Page 30 - FCW, May/June 2020

Digital Experience
The path to secure,
seamless CX
Authentication and engagement technologies balance security with experience while reducing costs
Russell Brodsky
Director of Government Sales, Nuance
implementation starts with a deep understanding of customers, why they are engaging and what outcome they expect.
Artificial intelligence, coupled with the latest authentication practices, can boost customer engagement by allowing agencies to sharpen their focus on the user,
whether it’s a citizen, employee or partner organization. The approach has the added benefit of reducing costs for agencies
at all levels of government because it shortens the amount of time agents must spend on resolving calls and results in fewer callbacks. Doing the right thing on the first interaction improves outcomes dramatically and delivers a better customer experience while enhancing employee engagement.
OFFERING A CITIZEN
experience that is both seamless
and secure is becoming increasingly viable thanks to advances in authentication. One of the keys to success is providing a straightforward enrollment process that has a clear value proposition for customers.
Early authentication solutions required users to answer a series of knowledge-based questions such as “What was your first rent payment?” or “What was your mother’s cousin’s maiden name?” But advances in biometric-based identification have made easier, more secure processes possible for users.
People have begun to see the value of sharing some biometric information in exchange for the convenience of a faster, smoother experience. For example, travelers often sign up with private-sector services so they can use biometric identifiers to avoid long security lines at airports.
Similarly, when people enroll in agency programs, they should have the option of authenticating in a number of ways, such as engaging with an automated system that incorporates face, fingerprint or behavioral biometrics so they can get the information they need more securely and quickly.
A robust authentication system also makes it easier to identify breaches and block potential fraudsters.
Real-world applications
At Nuance, we’ve implemented this technology in many government environments. For example, one of the country’s largest health and human services agencies, with a diverse population,
wanted to offer a self-service capability so users could sign up for biometric-based authentication and then track the progress of their applications for services. Nuance helped the agency address that goal “out of the box” without any need for fine-tuning. As a result, the agency’s enrollment has exceeded expectations for participation and its authorization rate quickly reached 95%.
In addition, we’re helping cities and states strengthen the authentication for pension and retirement systems to get benefits to
the people who need them and prevent fraudsters from finding their way in.
Creating a responsive experience for citizens also benefits from predictive machine learning combined with omni- channel communications. A successful
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