Snohomish County, WA is Finding Value of a Communications Platform

Nestled between the waters of Puget Sound and the Cascade Mountains is a mixture of small to large communities that all call Snohomish County home. The third largest county in Washington and just 45 minutes north of Seattle, Snohomish County is known for its beautiful dairy farms, green fields, and mountain vistas. The county offers an urban flare too, with access to all the amenities of big city life.

Information Services Project Manager, Dave Stroble, says this push and pull between urban and rural areas is an important consideration for his county. “We want to present as much information online as possible,” he said. “Our rural citizens are just as sophisticated as urban dwellers and want the same conveniences and access to services that someone living in a high-rise apartment does. That’s the equalizing factor of the web. And why, in 2014, shouldn’t they be able to access county services online?”

Before CivicPlus

For Snohomish County, a mobile-capable website had become crucial. Thirty-percent of their web traffic was coming in from mobile devices. “People were complaining that they couldn’t get what they wanted on their phone. Our county is like any other county – we don’t turn on a dime necessarily. But there were the things we needed to upgrade in a hurry. Number one was a mobile-capable website. We’re a very tech-savvy county. People wanted their government services at a time that was convenient to them and on a device platform of their choosing.”

“We’re a very tech-savvy county. People wanted their government services at a time that was convenient to them and on a device platform of their choosing.”

– Dave Stroble, Information Services Project Manager

After CivicPlus

One month after the site went live, the Oso mudslide claimed the lives of 42 people. “It was a terrible tragedy that affected our community to its very core,” Stroble said. “We were immediately thrown into a situation where our website became a 24/7 portal to the world. We were leading the nightly news. Every link pointed back to our new CivicPlus site. We relied on CivicPlus because, 30 days into it, you cannot be an expert on brand new technology. CivicPlus was amazing. They even changed their corporate home page to present a message of condolence and a link for how people could help. So that was pretty huge. They thought that providing an enhanced level of support during a time of emergency was normal business. That’s what they do in support of a community they partner with.”