearly 40 siloed systems-built across decades and tech stacks-meant fragmented data, duplicate processes, and too many portals for both citizens and employees. People had to repeat the same information across departments and hunt for the right place to get help.
"Citizens got lost in our services because we inherited a lot of systems, portals, and websites. They had to search for the right place to ask for school, agriculture, or healthcare. We wanted a different approach-proactively suggesting services based on their needs," says Matteo Negrello, IT Solution Engineer, SIAG.
Inside government, the sprawl slowed workflows, blocked data sharing, and made scaling harder-especially with a shrinking workforce as many public employees near retirement.
Streamlining citizen services with a unified CzRM
SIAG chose to build a Citizen Relationship Management (CzRM) platform as the single point of contact for every citizen interaction. The plan: unify data, standardize processes, and support omnichannel communication across phone, email, chat, WhatsApp, and video-available in Italian and German.
After evaluating options, the team selected Microsoft Dynamics 365 Customer Service and Dynamics 365 Contact Center for integration, low-code extensibility, multilingual capability, and automation. The result is one platform where employees and citizens operate with real-time data, consistent workflows, and shared context.
Rollout and adoption
- August 2025: Launched case management with 40 users to validate core functionality and gather feedback.
- September 2025: Expanded to omnichannel with voice integration for an additional 50 users.
What changed for support teams
- One queue, consistent routing: Cases move to the right agent based on skills, language, and priority.
- Shared history and context: Every interaction ties back to a single citizen profile across departments.
- AI-assisted workflows: Automated triage, knowledge suggestions, and summarization reduce handle time.
- Multilingual by design: Italian and German support are built into the process, not bolted on.
- True omnichannel: Phone, email, chat, WhatsApp Business Platform, and video-managed from one place.
Why this matters for customer support leaders
- Fewer silos = fewer handoffs and repeats. Agents work faster with cleaner data.
- Standardized processes raise first contact resolution and make QA simpler.
- Knowledge is centralized, so onboarding is quicker and answers stay consistent.
- Scales with staffing changes. Automation fills gaps as the workforce shifts.
A practical playbook you can reuse
- Start with a single case model: Define a cross-department taxonomy for requests, SLAs, and priorities.
- Clean the core data: Create a canonical citizen profile and merge duplicates before you scale.
- Pilot first: Launch case management with a small group, fix bottlenecks, then add channels.
- Design omnichannel early: Map entry points (phone, email, chat, WhatsApp, video) and routing logic.
- Build the knowledge engine: Centralize articles, add language variants, and wire it into agent assist.
- Automate the basics: Intake forms, identity checks, routing, summaries, and follow-ups.
- Set bilingual standards: Templates, macros, and QA rubrics for both Italian and German.
- Measure, iterate, repeat: Review weekly, ship small improvements, and expand department by department.
Architecture notes that keep you sane
- Use an API layer to connect legacy systems and keep the core CzRM clean.
- Adopt event-driven updates so records stay in sync without brittle point-to-point links.
- Centralize identity and consent to simplify security and compliance.
- Document data ownership. Decide what lives in the platform vs. remains in domain systems.
Metrics that actually move the needle
- First Contact Resolution (FCR) and Average Handle Time (AHT)
- Omnichannel containment and self-service deflection
- Handoffs per case and recontact rate within 7 days
- Agent onboarding time to proficiency
- Duplicate record rate and data completeness
- SLA attainment by service line and language
- CSAT after case closure
Key lessons from SIAG
- Consolidate entry points. One front door beats 20 portals every time.
- Put data first. Clean profiles and shared context make every agent better.
- Language parity is non-negotiable. Build processes that respect multilingual reality.
- Pilot, listen, expand. A small, working slice beats a big, stalled rollout.
Next steps for your team
- Map your top 10 request types and define a single intake-to-resolution flow.
- Stand up a pilot queue with case management and one digital channel.
- Layer in knowledge, agent assist, and then voice once the basics are stable.
Helpful resources
Your membership also unlocks:
