After Clariti’s Enterprise permitting software was selected by the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety (LADBS), we sat down with Clariti’s Co-CEO, Cyrus Symoom, and Executive Vice President of Sales, Jim MacLaggan, to discuss the significance of the project, and how Clariti will help the second largest city in the U.S. achieve its ambitious goals.
As Cyrus explains, no other community development project over the past decade has matched this level of scale, which you can grasp by looking at LADBS' 2023 performance metrics:
Jim: Clariti Enterprise stood out for its extensive community development functionality as well as its configurability. The city wanted a solution that could solve its challenges now but also evolve with its needs – and Enterprise checked both of those boxes.
Jim: First and foremost, the city’s vision is to create the best permitting experience in North America, so staff knew they’d need to replace their 30+ year-old system to make that happen. And since Clariti Enterprise really centers around the customer, we were a great fit. Once LA’s new Clariti system is live, customers will be able to access services online, any time, 365 days a year.
Secondly, the city wanted to reduce its processing times to accelerate housing development and economic growth, which Clariti’s tools and routine task automation will help with.
And third, LA residents wanted greater transparency in the permitting process, which customers will get through Enterprise’s online portal and dashboards that show all information about an application/project.
Jim: The community development sector has been characterized in the press as having long delays, staffing shortages, and frustrated residents. That exists in places, but when I speak to large cities and counties across the country, it’s evident that they’re working hard to provide valuable service with the resources they have.
As a technology provider, we’re eager to help provide them with the necessary tools to alter that narrative. Our philosophy is simple: we are laser-focused on our customers. We want our technology to help free up more time for agencies to focus on the customer experience.
Cyrus: Clariti has had the privilege of working with some of the largest cities in North America, but being entrusted by Los Angeles to digitize such a vital part of their community truly cements our leadership as the premier community development solution for local governments.
With the proven benefits we've seen in cities like Phoenix, where processing times were reduced by 30%, we're confident that even the largest cities in North America can achieve remarkable outcomes with our solutions.
Cyrus: The decision by Los Angeles to embrace digital transformation is groundbreaking. When a major city like LA, with its complexity and scale, commits to modernizing its systems, it sends a powerful message to other municipalities. Larger cities often face tough choices when it comes to overhauling their long-standing legacy systems. The challenges can seem insurmountable, but what we're seeing now is a shift—cities are recognizing the necessity of change.
We've seen a steady increase in interest from large governments as more of them witness the successes of their peers. For example, we've recently partnered with Honolulu, and we've been working with the City of Phoenix for several years. These collaborations are setting a new standard, encouraging more city managers and officials to feel confident in making the long-term investments needed to upgrade their systems.
If a city as large and complex as Los Angeles can successfully go digital, it sets a precedent. This will undoubtedly accelerate the adoption of digital solutions across other communities in North America.
Cyrus: I'm particularly proud of the focus we've had around user experience across our platform as often business-to-government software solutions don't prioritize that. I know for Los Angeles, they've been using a system for decades that's extremely dated and difficult for staff and citizens to use. For us to be able to provide an intuitive and insightful solution that provides transparency through every step of the process, we're particularly proud of what a significant change that's going to be.