No-code process optimisation for the Province of Zuid-Holland

Betty Blocks, no-code application development platform vendor, and the Dutch Provincial Government of Zuid-Holland (‘South Holland’) have entered into a strategic partnership to help the province drive its digital transformation. To better serve its business units, municipalities and growing population, the IT Department of Zuid-Holland will use Betty Blocks to replace outdated software processes and legacy applications. 

All 12 provincial governments in the Netherlands are now under pressure from national government mandates (Horizon 2020) to achieve a greater level of digital innovation by 2020. Zuid-Holland’s partnership with Betty Blocks and the use of its platform will facilitate the authority’s digital growth. Province Zuid-Holland has selected the Betty Blocks no-code platform over the low-code platform Mendix after extensive market testing and a proof of concept. The proof of concept project for Betty Blocks was executed by Betty Blocks implementation partner EsperantoXL (receiver of the Betty Blocks Partner of the Year Award 2019). 

The partnership facilitates increased operational efficiency for the Province of Zuid-Holland and a shorter time-to-market of digital innovations. As the partnership continues, Zuid-Holland’s Information and Automation (I&A) department will work together with the business units to service employees with state-of-the-art digital innovations using Betty Blocks. The first application for the effective processing of damage claims has already gone into production. 

“Continuing to develop with the Betty Blocks platform will ensure that Zuid-Holland can expand its digital services as well as offer broader online access to external parties including municipalities and residents,” said Chris Obdam, CEO of Betty Blocks. “New applications will enable much faster innovation and provide the ability the authority to adapt to the growing needs of organisations and residents within the province.” 

The province of Zuid-Holland has a population of just over 3.6 million people as of 2015, making it the most populous province in the Netherlands. Zuid-Holland’s regional government is responsible for developing regional plans, zoning guidelines and environmental management for the entire region. The challenges of coordinating services for an ever-expanding population are compounded by standardised systems which are difficult to change, making innovation equally difficult. 

According to Obdam, “adopting rapid application development into an entire regional government shows immense progress in the thought process of governments. Zuid-Holland is establishing itself as a leader of innovation for Dutch provinces in pursuit of better living, systems, and services for citizens.” 

The Province of Zuid-Holland has taken a proactive approach to its innovation efforts and is excited to continue its collaboration with Betty Blocks.