For agencies mobility is a bit of an enigma. For the first time, the customer and end user are really driving the push for mobile technology not the enterprise itself.
That makes planning and executing a swift mobile policy difficult. That’s especially true at large cabinet level agencies like the Commerce Department.
Commerce is currently drafting up their version of a mobile strategy.
Simon Szykman is the Chief Information Officer at Commerce. He sat down for an extended 20 minute conversation with the DorobekINSIDER’s Chris Dorobek.
“Security is one of the top issues. But the most important one is adjusting to new capabilities or new ways of enhancing how work is being done,” said Szykman.
Bring Your Own Device: can happen at a large agency, but Szykman says there are a number of issues. For starters there are lots of policies that need to be addressed first. For example, record management, e-discovery, FOIA, and security. The question is, can agencies install software to control and manage your personal device?
Digital Government Strategy: Szykman says Commerce has a mature history with open government. In fact Commerce has had at one time the most data sets on Data.gov. But he says the challenge will be to publish data with appropriate APIs so that peple can access it more easily.
More with Less: Szykman says the phrase is misguided because its like squeezing a sponge and you think you can get more out of it, and you can’t. He says it comes down to prioritization.
He’s absolutely right about prioritization. The government hardly ever says “no” to new projects. Start working on the right things and you can do more with less, which I don’t see as a misguided phrase, by the way.