The cemetery is more than just a place of remembrance and tranquility. It is a complex ecosystem where a variety of different actors and data streams come together. From information about green spaces to data about deceased individuals, graves, trees, tasks, schedules, and costs – the diversity and complexity of the data that converge in a cemetery are remarkable.
In recent years, PBSGEO has developed 14 different interfaces alone for common cemetery programs. Therefore, it was time to create a unified solution that simplifies and optimizes data exchange with these programs. The answer to this challenge comes in the form of the cemetery.api. This interface technology, developed by PBSGEO, is more than just a combination of various interfaces – it represents a generalization that standardizes the handling of cemetery data.
What exactly is the cemetery.api?
This is an advanced interface based on REST technology. This means that communication between systems is based on a standardized and user-friendly protocol that allows for efficient exchange and processing of information.
Another essential aspect of the cemetery.api is its security. With the integration of Auth0, a leading provider of identity and access management, the interface is robustly secured. This ensures that only authorized individuals or systems have access to cemetery data, protecting the integrity and confidentiality of the information.
With its innovative interface, the cemetery.api, PBSGEO has not only created a solution for cemetery programs but also opened the door to seamlessly connect a variety of other programs and applications. This interface not only allows access to cemetery data but also extends its range of applications to green space management programs, funeral home programs, accounting systems, mourning portals, and much more.
But what does this mean specifically for the actors in the cemetery?
Grave and deceased data can be easily shared and accessed, for example, on-site at the cemetery using a mobile device. This allows the cemetery administration to decide whether the data should only be used internally or shared with external parties such as professionals or citizens and bereaved individuals. While cemetery administrations were initially hesitant about publishing deceased data on the internet, it is now evident that many administrations are already publishing the data online or planning to do so shortly.
The advantage is clear: the service quality of cemetery administrations towards customers is significantly increased, while simultaneously reducing workload, as bereaved individuals and professionals can access grave and deceased information independently through the online service.
Online Calendar Appoint
Another example of the successful integration of the cemetery.api is the online calendar Appoint, which complements PBSGEO’s software ecosystem as a burial calendar.
Appoint is a customizable calendar platform specifically designed for use in public administrations. Appoint’s structure allows for integration into existing organizations to support coordination of events such as burials, weddings, citizen consultations, or employee holiday planning. By using Appoint, workspaces can be organized, and calendars can be easily shared with team members. In the calendar view, users maintain control over their appointments by creating, editing, and deleting them as needed. Various viewing options and the ability to customize appointments with colors and patterns offer additional customization options for the user. To represent individual processes in administration, Appoint allows users to intervene in various system points to optimize and automate processes. For example, users have the option to set rules so that appointments are only created when certain criteria are met. Furthermore, there is the option for customers to design their own appointment entry form to receive only the data needed for this purpose. Integrating Appoint into PBSGEO’s systems enables the introduction of an online reservation system for burial appointments. Appoint is an excellent example of how the intelligent interface technology of the cemetery.api can be used: In combination with online grave reservation, a grave can be selected and reserved online based on specific criteria. The next step is the possibility for the selected grave to reserve a suitable burial appointment, also online.
This digitizes and optimizes the collaboration between funeral homes and cemetery administration by another step. This helps to significantly reduce complex coordination processes and ensure efficient coordination of burials, even outside regular opening hours.
Source: Friedhofskultur, January 2024
