O*NET-SOC AutoCoder

AutoCoder, OccuCoder and SBR Funds Q&A

 

With the release of supplemental funds for UI enhancement, plus the availability of a new OccuCoder product from the UI ITSC, I’ve been receiving many questions from States.  Here’s what I know:

    

 

Is there a difference between RMWC O*NET-SOC AutoCoder and OccuCoder?

 

Yes; the ITSC contracted for development of a new automated coding tool that uses a different underlying methodology intended to make OccuCoder easier to update and less expensive to support.

 

O*NET-SOC AutoCoder, developed by RMWC, uses a very advanced methodology that returns the most accurate results available today.  This isn’t just sales-speak … we offer a money-back guarantee to States if we can’t meet 85% accuracy in an automated environment; and we also offer your money back if you switch to a more-accurate commercial product.  As far as I know, OccuCoder does not come with an accuracy guarantee or a money-back satisfaction guarantee.

 

There are many other differences as well … here are a few: 1) RMWC AutoCoder is the only coding tool that will code Spanish job titles; 2) RMWC AutoCoder is tuned to reflect the distribution of occupations in each State; 3) RMWC AutoCoder has been tested in production environments processing up to 300 million records; 4) a single instance of RMWC AutoCoder can support multiple taxonomies simultaneously, allowing, for example, an LMI application to use the latest O*NET 14 taxonomy, while a UI application uses a previous version of the taxonomy for compatibility reasons; and, 5) RMWC AutoCoder has a five-year record of annual updates that have consistently worked.

 

 

Can UI Supplemental funds be used for RMWC AutoCoder or only ITSC’s OccuCoder/AutoCoder?

 

ETA has confirmed that up to $14k of funding can be used for two years of support per State for products comparable to OccuCoder; plus, ETA has confirmed that the $250k in integration funds can be used to integrate comparable automated occupational coding products.  An example of a comparable product would be RMWC’s O*NET-SOC AutoCoder v7.0.

 

 

Is OccuCoder support available from R.M. Wilson Consulting?

 

Not at this time.  The ITSC has contracted with Affiliated Computer Services (ACS) to provide support for OccuCoder.  This was not an open competition for support.

 

 

Are the prices for maintenance different for OccuCoder and AutoCoder?

 

Yes; it appears that OccuCoder support will be roughly $7k per year.  In comparison, RMWC AutoCoder support varies … States who signed up for support in the past continue to pay the same rate (none of our customers have seen an increase in 5 years). 

 

Individual States signing up now for unlimited use for UI, ES and LMI currently pay $14,995 on a year-to-year basis; but we offer up to five years of support at lower cost to help States stretch short-term funds into a longer-term benefit.  Several States have already taken advantage of this multi-year pre-pay option.  When five years are paid in advance, the average annual cost for a State drops to $11,995.

 

However, RMWC offers UI consortium pricing for AutoCoder that drops our cost substantially below $7k.  If five-or-more States want to license AutoCoder as part of a UI consortium, the price drops to $5,245 per State on a year-to-year license for use in UI programs.  And if the consortium States choose to prepay for five years of support, the average annual cost drops to $4,195 per State.    

 

 

Will R.M. Wilson Consulting continue to support AutoCoder?

 

Yes; Sixteen States currently have active maintenance agreements with RMWC for AutoCoder, and roughly a third of these agreements are for multiple years.  In addition, we provide AutoCoder software to a number of commercial job boards, as well as providing the software used by the Direct Employers Association to code ads for the National Labor Exchange.  So we certainly expect to be providing AutoCoder support, and just as importantly, timely enhancement, for years to come.

 

I hope this information helps.  If you have additional questions, please let me know.

 

RMWC Announces Products for Green LMI

$50 million is now available to States to jump start the production and dissemination of ‘Green LMI’; but you’ll need to act fast (applications are due August 14th), and you’ll also need to spend the funds within 18 months (a significant limitation that we can help solve).

