如果有人登录美国国税局的“获得支付”网站查看个人支票状态,或者有企业申请美国小企业管理局的工资保障计划,就会有一点体验非常明显:联邦政府的软件真该更新了。
很多想访问或者说努力访问政府门户网站的用户,都曾遇到一些与技术相关的困难。相关门户网站都在推动2.2万亿美元的病毒援助计划,也叫《关怀法案》。各种挑战让人们了解了政府部门正在使用的技术,同时也导致一些人质问为何网站频繁出现故障和崩溃,页面也跟20年前一样陈旧。
举例来说,“获得支付”网站应该方便美国人跟踪联邦发放支票的状态,输入直接存款信息后可以更快收到钱。然而实际情况是,用户登录网站说起来容易做起来难,尤其在上个月门户网站首次推出后。只有个别用户发现,只要用全大写字母输入街道地址就可以进入。
与此同时,小企业管理局的PPP门户也遇到一些问题,工作积压以及技术挑战都阻碍了小企业和贷款机构受助进度。小企业管理局利用E-Tran系统在线处理贷款申请,界面和功能都相对陈旧,收到海量申请后陷入崩溃,连美国银行家协会的负责人都在政府“最高层”提出质疑。(财政部、国税局和小企业管理局均未回应置评请求。)
在数十家私营金融科技公司努力改变金融服务的方方面面之际,为什么公共部门的技术平台如此落后,为什么两块业务没有合作,给用户更高效、也更实用的体验。
“你可能会想,没准有什么办法提醒(政府)说:‘我们不能让网站保持1995年的风格。’”数字支付初创公司Mezu的联合创始人兼首席执行官尤瓦尔·布里斯克说。“这不仅是关于私营企业的技术问题,而且涉及公共部门……如果政府认为(技术)算不上跟人们之间的重要联系,它就没有真正的动力改善上世纪90年代和本世纪初搭建的技术体系。”
布里斯克说,当前情况其实是个机会,政府可以跟金融科技公司更紧密地合作,使用最先进的技术转移资金。随着PayPal和Square等公司现在能发放PPP贷款,他认为应该建立更多的公私合营合作,从而政府可以充分利用私营部门的技术优势。
“我们不是大公司,但已经建立了非常强大的平台,如果看(规模更大的)科技公司,几乎什么都能做到。”布里斯克说。“我相信科技行业可以解决一些问题,加强政府与民众的联系。”
对于密切观察过PPP等政府项目运作的人来说,改革确实说来容易做起来难。去年推出的数字商业银行平台Rho Business Banking就能方便小企业客户与PPP贷款机构联系。Rho的联合创始人兼首席执行官埃弗雷特·库克估计,“挑战在于联邦政府层面系统构建的方式”。
库克指出,问题在于对承包商严重依赖,因为承包商没有动力不断改进为政府事务设计的软件。“优秀的软件公司总在迭代改进。不能发布产品就算交差。”布里斯克说。“政府就是没有做到技术方面的不断改进和迭代。”
据库克介绍,随着PPP申请数量大大超过系统正常承载量,小企业管理局的E-Tran门户“几乎崩溃”。整个2019财年,小企业管理局贷款总额超过280亿美元,但这次次在几周之内,PPP首轮申请中政府就处理了近3500亿美元的贷款。
“如果之前就向私营部门主导更优质的产品和技术投资,不仅测试时表现会更好,最终也可以为政府和私营部门节省大量时间和金钱。”库克说。
库克认为,政府最好多采用公私合营方式,让私营技术公司开发并不断改进政府使用的系统,而不是单靠承包商完成工作。
“一次性(政府)合同的挑战在于,在赢得合同之后,没有动力不断改进,然而软件应该不断改进。”他指出。“最适合(政府)的计划是设立利润激励机制,鼓励私营企业不断寻找最佳(技术)解决方案。”
卡内基梅隆大学泰珀商学院的金融学副教授布赖恩·劳特利奇指出,政府被迫在相对短时间内推出“非常”措施,会从中受益匪浅。
无论挑战在于替换使用多年的“遗留”系统,还是不愿采用区块链之类的可以推动有效运行的新技术,劳特利奇承认,“政界只是在接受、采用和实施变革方面比较迟缓”。
“他们当然也不会找就会喝咖啡弄漂亮网站,两三个人的那种编程草台班子。”他补充道。(财富中文网)
译者:Feb
如果有人登录美国国税局的“获得支付”网站查看个人支票状态,或者有企业申请美国小企业管理局的工资保障计划,就会有一点体验非常明显:联邦政府的软件真该更新了。
很多想访问或者说努力访问政府门户网站的用户,都曾遇到一些与技术相关的困难。相关门户网站都在推动2.2万亿美元的病毒援助计划,也叫《关怀法案》。各种挑战让人们了解了政府部门正在使用的技术,同时也导致一些人质问为何网站频繁出现故障和崩溃,页面也跟20年前一样陈旧。
