Omnicomm is a communication management solution designed to help councils and other public sector organisations create, process and deliver communications more efficiently.
From Council Tax bills and benefit correspondence to parking notices, electoral communications and general letters, Omnicomm provides a central platform for managing high volumes of correspondence across different departments and services.
Communications can originate from existing council systems or be created directly by staff, before Omnicomm manages the processes required to prepare, route and deliver them. Physical mail can be managed alongside email and messaging, helping councils reduce administration and create a more efficient approach to citizen communication.
Designed for Council-Wide Communication
Local authorities produce correspondence across a wide range of departments, often using different systems, processes and methods of delivery. Omnicomm provides a common communication platform that can bring those processes together without requiring every department to change the way it works.
Documents can be submitted individually by staff or generated automatically by existing council applications. Omnicomm then applies the appropriate processing and delivery rules before the communication is sent to the recipient.
This helps reduce the manual work associated with preparing correspondence while providing greater consistency, visibility and control across the organisation.
Integrates With Existing Local Government Systems
Omnicomm is designed to work alongside the applications already used within local government. Existing systems can continue to generate documents and data in the usual way, with Omnicomm managing the subsequent communication process.
Integration can include systems from leading local government software providers such as:
- Civica – supporting the automated processing of documents such as Council Tax and associated correspondence.
- Capita – enabling documents generated by existing revenues and local government systems to enter the Omnicomm workflow.
- Northgate – supporting established Council Tax and related document-production processes.
- Other council systems – using the Omnicomm API, Print Client or automated file processing to integrate other applications and workflows.
This means councils can improve the way communications are produced and delivered without unnecessarily replacing existing systems, document templates or established business processes.
How Omnicomm Works Within a Council
A communication can be generated by an existing council system, submitted from a Windows application, placed into an automated Drop Folder or created through the Omnicomm web interface.
Once received, Omnicomm can apply the appropriate processing rules, validate addresses, add additional documents or inserts, sort correspondence and combine items being sent to the same recipient.
For physical mail, documents can then be prepared for centralised printing, folding, inserting and postal delivery. Where appropriate, communications can instead be delivered electronically using email or messaging.
The result is a streamlined process from document creation through to delivery, with significantly less manual intervention required from council staff.
Bring Communications Together Across Departments
One of the key advantages of a council-wide communication solution is the ability to bring together correspondence generated by different departments.
Rather than each service operating its own separate printing and mailing processes, communications can be routed through Omnicomm and processed centrally.
Where multiple documents are being sent to the same recipient, Omnicomm can combine appropriate correspondence into a single envelope. This can reduce duplicated postage and demonstrate a more coordinated approach to communication across the authority.
Support Physical and Digital Communication
Although councils are increasingly adopting digital services, physical mail continues to play an important role in communicating with residents. Omnicomm allows both physical and electronic communications to form part of the same overall communication strategy.
Different delivery methods can be used according to the type of correspondence, recipient requirements or council policy, allowing digital communication to be introduced where appropriate while retaining traditional mail when it is required.
Benefits for Local Government
Reduce Mailing Costs
Centralising communication processing can reduce expenditure associated with desktop printing, consumables, equipment, manual handling and postage, while consolidated mail volumes can provide access to more cost-effective postal services.
Reduce Administrative Work
Omnicomm automates many of the repetitive processes involved in preparing outgoing correspondence, reducing the amount of time staff spend printing, sorting and preparing documents for postage.
Use Existing Council Systems
Applications used for Council Tax and other council services can continue generating documents using established processes, with Omnicomm handling their subsequent preparation and delivery.
Combine Correspondence
Appropriate communications destined for the same recipient can be identified and combined, helping to reduce unnecessary envelopes and postal charges.
Maintain a Consistent Corporate Identity
Centralised templates and processing rules help ensure outgoing communications maintain the authority's required presentation and corporate identity across departments.
Improve Visibility and Control
Centralised management provides greater visibility of communication volumes and activity, helping authorities understand how correspondence is being produced and where associated expenditure occurs.
Support Shared Services
Omnicomm can provide a central communication platform for multiple departments, locations or partner organisations, making it suitable for authorities operating shared print and communication services.
Support Flexible Working
Staff can submit correspondence without having to print and prepare it locally, making communication workflows less dependent on departmental printers, franking equipment and physical office locations.
Flexible Ways to Use Omnicomm
Different departments and systems can interact with Omnicomm in the way that best suits their workflow:
- Web Interface – for creating, submitting and managing communications through a browser.
- Print Client – for sending documents directly from existing Windows applications.
- Drop Folder – for automatically processing documents generated by council systems.
- API – for direct integration with applications and automated business processes.
These methods can be used independently or together, allowing Omnicomm to support different systems and working practices across the same authority.
Proven Experience in Local Government
Funasset has been providing document and mail solutions to local government and government departments since 1998, with its technology used to support demanding public sector document and communication environments.
Its solutions have been used with local government systems including Civica, Capita and Northgate, while previous projects have included document and print solutions for authorities such as Somerset County Council and the production of annual Council Tax bills and benefit letters for Gloucester.
This experience provides Omnicomm with a strong foundation for organisations looking to modernise communication processes while continuing to work with the systems and workflows already established across their authority.
One Communication Platform for the Whole Authority
Omnicomm provides local authorities with a flexible way to modernise communication without forcing every department to adopt the same working process.
Whether correspondence is produced by a revenues system, generated automatically by another council application or created by an individual member of staff, it can be brought into a common platform for processing and delivery.
From reducing the cost of physical mail to improving automation and supporting a wider transition towards digital communication, Omnicomm provides a scalable platform that can be used across departments, services and the wider authority.