To support States in their Green LMI efforts, RMWC is announcing the following product updates and discounted purchase programs:

O*NET-SOC AutoCoder v7.0 for Green Jobs

O*NET-SOC AutoCoder by RMWC is: 1) the most accurate automated coding software on the market (guaranteed or your money back); 2) currently in use by fourteen States; and, 3) backed by a five-year track record of continuous improvement.

With the release of v7.0 for Green Jobs, O*NET-SOC AutoCoder will support all of the new occupations referenced in the ‘Greening of the World of Work’ report produced by the O*NET Center.   And O*NET-SOC AutoCoder provides additional value by delivering accurate occupational classification of claims and job opportunities in all occupations and industries … two keys to speeding reemployment and improving the targeting of training investments.  So this is an LMI investment that ES and UI can really support.

Price:  $14,995 with support and updates for one year (see below for multi-year discounts)

Green Job Extractor v1.0

While accurate O*NET coding of jobs is a critical first step in producing Green LMI, there’s an additional problem to solve … we need to ‘flag’ Green Jobs where:

… the impact of green economy activities and technologies results in an increase in the employment demand for 64 existing O*NET occupations (Green Increased Demand Occupations); and 

… the impact of green economy activities and technologies results in a significant change to the work and worker requirements for 60 existing O*NET-SOC occupations (Green Enhanced Skills Occupations).

So, for 124 O*NET Codes, States can expect to find a mix of green and non-green jobs correctly coded; and the non-green employment in many of these codes may dwarf the green employment (e.g. Customer Service Reps, Laborers, Personal Financial Advisors, Computer Software Engineers, etc.), perhaps for years to come.
 
The solution is RMWC Green Job Extractor v1.0 … a new tool designed to automatically assign a ‘green coefficient’ to all job ads, and flag the ads with scores above a State-defined threshold as ‘Green Jobs’.    

Price:  $9,995 with support and updates for one year (see below for bundle and multi-year discounts)

O*NET-SOC AutoCoder v7.0 and Green Job Extractor v1.0 Bundle

Since O*NET-SOC AutoCoder v7.0 and Green Job Extractor v1.0 each solve a different part of the Green LMI classification problem; so the combination of the two generates the most useful green information.  And by licensing the bundle, States save 20% compared to the individual pricing.

Price:  $19,995 with support and updates for one year (see below for multi-year discounts)

Multi-year Discounts for State Support and Upgrades

Green LMI is an emerging field, studying emerging employment in Green jobs (a classification still in flux).  So, is 18 months really enough time to deliver useful information?  Probably not; but the grant funds must be spent within this period.

A solution to this problem is prepaying for up to five years of product support and updates … and we provide discounts for the out-years too, so you lock in a great value. 

For example, if a State chooses to license our O*NET-SOC AutoCoder v7.0 and Green Job Extractor v1.0 Bundle for five years, the total cost would be $79,975 … which works out to the following price per year:

           1st year  $19,995
           2nd year $17,995 (10% discount)
           3rd year  $15,995 (20% discount)
           4th year  $13,995 (30% discount)
           5th year  $11,995 (40% discount)

Prepaying for up to five years of product support and updates may sound risky to some; but three of our State customers (here, here, and here) have already chosen this option.  Our track record of consistent quality and timely support help make a long-term contract a safe choice.

Kentucky Renews O*NET-SOC AutoCoder Support for Five Years

 

Five years … a support contract of this length sends a number of messages:

1) The product works – Kentucky began licensing O*NET-SOC AutoCoder in early 2006 (version 3.0), and they’ve received all updates (through version 6.1) without problem;

  

2) Support has met or exceeded expectations – prior to executing this new five-year contract, Kentucky had completed three consecutive one-year support agreements with RMWC; and,

3) The buyer believes the seller will remain a market leader – RMWC began developing and refining O*NET-SOC AutoCoder five years ago; and from the beginning in 2004, through today, no occupational coding product has come close to offering the accuracy, performance and value of RMWC O*NET-SOC AutoCoder.

