QKStudio, 2015 Sadosky Award for Best IT Solution

The mobile app “San Miguel Interactiva” developed by QKStudio won the 2015 Sadosky Award for best “IT Solution” nationwide this past Thursday, November 26. The app fosters a closer relationship between residents and the municipality of San Miguel by bringing together more than 20 online services, available to citizens 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and it is currently the only municipal mobile tool in Argentina with this many integrated features.

These awards have been organized by the Chamber of Software and IT Services Companies of the Argentine Republic (CESSI) since 2005 to recognize the best initiatives in Argentina’s tech industry.

The event took place at the Buenos Aires Auditorium and was attended by more than 400 business leaders, academics, officials and leaders of the IT sector. During the awards ceremony, speeches were given by Aníbal Carmona, current president of CESSI, and José María Louzao, who served as president of the Chamber from 2011 to 2015.

This mobile app was developed from an “Open Government” perspective to unify and promote the range of available public services, bringing together more than 20 services. It is organized into three main modules: DO, CONNECT and DISCOVER, all available to citizens 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. It is currently the only app with this many integrated services in a municipality in Argentina.

QKStudio worked with 3 teams: one to develop the iOS platform, one for Android and one to build the services on the municipal website.

The app also poses a communication challenge, since a modernized government is naturally more transparent and open, and this requires officials to be more efficient.

The main goal of “San Miguel Interactiva” is to bring the municipality closer to its residents, democratizing information and letting users file complaints, report traffic violations and access useful information about transportation, bars, shows, administrative procedures and much more.

“We built the app because we understand that in a municipality where 97% of people have a cell phone, adapting to the way they communicate and access technology makes for more effective outreach,”

Explained Public Management Secretary Federico Kruse.

To download it, just search for it in the Google Play and Apple Store, where it currently has more than 3,400 downloads.

It is also worth noting the presence of another La Plata-based company, Snoop Consulting, with the Páginas Amarillas mobile app. The Research Laboratory in New Information Technologies (LINTI) of the UNLP School of Computer Science was also nominated.

About the award

The Sadosky Award for Argentine Intelligence was established in 2005 by the Argentine Chamber of Software and IT Services Companies (CESSI), with the support of the Sadosky Foundation, as a nonprofit sociocultural initiative. Its purpose is to showcase the industry’s best talent to the public and to reward the people, teams and organizations whose work and performance contribute to the growth of the Argentine information technology industry in any of its dimensions.

Other recognition for the app:
Before its launch, the app was presented at the 2nd Argentine Symposium on Technology and Society (STS 2015), as part of the 44th Argentine Informatics Conference (JAIIO), and was very well received.

The international organization apps4citizens (http://appteca.apps4citizens.org/app/san-miguel/342) gave the app a score of 8.8, rating it one of the best in its category and highlighting its content and functionality, as well as its design, usability and interface.

The implementation of the Claims Management System, which is a small part of the app, won the National E-Government Award (JAIIO 2014) for the “Claims Management System” and also received the 2nd Provincial Award for Innovation in Public Management, granted by the Provincial Undersecretariat for State Modernization.