Before Oklahoma regulators were introduced to Thentia Cloud in 2019, several agencies found themselves burdened by clunky, outdated licensee databases and processes that ate up budgets and delayed license applications and renewals by weeks – sometimes months – at a time. Paper-based processes created headaches for staff, who also often found themselves entering licensee data manually into multiple unintegrated systems. Regulators sought an end-to-end software solution that spoke to their specific needs, and they found one in Thentia Cloud.
Thentia’s work in Oklahoma began with agencies like the Oklahoma State Board of Osteopathic Examiners (OSBOE) and the Oklahoma Real Estate Commission (OREC), some of whom were so impressed with the software’s results that they pushed for the Oklahoma Office of Management and Enterprise Services (OMES) to secure Thentia Cloud on a contract for regulators across the state.
After 18 months of fruitful collaboration between the software company and state regulators, OMES has now announced Thentia Cloud as the state-supported software provider for occupational licensing. This marks the first occasion of Thentia being named a state-supported software vendor — a huge milestone for the company in its endeavor toward becoming the state-supported vendor across all 50 states.
Oklahoma Office of Management and Enterprise Services’ partnership with Thentia Cloud
Agencies throughout the State of Oklahoma lean on OMES to provide funding, property, human resources, and technical support. Having worked with multiple tech partners in the past, OMES sought out a software solution that could meet a full range of regulatory needs, says Joe McIntosh, Senior Director of Application and Data Services in OMES’s Information Services Division. According to McIntosh, OMES’ staff found exactly what they had long been looking for in a technology partner when they were introduced to Thentia Cloud.
McIntosh reports that OMES was immediately drawn to Thentia Cloud because of its holistic approach to managing occupational licensing, providing all the functionality Oklahoma regulators require within one centralized platform including both back-office support for staff administrators as well as an intuitive front-end licensee interface. The software, designed specifically for regulators, by regulators, spoke to the everyday frustrations of agencies in the state. Its technical support and expertise came from people who understood regulation on a fundamental level.
“When we think about Thentia from a people, process, and technology standpoint, it truly checks all of the boxes,” McIntosh says. “They take a very personalized approach to working with the State of Oklahoma. We appreciate that we have access to top leadership and a team of engaged professionals with deep licensing experience.”
OMES recently named Thentia as the state-supported technology vendor for occupational licensing. Presently, the office oversees 130 executive agencies. Of these, approximately 75% are occupational licensors. OMES’s approval means these licensors will now have better access to technology that will enable them to process licensing applications and renewals with more ease and efficiency, both for staff as well as end users.
In the future, OMES looks forward to working closely on other facets of the company’s software solution with the goal of modernizing day-to-day processes across the board. From Thentia Cloud’s limitless integrations and first-class security and compliance standards to its exceptional back-office and technical support and beyond, Thentia offers a comprehensive package that speaks to the needs and pain points of regulators from all industries.
One of the most notable benefits Thentia Cloud offers to OMES and state regulators is its ability to streamline operations between other Oklahoma agencies effectively and efficiently. If two agencies interact, Thentia Cloud provides them with the functionality to simplify those processes with easily integrated data. With 10 agencies launched on Thentia Cloud and more than 30 queued for future launch, the office is eager to build upon a successful history with Thentia as it brings regulatory processes across the state into the 21st century.
Thentia’s history in Oklahoma
Oklahoma State Board of Osteopathic Examiners
The Oklahoma State Board of Osteopathic Examiners (OSBOE) deployed Thentia Cloud as its first end-to-end digital licensing software solution in late 2019. The office had previously found itself mired in an archaic and complicated license renewal process that left licensees disgruntled and delayed form submissions by weeks and sometimes months.
Tired of a clunky, hard-to-navigate license renewal platform, OSBOE staff searched for a software vendor with a deep and fundamental understanding of all aspects of regulation. Executive Director Michael Leake says he saw in Thentia a partner that understood the regulatory ecosystem, one that could build a product customized to meet the office’s specific needs.
“Thentia’s team wowed us from the moment we signed our contract with them through to product deployment,” Leake says. “They demonstrated an unparalleled knowledge of the regulatory landscape which resulted in their ability to completely customize a solution for our unique requirements.”
