From a LANSA press release:

LYLES DATA REVOLUTIONIZES GOVERNMENT INFORMATION SYSTEMS

Electronic Government Solutions Empowers Citizens, Government Agencies to Seamlessly Exchange Information through the Internet

CHARLESTON, SC – November 13, 2001 – In a move to reform the way citizens can access public information, Lyles Data Systems (Florence, SC) has delivered an integrated product suite that allows the exchange of information to securely take place over the Internet. The suite, called Electronic Government Solutions (EGS), promises to provide a true sense of “freedom of information” by allowing records like assessor information, deeds, mortgages data and images and family court information to be shared through a Web browser.

“Prior to EGS, the majority of public information needed by individuals could only be viewed or requested at local government agencies,” said Jerry Lyles, president and founder of Lyles Data. This meant waiting in long lines, delays in the receipt of the requested information and employees having to maintain and retrieve data from multiple technology platforms. This process was not only time consuming, but it allowed for errors when duplicating data from multiple environments. EGS not only addresses the issue of misinformation, it revolutionizes how the public accesses public records.”

EGS allows users to access real-time information from multiple platform environments through any Web browser. The products work with existing technology, integrating several different environments for both public and private sectors. The software delivers information requests in seconds and presents it in a concise, graphical format, working real-time between end-users and live data, eliminating the potential for data replication and inaccurate information. It also eliminates the need to maintain separate databases.

“Lyles Data has long been a leader in application development and information engineering-based methodologies,” said Bill Benjamin, vice president of business development at LANSA, whose development tools were used by Lyles Data to develop EGS. “With EGS, they’ve created a truly efficient and cost-effective way of sharing information. The products allow citizens to access the information they want from wherever they are, while allowing the governments that use them to leverage their existing hardware and development investment. Rather than start from scratch, EGS plugs into government systems and enables them to be shared over the Internet. It’s a tremendous benefit for both the people as well as governments.”

EGS consists of two applications – EGS-Real Property and EGS-Family Court. The Real property module has been developed for both the public and private sector to view assessor information, deeds and mortgages information and GIS data real-time from an iSeries or Windows environment via the Internet. With EGS-Real Property, both the general public and government employees can search by name, address or parcel number and view the information via Internet browser without waiting in line and experiencing lengthy turnaround time.

In building these modules that access and update information in existing government applications, Lyles has delivered solutions that work with technology, rather that creating an entirely new and far more costly solution that would require lengthy data integration, learning curve and migration time. The LANSA products used by Lyles Data allow developers to build extensions that access and update data in existing applications.

“The LANSA development environment allowed us to develop EGS far more quickly and easily than with conventional programming methods,” said Charlie Neeley, Product Manager for EGS. “Because the environment allows us to develop both graphical and Web applications that run on multiple platforms – and in one skill set – we were able to develop and governments will be able to maintain EGS in less time and with less investment.”

“What EGS does essentially is help make government more efficient in sharing information, and it does so in a manageable, cost-effective manner,” concluded Lyles. “We’re very excited about how EGS can help both governments as well as its citizens.”