Key Benefits
- Greater simplicity and speed in structuring and automating various information collection processes from multiple entities. Transition away from information collection, analysis, management, and sharing that was previously done mostly on paper.
- Autonomy for IGF teams to create, implement, and manage customized processes and solutions for all needs and challenges that arise.
- More agile and faster management, promotion, and availability of information on the website.
“In just a few days, we can provide the client with the entire environment they need to develop business support applications. All this without them having to worry about infrastructure, servers, IT teams—nothing.“
Daniel Gomes, CEO at Masterlink
Challenge
The Inspectorate-General of Finance (IGF) faced two challenges: structuring and automating various information collection processes from multiple entities that it was legally required to receive and process; and streamlining the publication of content and information on its website.
In the first case, IGF needed to streamline, structure, and automate the distinct processes for collecting and managing all information that was not only generated and shared internally but also came from multiple external entities, inspectors, local administration and inter-municipal communities, supervisory bodies, ministries, and autonomous regions, among other examples.
The sharing, collection, analysis, processing, and management of information had to be faster, more precise, reliable, dynamic, and centralized. Information collection processes were essentially based on paper or unstructured Excel files, which made organizing, analyzing, and processing information difficult. It also left a wider margin for error and made all processes time-consuming.
Furthermore, until the implementation of the Masterlink Platform, the institution’s website content was developed through the construction of static pages by IGF technicians. The process was slow and required hiring technicians with specialized knowledge. There was, therefore, a need to optimize and streamline the publication and availability of information.
Solution and advantages
Using the Masterlink Platform, IGF developed a suite of support applications for its internal and external processes. Additionally, it optimized and automated all content and information management on its website.
Masterlink’s no-code technology gave IGF teams full autonomy to create, implement, and manage solutions tailored to their needs and challenges. By 2023, IGF had more than 14 active solutions offering comprehensive features for automation, data management, and collaboration.
Developed solutions include: internal process management applications; data analysis and reporting tools; an HR management application; collaboration and information sharing processes; an external user authentication and security control system; and document management processes (efficient storage, organization, retrieval, and sharing of documents).
Thanks to the flexibility and simplicity of the Masterlink Platform, inspection teams do not need to depend on specialized internal IT resources or external teams to develop and manage their processes. Through a 19-year partnership with Masterlink, IGF was able to create most applications using only one or two people, with the management and updating of these applications also handled by these professionals.
“Once tested, fine-tuned, and delivered to the IGF department responsible for the process, we even forget it’s running. It is extremely efficient and reliable. The learning curve is very short, so all development and management remains with our teams.“
José Oliveira, Audit Team Leader at IGF
Results
Solutions developed based on the Masterlink no-code platform have positively impacted different areas.
Increased efficiency in audits
Public information became available more quickly, in a more aggregated and organized way, which not only facilitated data access but also strengthened transparency between public bodies and citizens.
Internally, the sharing, processing, and management of all information is much easier, faster, more reliable, and better organized. This allowed for productivity gains, the reallocation of teams to critical or high-need areas, and access to aggregated data that enables faster and more informed decision-making. It also allowed for easy and fast cross-referencing of information between different areas and, due to the external surveillance user management solution, a significant improvement in security and response capacity.
Optimization in resource management
In addition, due to the simplicity of use and flexibility offered, with the Masterlink no-code platform, IGF was able to reduce the technical resources allocated to public and private information management processes and reallocate those professionals to more complex areas. It also reduced the need to hire external technical resources, lowered costs, and eliminated the obligation to depend on third parties to manage its information solutions.
Effective communication with greater transparency
Externally, entities that are legally required to provide information to IGF began using a stable electronic platform with a user-friendly and easy-to-use interface, allowing for the collection and sharing of information without the need to send paper documents. Information arrives faster, already structured, and with a lower probability of error or missing data. Communication between organizations is thus more fluid, transparent, agile, and organized.
Overall, gains in stability, integration capacity with existing systems, and reduced implementation and deployment time for users also stand out.
Benefits of applications developed with the Masterlink Platform
- Information available more quickly, in a more aggregated and organized way.
- Easier, faster, and more reliable sharing, processing, and management of all information.
- Productivity gains.
- Dematerialization, reduction/elimination of paper.
- Reduction of errors/missing information.
- More fluid communication between organizations.
- Reallocation of resources previously tied to IT development to critical and high-need areas.
- Access to aggregated data that enables faster and more informed decision-making.
- Easy analysis and fast cross-referencing of information.
- Reduced need to hire external technical resources. A team of 1 to 2 people developed all processes.
- Cost reduction.
- Elimination of dependence on third parties to manage information solutions.
- Stability gains.
- Integration capacity with existing systems.
- Much shorter implementation and user deployment times.
- Increased transparency between public bodies and citizens.
“The flexibility and ease of use offered by the Masterlink no-code platform allowed us, after defining and building a process, to deliver all processes to the inspection teams, who now manage them autonomously and process information in a structured way, freeing up the IT team for other tasks.“
José Oliveira, Audit Team Leader at IGF