After implementing Thentia Cloud, OSBOE was able to recoup time from overseeing paper-based processing and fielding support queries to focus on better serving the public in more meaningful ways. Digital payment processing via Thentia Cloud has allowed the office to efficiently produce extra reports for invoiced items, payments taken, and more, increasing transparency and streamlining reporting.
“We’ve ultimately seen a 180-degree improvement from where we were before Thentia Cloud,” Leake says. “There genuinely is no comparison.”
Oklahoma Board of Architects, Landscape Architects and Registered Commercial Interior Designers
The Oklahoma Board of Architects, Landscape Architects and Registered Commercial Interior Designers (OBA) migrated its outdated Microsoft Access database to Thentia Cloud in 2019. The agency oversees more than 4,000 individuals and firms with highly complex licensed professions that require not only extensive years of education, but also core areas of competency that are maintained through ongoing highly technical training.
As an agency that upholds such strict and varied training standards across different architectural professions, OBA found itself in need of more than just a generalized software platform when it came time to migrate its database. Agency staff sought out a technology provider with robust mechanisms to create efficiencies in both evaluating competency and overseeing continuing education directives.
“We knew our system was aging,” says Executive Director Leslie Hanska. “Our clunky processes were telling us that we were desperate for change. We were truly living in the dark ages.”
Through product demonstrations, OBA staff learned quickly that Thentia was serious about regulatory licensing. The company’s modern and elegant software solution, combined with first-class technical support from real regulators with years of experience in the public sector, represented an opportunity for the Board of Architects to move its more archaic daily processes into the 21st century.
Within months of going live on the platform, OBA had eliminated more than 3,600 paper applications and checks from the licensing process. The software’s convenience and ease of use contributed to a swift and successful license renewal period, with 99% of license renewals being processed through Thentia Cloud in 2019.
“Thentia has unquestionably simplified the complex administrative hoops we used to have to jump through,” Hanska says. “We have now put digitized mechanisms in place to record and validate continuing education activities before allowing the licensee to progress through the system.”
Results of implementing Thentia Cloud:
- 99% of license renewals processed on Thentia Cloud
- 10% increase in revenue over the previous quarter (before deploying Thentia Cloud)
- 3,600 paper applications and checks eliminated within the first renewal period since using Thentia Cloud
Oklahoma Real Estate Commission
In 2020, the Oklahoma Real Estate Commission (OREC) deployed Thentia Cloud as its occupational licensing solution in just four short months. As an office overseeing more than 22,000 actives licensees annually, with roughly 600 license renewals processed monthly, OREC found itself in a “never-ending data tailspin” as it sought to issue, manage, and renew real estate licenses around the clock.
The office’s original day-to-day operation, which involved managing paper applications, chasing payments, and manually sending out renewal notices on a case-by-case basis, left OREC’s small-but-nimble team working tirelessly on tedious and cumbersome tasks. After Thentia Cloud was recommended by an industry peer, it only took an initial product demonstration for OREC’s staff to realize the software solution’s massive potential.
“We were instantly blown away by the product and just how much more sophisticated it was compared to the big giants in the agency licensing cloud software space,” says Grant Cody, Executive Director at OREC. “Everything wowed us—the aesthetics, functionality, automations, security, and integrations.”
Thentia began implementing the software for the office on September 1, 2020. Thanks to a progressive, committed, and fast-paced team, they successfully launched OREC on Thentia Cloud at full functionality by December 31. Within three months of its go-live date, 97 percent of the office’s licensee applications were processed through the software platform within one business day. OREC estimates it eliminated over $25,000 in direct mail expenses during those first three months alone.
“Thanks to Thentia Cloud, OREC is now operating in the 21st century,” says Bailey Crotty, Deputy Director at OREC. “We are extremely proud of the application and renewal system they’ve built for us.”
