In the private sector, consumers can shop, pay bills and bank online. They would like to do the same things on government websites: pay taxes, submit permits and applications and report issues. But in many cases, government websites are designed and organized in a way that is intuitive to government agency administrators and website maintainers, rather than the end users. That can make it difficult for citizens to find the information and services they need.

Both consumer-facing sites and government sites operate on a "pull-based" model, meaning we as users actively seek out information, visit websites and download apps. We know what we are looking for and we go out and find it. But in the future, the structure of the web will turn on its head: Content will be pushed out to users. Referred to as "the push-based web," it's gaining popularity with consumer sites and more and more we are also seeing that government sites are not far behind in adoption.

Imagine a U.S. veteran has some questions about health benefits, specifically around what dental benefits are available. In the pull-based web, the veteran would visit the veteran health care website to find answers to their unique questions. After struggling to remember their password, the veteran has to reset their password through single-factor authentication. It takes several minutes, but the veteran is now able to log into their profile. This is not the veteran's first time visiting the website, but they're still not quite sure where to look for the answer, so perhaps they'll first look at the quick links in their profile dashboard, then browse through the navigation on the health care website, or maybe they'll enter a specific term in the search toolbar. Through luck or maybe some trial and error, they will eventually find what they need. Or, maybe their search proves fruitless and they abandon it altogether. And the next time the veteran visits the website, the cycle repeats itself.

Let's take a look at how this same scenario would play out in the push-based web, where answers will present themselves. How is this made possible? With a personalization strategy and software that mines data to deliver content in context. These strategies help organizations like the veteran health care provider better understand, track and predict user behavior. By segmenting and profiling similar users so that they are aligned by behaviors and other defining characteristics, the veteran health care website can better present those visitors with personalized services. In addition, if the site visitor is a known user, the personalization solution is able to integrate user data collected from other sources — such as a call center, medical office visits or in-person interactions — and merge it all into one complete database.

So when the veteran visits the site in search of answers about available dental benefits, they are presented with options that match their veteran status, age, gender, location and unique medical needs.

What's more is that after this visit — and each subsequent time the veteran visits the site — they will be presented with information and offers that are tailored specifically for them. If the veteran is a known user with a profile, on their next visit, their homepage would present them with a personalized greeting, content offers and reminders that match their last visit.

For anonymous users, the personalization would take place on a smaller scale, whether it would be tailoring the delivery of the experience to be compatible with the user's device or presenting them with services that are close to their geographic location.

In terms of user experience as a whole, this one scenario of the veteran health care website experience demonstrates how a successful personalization strategy can result in fewer touches, improved efficiency, lower costs and, most importantly, happier consumers and citizens. This is just one example of where a government website user experience is headed in the future, but it's important to note that many government organizations are already implementing personalized solutions into their digital strategies today.

And while personalization is a highly important initiative, government organizations are fiercely committed to data protection and personal privacy. There are solutions available to organizations in both the public and private sectors that make it possible to carry out personalization objectives and ensure that even the most stringent privacy regulations are met.

For example, international media group Hubert Burda Media is headquartered in Germany, which is home to some of the strictest privacy laws around the globe and is on par with regulations most commonly seen in the public sector. Burda relies on an integrated, software-as-a-service-based personalization solution to track the behavior of anonymous and known customers across devices throughout the customer journey. At the same time, this solution is able to satisfy government requirements by preventing storage of IP addresses, making emails opt-in only and encrypted. The solution helps Burda perform segmentation and analysis on its users, build better profiles, present visitors with highly personalized experiences and remain compliant throughout the entire process.

The future of personalized government has arrived. The market is ripe for change, and pioneers from both the private and public sectors are already embracing the personalized, push-based web. If your employer is interested in starting or amplifying its digital personalization strategy, the time is now.

Dan Katz is the technical director for the public sector at Acquia.

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