SOURCE: Accela, Inc.

September 07, 2008 18:00 ET

Accela Establishes South Pacific Operations in Melbourne, Australia

SAN RAMON, CA--(Marketwire - September 7, 2008) - Accela, Inc. announced today that is has opened an office in Melbourne, Australia to provide a springboard for business development and operations throughout Australia, New Zealand, and Southeast Asia.

"Our goal is to enable governments across the world with the best technology available so they can provide the public with access to services that are fast, functional, and cost effective," said Maury Blackman, Accela president and CEO. "Our software can be deployed anywhere to modernize government organizations, manage growth, and dramatically impact how the public accesses government services over the Internet."

Accela's Melbourne office is located at:

Level 4
460 Collins Street
Melbourne, Australia 3000

Significant marketing will commence immediately in the region with worldwide partners and Accela introducing their products to the region at the Cisco Networkers 2008 event in Brisbane, Australia September 15-18. In the subsequent months, Accela will host a multi-city Web Technology Roadshow in the region to introduce local government organizations to next generation software products that provide full service e-government products to citizens and businesses around the globe.

Accela currently manages operations for thousands of government organizations in North America and provides software solutions that connect citizens and the business community to government services. Accela's footprint in the public sector covers 41 of the U.S. states and major metro areas, cities, and counties including the San Francisco Bay Area, Washington, D.C., Miami-Dade County, Atlanta, Kansas City, San Diego County, and many others.

In April, Accela opened an office in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, to manage business and pursue opportunities in the Middle East and northern Africa.

Accela solutions being offered internationally include:

Work Order management. As local populations expand, so do service requests to manage infrastructure such as roads, signs, water supply, and waste. Accela's asset management product provides a complete work order management tool for opening and closing orders, as well as arming field workers with a complete mobile office to receive and close work orders while in the field.

Inspection management. Software tools that help manage fast-paced growth, while still ensuring quality in the construction and development process, are a requirement for governments looking to attract growing companies. Accela's solutions provide this technology to automate and streamline workflow and project management processes, support inspectors with the world's only mobile application optimized for Intel® Centrino® Mobile Technology, and provide multiple ways for cities to deliver their services to their communities -- via the Web, by phone, smart phone, etc.

Commercial licensing. Governments looking to attract the international business community need to create business friendly processes that are efficient and easy to navigate. Accela's licensing solutions enable this by moving commercial licensing activities to the Web, and creating streamlined e-government portals that deliver information and services from a central location.

About Melbourne

Melbourne is the second most populous city in Australia, with a metropolitan area population of approximately 3.8 million. Located around Port Phillip Bay in southeast Australia, Melbourne is the state capital of Victoria and is a major center of commerce, industry, and cultural activity. It covers an area of 3,400 sq. miles. August 30, 2008 marked 173 years since Melbourne was founded by European settlers. For more information, please visit http://www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/.

About Accela

Accela provides innovative, Web-based enterprise software solutions that automate land, permit, and asset management processes for local, state, and federal government agencies of all sizes. Backed by nearly 30 years of development and implementation in more than 500 agencies worldwide, Accela products and services empower agencies to increase efficiencies, reduce workload, and provide citizens and businesses with more convenient access to government services. Accela is headquartered in San Ramon, Calif. For more information, please visit www.accela.com.