Since launching on Thentia Cloud in December 2020:
- 97% of licensee applications are now received through Thentia Cloud
- 90% of license renewals are now completed online through Thentia Cloud
- 50,000 automated renewal notices have been distributed through Thentia Cloud
- $25,000 in direct mail expenses eliminated per annum
- 60% reduction in incomplete applications
- 81% decrease in hours spent manually reviewing and processing paper applications every month
Oklahoma Board of Chiropractic Examiners
The Oklahoma Board of Chiropractic Examiners (OBCE) regulates the chiropractic profession in the state of Oklahoma. The self-funded agency only employs two full-time administrative staff members, which can create challenges in upholding high professional standards for over 1,000 licensees across the state. In 2020, OBCE took a major step forward in its endeavor to go 100% paperless by migrating its cumbersome licensing progress over to Thentia Cloud.
Prior to implementing Thentia Cloud, OBCE was still processing new license applications manually. The tedious paper-based process cost the agency about $3 per mailed envelope. Even renewals and payments caused frequent headaches for staff, who often found themselves manually entering licensee information into multiple platforms that didn’t integrate with each other. Thentia Cloud’s strong track record with other Oklahoma agencies caught the attention of OBCE Executive Director Beth Kidd.
“I was super excited because the cost was more affordable, and it was there in our reach,” Kidd says. “The expertise that Thentia had with regulatory boards across the U.S. and Canada, and the team knowing what we needed and allowing us to add more to it were huge factors — I was sold, and so was our board.”
Within weeks of launching Thentia Cloud in April 2021, OBCE saw its application and renewal process go from 60% paperless to 85% paperless, with the remaining paper-based processes mainly involving transcripts and forms that require notarization. The agency now processes 100% of applications and renewals digitally, which by OBCE estimates will eliminate upwards of $1,000 annually in postage fees. Approximately 35 hours of staff time per week have been saved by modernizing these processes alone.
“Since we’ve started with Thentia, we’ve had nothing but good comments about everything,” says administrative assistant Lauren Arnold. “They love it. The new portal is nice; it’s easier to access and maneuver around. We’re very impressed.”
Results within weeks of implementing Thentia Cloud:
- Agency has gone from 60% to 85% paperless with the adoption of Thentia Cloud
- 100% of applications now processed digitally, compared to 0 before Thentia Cloud
- 100% of renewals now processed digitally, compared to 60% before Thentia Cloud
- $1,000 in direct mailing costs eliminated
- Late renewals reduced from up to 20% before Thentia Cloud to 5% after deployment
- Renewal license fee payments by check reduced from 20-30% a year before Thentia Cloud to 2% after deployment
- Approximately 35 hours of staff time previously spent on manual applications and renewals saved per week
OMES finds a partner in Thentia
OMES began its work with Thentia through agencies like OSBOE, OREC, OBA, and OBCE, who after implementing the software pushed for the agency to get Thentia Cloud on a contract for regulators throughout the state. It was at this point that OMES staff began paying a closer look at Thentia’s platform and realizing the full potential of what it offered.
“The agencies that have worked with Thentia have nothing but positive and great things to say about their experience,” Joe McIntosh says. “It’s beneficial for us because it allows us to redirect our time from putting out fires to solving meaningful problems for the state.”
Coming on the heels of a successful implementation for the Oklahoma Narcotics Board, with launches planned in the coming months for other major agencies like the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority, OMES’s partnership with Thentia Cloud continues to undergo a massive and fruitful expansion with regulators across the state.
Both organizations are looking forward to October’s Oklahoma State Supplier Expo, where technology vendors can connect with state agencies and demonstrate their own unique solutions to problems they face. The expo represents an opportunity for Thentia to pitch its platform to many agencies at once, this time with the enthusiastic support of Oklahoma’s leading agency for regulatory tech solutions.
Thentia’s $10 million Series B venture capital injection in May 2021, led by New York’s Spring Mountain Capital, has allowed the company to expand rapidly across the United States and build its team with highly experienced staff from many different industries. According to CEO Julian Cardarelli, securing OMES’s support as a technology partner will prove crucial in the company’s go-to-market strategy to establish itself in all 50 states.
“This partnership is a truly valuable opportunity for us,” says Thentia CEO Julian Cardarelli. “We see serious potential with Oklahoma’s regulatory agencies. We hope this demonstrates our commitment to supporting regulators as we set the stage to pitch our end-to-end software solution to agencies throughout the United States.”
