Background - Mission
Efficient data registration and the resulting data integration are key contemporary management concepts. The efficient performance of tasks and policy-making depend on correct and accurate information being available.
Data storage and exchange between various stakeholders is also required for the success of the administrative relief for the authorities' customers and the authorities themselves. The enhanced crossroads bank for enterprises aspires to offer a solution to the aforementioned problems, which is possible through the widespread use of a single business number in all Flemish applicative files and all customer registrations. A single business number provides a means of offering an electronic link to all the information that is available about one company.
Aim of the VKBO project
The Flemish public administration is eager to create a VKBO so as to have a single reference source for consulting business data.
The VKBO has a dual purpose under this heading:
- Centralising dozens of Flemish services and applications seeking to communicate with the federal KBO (crossroads bank for enterprises) as a means of referencing their customer registration. The VKBO project seeks to solve the tremendous KBO registration problem via one central Flemish access point.
- Enhancing the essential KBO data ("basic signposting" for companies) with additional information about the companies (such as enhanced general data & Flemish file data), in order to make the applications function more intelligently on the one hand, and to be in a position to present a more complete "business picture or file" on the other hand.
Thanks to the VKBO the Flemish public administration is lending support to the principles of administrative relief (= unique data collection) and helping to create an environment where high-performance eGovernment applications can emerge because a maximum of business data has become accessible online.
The federal KBO is of key importance but more is required
The federal KBO is a key source of information. The Authorities of Flanders nonetheless require more information than available in the KBO. The reasons for using and extending the KBO may be summed up as follows:
- The KBO is the only official source in terms of basic signposting for companies (name-address-legal form- legal status- activities).
- The KBO provides solely the basic signposting, even though it is extremely useful to have much more information about business operations, so it is best for this to be available at central level (employment, annual accounts, contact information, shareholders).
- The Flemish institutions also have to share information amongst themselves (such as file registrations).
The VKBO service comprises 3 components:
Component 1 - KBO basic signposting
As soon as the KBO began operating in 2003 the aim was for business information for Flemish customer registrations and follow-up to be retrieved directly from the KBO, i.e. the Belgian "parent database", rather than the Flemish Reference File.
Component 2 - General enhancement
A number of Flemish services and applications require more information about companies not included in the federal KBO's basic signposting system. This basic information (basic signposting) is set to be offered by the VKBO at central level, including additional information from Flemish databases. This additional information includes:
- data about annual accounts to offer information about the size of a company;
- staff indexes (National Social Security Office information and annual account item N° 9086);
- contact information;
- company shareholders;
- company joint committee;
- import-Export information;
- geo-reference of the address.
Specific Flemish services and applications also need a register of business operators not yet included in the federal KBO:
- additional groups (such as the various types of liberal professions);
- sub-customer levels, i.e. establishments that are not included in the KBO but are vital as Flemish customers specifications, such as hospitals, crèches and schools, under an organising body.
Component 3 - Flemish enhancement
Each application that manages specific business information, can offer additional information via the link to the single business number so as to develop an overall business picture. In addition to the basic information and general enhancement, more detailed case information is shown about a specific company. It should be possible in due course to offer an overview of all the ongoing cases via the business picture.
How does the VKBO work?
Integration via the single business number
A first and basic data integration step involves harmonising one central parameter: the identification key.
In July 2002 the Flemish public administration took the fundamental decision to use the federal single identification number key (i.e. the business number) within the Authorities of Flanders for their internal processes. The Flemish public administration specified that this kind of data harmonisation was the recommended operating procedure for creating:
- A modern digital service (eGov);
- Administrative simplification (no unnecessary questioning procedures but reusing the information available);
- Efficient data management: lower cost price (one central management system) and better quality (no discrepancies, one truth);
- Better policy preparation, analysis, evaluation, MIS & Statistics;
- Extensive customer management (CRM).
The Flemish public administration has implemented the Flemish Integration Platform (VIP) or MAGDA-platform (MAGDA=maximized datasharing amongst administrations). The VIP is a flexible solution for data exchange and application integration. The Flemish Integration Platform ensures that applications that use databases can exchange information with each other in spite of the disparate structures of the databases and different types of applications. The VPR project is one of the two pilot projects for the development of the VIP.
3 ways of transmitting VKBO-data:
- VKBO-GO: graphical user-interface (GUI) allowing to look at the company data
- Publication services: publication of customized data-files (via ftp)
- Webservices: SOA-components allowing the online integration of VKBO-data in an administrative process.
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