Rotherham Council has introduced Community Central, a new, low-code web experience platform, to enhance the way it delivers digital services for the council's highways and other assets.

The platform has been developed by Jadu, web experience management software providers and Brightly Software, global leaders in intelligent asset management systems, to provide an end-to-end digital customer experience, which improves communications between local authorities and communities.

Community Central enables public access to assets stored in Brightly's Confirm Asset Management system. 

Combining the capabilities of Brightly’s sophisticated digital asset management software with Jadu’s advanced low-code, easy-to-use platform, Community Central enables Rotherham Council to offer its residents and the public, a fully integrated, end-to-end online self-service information and communication portal that supports the Council’s commitment to providing the highest quality online customer experience.  

Community Central is easy-to-use, accessible and secure, and residents can log into one centralised place to communicate in real-time, with the Council to report community issues, such as potholes, blocked gullies or broken street lights, track ongoing progress via interactive map displays, monitor job status information and receive automated updates and completion notifications.  

For the Council, the data collected via Community Central will enable efficient, automated management of assets and smarter use of resources across the Borough, to predict and deliver faster and more effective resolutions of resident enquiries, leading to improved customer satisfaction and better engagement with its community.

Luke Sayers, assistant director - Customer, Information and Digital Services at Rotherham Council, said: “The implementation of Community Central represents a major step forward in our digital transformation journey, providing a smarter and more efficient way for us to manage our assets and a seamless, user-friendly experience for our customers. 

"This latest innovation to our service offering will be critical in helping us to boost community engagement and support the needs of all those living and working in the Borough in the most timely and effective manner.

 “In addition, the data we collect via Community Central, and the capability of its software to automate and manage our assets and resources more effectively will ensure project planning, transportation logistics and workforce deployment can be scheduled to minimise our carbon footprint and reduce our impact on the environment.” 

Rotherham Council has been leveraging the benefits of the Jadu digital experience platform since 2009 for its website, forms, payments and more recently utilising Jadu Connect for its low-code CRM. 

However, the addition of Community Central marks a significant advancement, as well as assisting in its ambition to reach net zero by 2030.  

“Rotherham’s vision is to deliver outstanding digital service and connect its community, taking a ‘smart cities’ approach to the intelligent management and maintenance of its assets, infrastructure and resources to improve the quality of life and convenience of residents and visitors,”  says Suraj Kika, chief executive at Jadu. 

“We’ve worked with Brightly to deliver a market-first – unified customer platform that integrates and automates key public services seamlessly.”

Chris Thompson, sales director at Brightly Software, adds, “The combined strength of our enterprise asset management software and Jadu’s digital platform, presents a truly powerful and yet flexible solution that will enable Rotherham Council to take control of its digital channels to maximise community engagement and boost customer experience, as well as maximise efficiencies in resource management.  

"We are delighted to be supporting the team at Rotherham and are confident that our technology will deliver for them at this important time.”