Utah and Mississippi launch new voice-activated state government solutions

Company Website: http://www.egov.com
OLATHE, Kan. -- (Business Wire)

The future of speaking with a device in order to interact with government, as opposed to tapping a screen, is here. NIC Inc. (NASDAQ: EGOV), the nation’s dominant provider of digital government solutions has partnered with the states of Mississippi and Utah to launch the first state government “skills” for Amazon Echo.

Amazon Echo, through the Alexa Voice Service, allows for applications to be developed using voice-activated commands. These Alexa applications are commonly referred to as “skills.” In Utah, NIC’s Salt Lake City-based subsidiary, Utah Interactive, LLC, in partnership with the Utah Department of Public Safety and the Department of Technology Services, developed a government skill allowing citizens to take the driver’s license practice exam using the device. For example, Alexa may ask, “When approached by an emergency vehicle, a driver must immediately…” to which the individual responds to Alexa, “Pull to the right and stop.”

In Mississippi, NIC subsidiary, Mississippi Interactive, LLC and the Mississippi Department of IT Services launched an Echo skill for myMS, the state’s custom alert and reminder service. Once an online account is created by a Mississippi resident noting the expiration dates of his or her hunting, fishing, professional, and driver’s licenses, the resident can then ask Alexa when the renewals for these various license types are due. In addition, residents can ask Alexa about state facts, verify elected officials, and receive Amber Alerts via the Echo device.

“We know the future of speaking voice-activated commands rather than tapping a device screen or clicking a mouse will soon be mainstream,” said Robert Knapp, NIC Chief Operating Officer. “We are proud to partner with state government to provide this leading innovation in order to continue delivering efficiencies to citizens across the United States.”

In the Company’s 24-year history, it has partnered with government to deliver many industry firsts. NIC led the way in developing the first state government applications for the iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch when each of the devices debuted.

About NIC

Founded in 1992, NIC (NASDAQ: EGOV) is the nation's leading provider of innovative digital government solutions and secure payment processing, which help make government more accessible to everyone through technology. The family of NIC companies provides digital government solutions for more than 4,500 federal, state, and local agencies in the United States. Forbes has named NIC as one of the “100 Best Small Companies in America” six times and the company has been included four times on the Barron’s 400 Index. Additional information is available at http://www.egov.com.

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Contacts:

NIC
Angela Davied, 913-754-7054
Director of
Corporate Communications
adavied@egov.com

Source: NIC