The Munich administration is testing a messaging service with the help of the Munich startup Brabbler. What's so unusual about it? For many government agencies, messaging apps like WhatsApp are taboo on company phones. Data protection regulations, in particular, prohibit the use of such services. In general, it's often difficult for startups to win municipalities as customers. How it can work—a successful example.
For many startups, municipalities are an exciting customer. However, it is often difficult for young companies to work with authorities. Munich startup Brabbler It worked. The Munich District Administration Department (KVR) wants to use the messenger on a large scale. A first test run was successful at the State election 2018.
A pilot project was the first step in the messenger for authorities
At the time, the communication tool was still called SIMSme and belonged to Deutsche Post, which had also developed it. It was certainly an advantage that a large corporation was behind the service during the pilot phase. It was also helpful that other references from the public sector were available. For example, the city of Siegburg and the Bavarian District Council had worked with the messenger.
In March 2019, Brabbler took over the tool and renamed it Ginlo. The messenger now runs on the Munich startup's GDPR-compliant communications platform. Another successful test was the European elections in May. Election officials used the secure messenger to coordinate and communicate.
Eric Dolatre, CEO and co-founder of Brabbler, says:
"We are very pleased with the trust the state capital has placed in us. This demonstrates how innovative projects can be profitably implemented in public administration."
Helpful: Developing applications together with the customer
What should one pay attention to when collaborating? Dolatre further explains:
“This works best when you work out the application possibilities together with the customer, then test them in several stages and then make the necessary adjustments to tools and processes.”
The KVR's municipal field service (KAD) has also had positive experiences with a smartphone messenger, as the city's IT blog 'Munich Digital Experience' reports.
Günter Huber, head of the KAD, explains:
"Written communication is extremely helpful because of its clarity. Since it also involves names and other personal data, a high level of information security is, of course, essential."
The application area will now be expanded to include traffic monitoring. By the end of 2019 at the latest, the entire field service of the municipal traffic monitoring department is expected to be using the smartphone messenger.
Further opportunities to collaborate with the City of Munich
However: A strategy There is currently no plan for the city-wide use of the messenger. The requirements and systems in the departments vary too much. This often makes it difficult for a startup to collaborate with the administration. However, Brabbler's Ginlo worked for them. Another successful example is the Munich-based IoT startup. Hawa Dawa, which with Smarter Together has conducted a successful pilot for the city of Munich. And competitions such as the current Open-Call Apps4Muc or the Innovation competition of the Department of Labor and Economic Affairs show that something is happening in the city.
