Cloud Partner SADA Systems Guides Los Angeles Voters To The Polls

As voters flocked to the polls for Tuesday's midterm elections, some in Los Angeles were guided by My Polling Place, an app developed by channel standout SADA Systems.

The innovative Los Angeles-based Microsoft and Google cloud partner developed the app that directs registered voters to their polling places, and then helps them remember to get out and cast a ballot.

The app was the brainchild of SADA mobile developer Chris Voronin, who was looking for a way to pursue his passion for the electoral process and the upcoming 2018 midterms, SADA CEO Tony Safoian told CRN.

[Related: WATCH: Midterm Election Security Fact Check With Sophos’ Chet Wisniewski]

The County of Los Angeles "co-signed their project," Safoian said, giving its blessing for SADA to tap its public voter information site and present the information to the public, especially millennials.

Users just enter their last name, birth date, house number and ZIP code to find where they go on election day. The app even adds an appointment to their calendars.

Because of the disparate voting systems used across the state and country, My Polling Place only is available to Los Angeles voters. The app would be extremely hard to nationalize, Safoian said.

But the app serves a purpose beyond its contribution to facilitating the democratic process in SADA's backyard, he said.

Allowing developers to work on projects they deeply care about "highlights an important issue of culture," said Safoian. Tech employees thrive when they're allowed to do "fulfilling work that they're passionate about."

"We encourage the creativity of our engineers," Safoian told CRN. "Anybody can bring any great idea to the CEO and they'll get supported."

And while My Polling Place wasn't a complex app to build, it benefits SADA by showcasing its capabilities to develop innovative solutions—a new line of business the pioneering cloud reseller began exploring last year.

SADA, for many years the largest Google Maps reseller, entered mobile application development territory with a project called Atom that also leveraged its Maps expertise.

For that solution, SADA teamed with a civil engineering firm in Chicago to create a unique solution for managing public infrastructure assets.