Case Study: Environment Agency reduces permitting time from 60+ to under 7 minutes with NICE Systems Desktop Automation

Automation Works Wonders with a Public Sector Legacy Infrastructure

The Environment Agency is England’s environmental regulator, a DEFRA arm with about 10,600 staff responsible for industry and waste, flood risk, water quality, contaminated land, and conservation. Facing legacy public‑sector infrastructure, the agency needed faster, more accurate permitting and back‑office processing to boost productivity and employee satisfaction.

By deploying NICE Desktop Automation, the agency transformed its permitting workflow—cutting average handling time from over 60 minutes to under 7, reducing procedural failures, rework and public complaints, and vastly improving data quality for compliance and enforcement, while delivering clear productivity and service‑quality gains.

Environment Agency

David More

Senior Advisor