举例来说,“获得支付”网站应该方便美国人跟踪联邦发放支票的状态,输入直接存款信息后可以更快收到钱。然而实际情况是,用户登录网站说起来容易做起来难,尤其在上个月门户网站首次推出后。只有个别用户发现,只要用全大写字母输入街道地址就可以进入。
与此同时,小企业管理局的PPP门户也遇到一些问题,工作积压以及技术挑战都阻碍了小企业和贷款机构受助进度。小企业管理局利用E-Tran系统在线处理贷款申请,界面和功能都相对陈旧,收到海量申请后陷入崩溃,连美国银行家协会的负责人都在政府“最高层”提出质疑。(财政部、国税局和小企业管理局均未回应置评请求。)
在数十家私营金融科技公司努力改变金融服务的方方面面之际,为什么公共部门的技术平台如此落后,为什么两块业务没有合作,给用户更高效、也更实用的体验。
“你可能会想,没准有什么办法提醒(政府)说:‘我们不能让网站保持1995年的风格。’”数字支付初创公司Mezu的联合创始人兼首席执行官尤瓦尔·布里斯克说。“这不仅是关于私营企业的技术问题,而且涉及公共部门……如果政府认为(技术)算不上跟人们之间的重要联系,它就没有真正的动力改善上世纪90年代和本世纪初搭建的技术体系。”
布里斯克说,当前情况其实是个机会,政府可以跟金融科技公司更紧密地合作,使用最先进的技术转移资金。随着PayPal和Square等公司现在能发放PPP贷款,他认为应该建立更多的公私合营合作,从而政府可以充分利用私营部门的技术优势。
“我们不是大公司,但已经建立了非常强大的平台,如果看(规模更大的)科技公司,几乎什么都能做到。”布里斯克说。“我相信科技行业可以解决一些问题,加强政府与民众的联系。”
对于密切观察过PPP等政府项目运作的人来说,改革确实说来容易做起来难。去年推出的数字商业银行平台Rho Business Banking就能方便小企业客户与PPP贷款机构联系。Rho的联合创始人兼首席执行官埃弗雷特·库克估计,“挑战在于联邦政府层面系统构建的方式”。
库克指出,问题在于对承包商严重依赖,因为承包商没有动力不断改进为政府事务设计的软件。“优秀的软件公司总在迭代改进。不能发布产品就算交差。”布里斯克说。“政府就是没有做到技术方面的不断改进和迭代。”
据库克介绍,随着PPP申请数量大大超过系统正常承载量,小企业管理局的E-Tran门户“几乎崩溃”。整个2019财年,小企业管理局贷款总额超过280亿美元,但这次次在几周之内,PPP首轮申请中政府就处理了近3500亿美元的贷款。
“如果之前就向私营部门主导更优质的产品和技术投资,不仅测试时表现会更好,最终也可以为政府和私营部门节省大量时间和金钱。”库克说。
库克认为,政府最好多采用公私合营方式,让私营技术公司开发并不断改进政府使用的系统,而不是单靠承包商完成工作。
“一次性(政府)合同的挑战在于,在赢得合同之后,没有动力不断改进,然而软件应该不断改进。”他指出。“最适合(政府)的计划是设立利润激励机制,鼓励私营企业不断寻找最佳(技术)解决方案。”
卡内基梅隆大学泰珀商学院的金融学副教授布赖恩·劳特利奇指出,政府被迫在相对短时间内推出“非常”措施,会从中受益匪浅。
无论挑战在于替换使用多年的“遗留”系统,还是不愿采用区块链之类的可以推动有效运行的新技术,劳特利奇承认,“政界只是在接受、采用和实施变革方面比较迟缓”。
“他们当然也不会找就会喝咖啡弄漂亮网站,两三个人的那种编程草台班子。”他补充道。(财富中文网)
译者:Feb
It will come as no surprise to anyone who’s tried to log in to the IRS’s “Get My Payment” website to check on the status of their stimulus check, or any business that’s applied for the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program: the federal government could use a software update.