   

Paid in full in advance … if a five-year contract sends a message, what does paying in advance for the full five years say?  Mostly, I think it says:

4) Let’s save some money – Kentucky receives five years of support for the price of four … plus, they’re assured of no price increases for the full five years;

5) Let’s get longer-term benefit from short-term funds – Recovery Act funds are helping States improve services now, but the funds must be spent by June 30, 2011. Then what? 

So Kentucky joins Alabama as the second State to execute a five-year support agreement with RMWC for O*NET-SOC AutoCoder support.  Thanks Kentucky! We really appreciate your confidence!

 

ITSC’s Contract with Noblis to End in 2009

   

During the Unemployment Insurance and Technology Conference (June 2008 in Austin, TX), a change in role for the Information Technology Support Center (ITSC) was announced, including notification that ITSC’s contract with Noblis would not be renewed when it expires in 2009.

   

This is a big deal for States since Noblis is the sole-source support provider for ETA's versions of O*NET-SOC AutoCoder (v1.0 thru v2.1) via their contract with the ITSC. 

   

It’s too soon to know what this will mean for the 20+ States contracting with Noblis; but from my vantage point, this is good news.  Not because a competitor is exiting the market, but rather because a vendor providing poor value and accuracy should be forced from competitive markets … that’s the way free markets are supposed to work.

   

States considering an alternative support provider may find the following presentation helpful: Ten Reasons why AutoCoder v6 is the Best Choice.

   

O*NET-SOC AutoCoder Available to States through Dell|ASAP

   

Navigating government procurement processes is usually time-consuming work – both for private vendors and government staff.  When the dollars involved are large, rigorous processes help protect the public interest; but for smaller purchases, the overhead associated with government procurement can act as a barrier to competition.

   

Sadly, in the O*NET-SOC AutoCoder market, half of the States licensed software and purchased support using non-competitive methods that resulted in these States paying up to 80% higher prices for a substantially inferior product. I can’t blame the States though – the overhead in open-competitive RFP processes would have exceeded the cost savings.  

   

Thank Massachusetts for recognizing the solution and blazing the trail for other States to follow.  Through their contract with Dell | ASAP, Massachusetts was able to purchase O*NET-SOC AutoCoder software and support at the same price we offer to States in response to RFPs.  So Massachusetts gets all the benefits of lower pricing, higher accuracy, and superior features, but without the hassle of a time consuming competitive procurement.   

   

According to the Dell | ASAP web site, they currently hold “…state software contracts in more than 34 states.”  One of these States, Arizona, is our most recent new customer via Dell | ASAP.

   

New Price-Performance Record for RMWC O*NET-SOC AutoCoder

   

With the release of quad-core processors by Intel and AMD, and the subsequent release of commodity-priced dual-quad-core servers, we’re seeing breakthrough performance numbers and dramatically lower costs for occupation code assignment.   

   

On a per-transaction basis, server hardware costs for an O*NET-SOC AutoCoder installation have dropped roughly 65% in three years, with rack space and power requirements dropping proportionally.  And while some software vendors have switched to per-core pricing to maintain revenue, RMWC continues to offer unlimited-volume site licenses at prices that we’ve held steady for three years (our growing customer base reduces overhead costs as a portion of license fees).   

   

What’s this mean in the real world?  Today, a single $6k 1U dual-quad-core server running RMWC O*NET-SOC AutoCoder v5.2 can assign occupation codes to 125,000 job ads (resumes, job titles or keyword search strings) per hour at accuracy rates exceeding 85%. 

   

To put this performance in perspective, two-thousand trained full-time coding staff would have trouble processing the same volume per hour, and would not come close to achieving the same accuracy. A single $6k server could run at full volume continuously for three years … doing the work of roughly 10,000 FTE … delivering consistency that human coders couldn’t possibly match.    

   

Amazing really; the cost of automated occupational coding has become so low, and the accuracy and consistency have become so high, that any other strategy for assigning codes is simply a waste of time and money.  Private or public, who can afford waste in the current economy?

   

Accuracy Results for O*NET-SOC AutoCoder v5.2

   

Our competitors don’t publish their accuracy results, nor do they guarantee accuracy … it’s pretty easy to see why. 

