From “The Simpsons” to TikTok employee parodies, the Department of Motor Vehicles has been the target of more bad service jokes than any other United States governmental agency. So, it’s hardly a place that you’d look to as an example of digital efficiency.
However, the State of California has turned its DMV reputation around, providing a robotic process automation use case that proves technology can transform any organization.
“We have been very deliberately working towards solving all customer pain points, whether it’s in-person experiences, online, call centers, kiosks, so all across the channels … with the goal of making the Department of Motor Vehicles in California the best retail experience in the nation,” stated Ajay Gupta (pictured), chief digital transformation officer for the State of California DMV.
Gupta spoke with theCUBE industry analysts Dave Vellante and David Nicholson at UiPath Forward, during an exclusive broadcast on theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s livestreaming studio. They discussed how Gupta is transforming the California DMV experience from excruciating to exemplary. (* Disclosure below.)
Bots enable painless processes at the DMV
As with so many other organizations, the pandemic was a catalyst for the DMV’s digital transformation, and the organization completed a year’s worth of projects in less than two months. However, this was only possible because the digital transformation team started working with UiPath in 2019 and had created the design patterns to follow for RPA, according to Gupta.
A combination of artificial intelligent automation, RPA bots and humans create a digital and virtual overlay that allows the DMV to provide a modern façade for its customers while it slowly replaces its 60-year-old legacy equipment.
“Digital is fully self-service. Bots can do all your processing, automation can do all the processing, AI can do all the processing,” Gupta said. “Then you have virtual channels where you have customers interacting with the technicians; but once a technician is done solving the problem, they click a button and bot does rest of the work.”
Around 50 bots currently cover 36 use cases within the California DMV and have saved the agency $8.8 million, according to Gupta. That increases to $388 million if the savings are calculated across the virtual field office of which bots are a part. And then there’s the environmental impact.
“We’ve saved a million sheets of paper through the bots,” Gupta said. “That’s a whole lot of trees.”
A personal testimonial comes from theCUBE analyst and California resident Nicholson. “I never thought I’d be coming on to praise the California DMV. But here I am, and it’s legit. Well done,” he stated.
Here’s the complete video interview, part of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s coverage of the UiPath Forward event:
(* Disclosure: TheCUBE is a paid media partner for the UiPath Forward event. Neither UiPath Inc., the sponsor for theCUBE’s event coverage, nor other sponsors have editorial control over content on theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.)