Many users who have accessed, or tried to access, the government-run portals designed to facilitate these programs—some of the hallmark initiatives of the $2.2 trillion coronavirus aid package, known as the CARES Act—have encountered an array of tech-related difficulties. These challenges have shone a light on the technology deployed by the government—and prompted some to ask why glitches, crashes, and outdated turn-of-the-century interfaces are the order of the day.
The “Get My Payment” portal, for example, is supposed to allow Americans to track the status of their federal stimulus payment and enter their direct deposit information to receive their payment quicker. But users, especially in the wake of the portal’s initial rollout last month, found logging into the site easier said than done—only for some to realize that they just needed to enter their street address in all capital letters to be let in.
The SBA’s PPP portal, meanwhile, has also been hit by issues, with backlogs and technical challenges hindering small businesses and lenders alike. E-Tran, the system used by the SBA to electronically process loan application, utilizes a relatively archaic interface and functionality that has been overwhelmed by an unprecedented deluge of applications—leading the head of the American Bankers Association to raise such issues at “the highest levels” of the government. (Representatives for the Treasury Department, the IRS, and the SBA did not return requests for comment.)
At a time when scores of private sector fintech firms are transforming virtually every facet of financial services, the question is why the public sector is lagging so far behind in its own tech-enabled platforms—and why there isn’t more collaboration between the two sectors to build a more efficient, functional experience.
“You would think there would an approach [by the government] that would say, ‘We can’t have 1995-style websites,’” notes Yuval Brisker, co-founder and CEO of digital payment startup Mezu. “It’s a question of technology not just being a private undertaking, but a public undertaking as well... As long as the government doesn’t see [technology] as an essential connection to its constituents, then there’s no real impetus to improve systems that were established in the 1990s and 2000s.”
Brisker says the current situation presents an opportunity for closer collaboration between the government and fintech firms deploying state-of-the-art technology to move money around. With the likes of PayPal and Square now able to disburse PPP loans, he thinks there’s no reason why there can’t be more public-private partnerships enabling the government to leverage the private sector’s technical nous.
“We’re not a huge company, but we’ve built an incredibly powerful platform—and when you think of the [larger] tech companies, they can do almost anything,” according to Brisker. “I believe the tech world has the ability to address some of these issues of connecting the government to its populace.”
For those who have seen the way government programs like PPP function up-close, reform is much easier said than done. Rho Business Banking, a digital commercial banking platform that launched last year, has been connecting its small business clients with PPP lenders—and in the estimation of Everett Cook, Rho’s co-founder and CEO, “the challenge comes down to the way that these systems are built” at the federal level.
Cook points to a heavy reliance on contractors who aren’t incentivized to continually improve the software they’ve designed for the government’s disposal. “Good software companies are constantly iterating and improving; you don’t just ship a product and say you’re done,” he says. “The ongoing process of improvement and iteration is something the government doesn’t do.”
Instead, the SBA’s E-Tran portal "buckled" under PPP application volumes far beyond what the system is typically accustomed to, according to Cook. While the SBA’s total loan volume over its entire 2019 fiscal year eclipsed $28 billion, the PPP’s initial round saw the government process nearly $350 billion in a matter of weeks.
“Had they invested in better products and technology led by the private sector, not only would it have performed better when put to the test, but it would have ultimately saved the government and the private sector a lot of time and money,” Cook says.
Rather than relying on contractors to do a one-and-done job on the technology it deploys, Cook believes the government would be better off relying on public-private partnerships that would see private sector tech firms develop and continually improve the systems used by the government.
“The challenge of a one-off [government] contract is that, once you’ve won it, there’s little incentive to get better and better—and software is all about getting better and better,” he notes. “The right [government] program would create profit incentives to encourage private companies to work toward the best [technological] solution on an ongoing basis.”
Bryan Routledge, an associate professor of finance at Carnegie Mellon University’s Tepper School of Business, gives the government the benefit of the doubt in noting the “extraordinary” measures it’s been forced to roll out in relatively short order.
But whether it’s the challenge of replacing “legacy” systems that have been in use for years or an unwillingness to embrace newer technologies, like blockchain, that could conceivably help it function more efficiently, Routledge acknowledges a sentiment that “government cycles are just slower” in their ability to embrace, adopt, and roll out change.
“They certainly aren’t hiring two-or-three person coding shops that are mainlining coffee and putting out beautiful websites,” he adds.