   

On the other hand, R.M. Wilson Consulting, Inc. has guaranteed the accuracy of our products from day one with a money-back promise – we guarantee at least 80% accuracy for your data.

   

To date, we’ve had no claims against this guarantee; and we continue to enjoy a 100% renewal rate.

   

Truth is, we won’t ship a new version of O*NET-SOC AutoCoder until it has passed multiple accuracy tests conducted by expert coders, and passed rigorous machine testing for stability and performance. 

   

Sometimes this slows our delivery schedule, and it certainly increases our costs, but we think that maintaining your trust is just as important as maintaining our software and support.

    

Even with our money-back guarantee and higher testing costs, we continue to undercut our competitors’ prices by up to 50%.  So why pay twice as much for half the accuracy? We’re a better choice – guaranteed!

   

RMWC Offers O*NET-SOC AutoCoder Competitive Upgrade

   

Portsmouth, VA – June 11, 2007 – R.M. Wilson Consulting, Inc. today announced at the 2007 Unemployment Insurance Technology Conference a special limited time upgrade offer for States using competitive versions of AutoCoder software. 

   

Effective immediately, RMWC will provide up to one year of free support and software upgrades to States with active support agreements for competitive versions of AutoCoder software – a potential $15k savings per State.

   

Better, Faster, Cheaper, and now free support – O*NET-SOC AutoCoder v5.0 by RMWC.

 

Interested in a Microsoft-centric version of AutoCoder?

   

Today, ONET-SOC AutoCoder is available only as an open-source-centric (J2EE-MySQL-Apache) application – which is both good news and bad news. 

   

The good news:

   

·         Open-source software is inexpensive;

·         The web-services included with AutoCoder make cross-platform integration easy; and,

·         Focusing on a single platform helps us keep the maintenance and upgrade prices low for AutoCoder.

   

The bad news:

   

·         If your State is Microsoft-centric, then the open-source-centric AutoCoder requires you to support a new set of infrastructure applications, increasing your costs;

·         If  the open-source applications aren’t on your list of State-approved software, it is difficult to get approval; and,

·         Security risks increase as the number of infrastructure applications increase – it’s hard to be an expert in all of them, and the potential vulnerabilities increase.

   

Does the good outweigh the bad?  Not for some States.

   

Recently a State asked for a price quote for porting AutoCoder to their environment … Windows Server, IIS, .NET and SQL Server.  It’s definitely possible, and it’s something we’d like to do, but the costs seem prohibitive for a single State.

   

But, if four States were willing to commit to a three-year license for a Microsoft-centric version, the costs would be more reasonable – $15k one-time fee for a non-expiring license plus source code (to help offset the cost of porting the application), plus $15k per year for support and upgrades (the same amount States are paying for the support of the open-source-centric version). 

   

If you’re a Microsoft-centric shop, an extra $5k-per-year (average over the three-year commitment) may be a small price to pay for an AutoCoder application that matches your environment.

   

Are there four such States?  We can get started as soon as you’re ready.

   

For more info: bob@rmwilsonconsulting.com

 

No AutoCoder Support Increases Through 2010

   

Effective immediately, R.M. Wilson Consulting, Inc. is guaranteeing that AutoCoder support costs will not increase through 2010 for all current customers – if prices go down, you’ll see the reduction, but if prices go up, any increase will apply only to new customers. The single limitation is that you must maintain an active support contract – if your support contract lapses, you lose the price guarantee.

   

Not a current customer? Now through March 31, 2007, States can lock in annual support costs of $9,995 (no source code) or $14,995 (with source code) through 2010.   Plus, AutoCoder v4.0 software, and soon v5.0, remains free to State licensees with active support contracts.

   

How is it that we’re able to guarantee fixed support costs through 2010?  With each new State and private firm choosing RMWC for AutoCoder support, the percentage of our fixed costs associated with each support contract declines.  We’ve now reached a point, in terms of public and private customers, that we are able to hold the line on prices for our current customers. 

   

You’ve made us a success … we’d like to return the favor.