Few groups deserve our recognition, respect and gratitude more than the brave men and women who have served in the U.S. military. These upstanding individuals sacrifice so much so that we can preserve our way of life. As we celebrate Veterans Day, let us pause and salute these tremendous sacrifices made by members of the U.S. armed forces and their families.
But it should not stop there; for this group of selfless individuals, they deserve our support year round, and Appian is very proud and extremely humbled to be able to provide that support. Now more than ever, the VA is looking to create a Veteran Centric Experience that provides empathy for each individual veteran's specific needs, to leave them satisfied with how their needs are being met through reliable and quality assistance.
In order to do this, the department required a central repository that could take the multitudes of data, coming from various sources, and then allow actions to be taken on that data to support the veteran's various needs. Here is a quick overview on how the VA's Veteran Centric Experience came together and how Appian is deploying our platform in service of these selfless individuals.
The Veteran Centric Experience
At the time of deployment, according to the U.S. census bureau, there were 21.8 million living veterans of the U.S. armed forces. In support of its mission, "To care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan," the VA is responsible for an ever increasing number of benefit programs to serve former service members and their families. To ensure these programs meet their goals, the VA maintains vast repositories of data on the population it serves. However, those massive amounts of data were not being used in the best possible ways to serve the needs of their veteran population.
The needs and priorities of veterans can widely vary from one veteran to another. One may be looking to further their education post active duty, while another may need extensive healthcare assistance after a combat injury. With all of those diverse needs, more than ever, the VA was looking to create a Veteran Centric experience that provided empathy for each individual veteran's specific demands, and leaves them satisfied with how their needs are being met through reliable and quality assistance.
The challenges that come along with providing this quality of care for such a large group of people are vast. A large point of contention within the VA is delivering services across a variety of channels, to people with such diverse needs. They need an easier solution in order to deliver these services, and simpler business processes.
There's no such thing as a one size fits all solution with such a wide variety of veterans needing assistance, and each wanting their individual needs to feel like the agency's top priority.
How did the VA Succeed?
With Appian, the VA could easily bring all their Veteran data into a single interface that's easy for both those within the agency, and Veteran's themselves to use. Appian allowed for the aggregation of inbound streams of data into actionable tasks and quickly presented them to those who needed to see them. Those data streams, coupled with advanced analytics, have made it easier for data use and organization. Appian also allows for automated alerting that can be preconfigured to deliver information across agencies or through interdepartmental chains so all interested parties, both internal and external, can have access to the data they need.
To find out more, check out this two page industry brief on how it can be done. With Appian, the VA can incur fewer headaches, and serve those who have served our country so well.
Brian Chidester
Industry Market Lead - Public Sector
