As organizations and employees shifted to remote working amid the COVID-19 pandemic, state and local governments have been forced to transition to remote business operations. As a result, COVID-19 has spurred organizations to rethink business processes that require access to the office or involve large amounts of paper.

For example, think about paper-based purchasing approvals, the approval of paper time sheets, leave requests, and paper applications for a business license or permit. Governments have an opportunity to eliminate or rethink paper-based business processes to operate effectively under current social-distancing guidelines—and to save money and improve customer service when restrictions are no longer in place.

This article identifies opportunities for governments to move away from paper-based business processes. For each of these opportunities, options for both do-it-yourself (DIY) solutions and commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) software solutions are presented.