Dudley Council upgraded to the latest version of CMIS in December 2010, having successfully operated previous versions of CMIS since 2003. The main reason to upgrade was the online petitions facility, however, we were keen to move to the upgraded version to improve our modern website and drive out further efficiencies in the management of the democratic process by considering the exciting new features of CMIS 5.

The move to CMIS 5 was undertaken seamlessly, without any disruption to our service or inconvenience to elected members. In fact, the change was so smooth that few people actually noticed! Staff training was provided by Astech as part of the upgrade and the Democratic Services team has quickly adapted to the new version. We are very grateful for the support of our ICT Team and Astech, who worked very efficiently to iron out any teething problems quickly and efficiently. We cannot fault the ongoing support we receive

Steve Griffiths, Democratic Services Manager
Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council

Essex is very happy to be working with Astech on the delivery of CMIS. Nothing seems to be too much trouble for colleagues at Astech and no request has been seen as too unreasonable. It has been crucial for Essex that CMIS fits in seamlessly with our redesign of the Council’s overall website and Astech have gone out of their way to make this happen. Loading information into CMIS is simple and speedy. Requests for amendments have been quickly dealt with. There is still a lot about CMIS we have yet to learn and we already have ideas about how we want to take it forward. I am confident that with Astech’s positive attitude CMIS will continue to evolve and meet Essex’s needs for an efficient Committee Management tool.

Colin Ismay, Governance Manager
Essex County Council

Whilst we had been happy using the previous version of CMIS, developed by Enline, we had found that it would not deal satisfactorily with the decision notices that were being generated. We were pleased to see that CMIS V5 from Astech, had been developed to be more flexible, and this, and the fact that it enabled us to provide detailed information to the public in a clear easily understood manner, helped inform the decision to switch to the latest version.

The help and assistance that the Astech support team provided was invaluable during the move from CMIS V4 to CMIS V5 during which we were able to customise various parts of the site to better meet the needs of the authority.

John Bostock, Member Services Manager
Rochford District Council

Astech worked with us closely during 2009/10 on development of the Business Manager module of CMIS v.5 and have proved very willing to listen to, and understand, our particular business needs. They have come to see us on many occasions to help us improve on how this software works for the Royal Borough.

Robert Shepherd, Head of Governance Services
The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea

After successfully running CMIS for a number of years we were well placed to be able to identify just what we needed from an effective committee management system.

This was the basis for our decision to upgrade to CMIS 5, which seemed to offer all of the functionality of the previous system but with a far wider range of facilities and options.

At the moment we are working on “going live” with the new system so our experience of it has been limited to some team training days and some “experimentation” with a test system.

So far though the response from the Democratic Services team has been very positive and we are all keen to start to use CMIS 5 properly and to see just what it can do.

We already have an excellent working relationship with the support team at Astech and have always found them very capable of resolving any problems we have come across as well as being responsive to any suggestions that we have made about the future development of the system

Neil Simpson, Senior Democratic Services Officer
South Tyneside Council

Tandridge has been using CMIS for over 13 years; the Council was one of the earliest, if not the first, user of CMIS. So the Council has been with the system throughout its development. The Council has always retained a committee system of governance, so obviously many facets of the system are not applicable, but the fundamentals of Agenda preparation and holding the Minutes do apply. Today the system is reliable, very easy to update and I would not hesitate to recommend it. It is fair to say that before Astech took over CMIS it had not previously formed part of the core business of that company; it was a mere add-on. This is not the case with Astech where it is an integral part of the business. This, of course, means that there is more technical and operational support available so where occasional difficulties occur they are remedied quickly and effectively

David Homewood, Committee Services Manager
Tandridge District Council

Thurrock Council began using CMIS in 2006 and in the time since, it has surpassed our expectations. We particularly liked that CMIS was easy to use and the fact that it is completely web-based.

We opted for the fully hosted package and in the time since have been impressed by both the competitive pricing and the technical support that is available, not to mention Astech’s vision for CMIS in the future.

We are very pleased to be working with Astech on the implementation of CMIS version 5. They clearly understand what a Democratic Services team is required to do and are keen to provide a solution that is effective and adds value. In the coming year, we are particularly looking forward to implementing workflow processes that both complement the way we already work but crucially lead to efficiencies in processes.

We consider that the new version of CMIS offers the ability to not only improve the quality of information we are able to make available to the public through our web site but to also deliver real benefits in managing our meeting and decision-making processes.

Steve Jones, Democratic Services Manager
Thurrock Council

We have been using CMIS since 1998 and recently upgraded to the latest version because it comprised extra modules that would enable us to make information more accessible to staff, members and the public. This in turn has allowed us to reduce our printing costs by cutting back on the number of hard copy reports we produce, e.g. The Executive Board agenda is now only printed for members of the Board.

In particular, the e-petitions module has been successful and makes managing petitions easy. We also like the advanced diaries and calendar module that enables meeting details to be downloaded into individual calendars.

We are looking forward to managing our in-house business such as forward plans and report writing within the system after a forthcoming training session.

The transition from the previous version went very smoothly thanks to the constant support and excellent training from the Astech support team. We have felt that all requests for help and any ad hoc requests have been dealt with promptly.

Julie Ramskill, Democratic Services Assistant
Warrington Borough Council

Warwick District Council purchased CMIS as they saw the potential and longevity in the system. The aim of the Council was to have a system for providing a complete record of the Council, its Committees, Councillors and election results past, present and future. We believe that CMIS is the best solution to deliver this, particularly after seeing the developments of it since we made the decision to purchase it.

Graham Leach, Senior Committee Officer
Warwick District Council

The County Council have worked in close partnership with Astech in developing CMIS to achieve savings and efficiencies in the Council’s democratic processes. This involves the introduction of a semi automated report preparation and consultation process and the provision of a forward planning facility for all councillor decisions.
I have been impressed from the outset with the usability of CMIS and with the professional approach and understanding of Astech in the development and implementation of CMIS to suit Warwickshire’s needs.

Pete Keeley, Democratic Services Team
Warwickshire County Council

Working with Astech on developing the consultation hub has been a really positive experience. The company’s flexible and innovative approach to meeting ours and our customers’ needs enabled us to provide the product within very tight timescales and on budget, without compromising its quality.

Monika Rozanski, Senior Project Manager
Warwickshire County Council

West Midlands Fire Service has been using CMIS since 2004 and it has become an indispensable means of recording electronically all the minutes, reports etc that go to the Fire Authority. It has made the documents much easier to access for all staff and has also made it possible for the public to see how the Fire Authority works and read the public reports, minutes and so on. We have also managed to reduce the paper copies of documents considerably which has the benefits of reducing the storage space and also the photocopying, paper and postage costs.The information is available 24/7 and has now become embedded within the organisation, being used by all staff and also the Councillors who sit on the Fire Authority.

Aniko Ingham, Administration Manager
West Midlands Fire Authority