Last week we celebrated the one year anniversary of the Digital Government Strategy, which encouraged agencies to develop mobile services and make public information available anywhere, at anytime and on any device. In the increasingly mobile world, this was necessary to keep up with the private sector and constituent and employee expectations. One year later, a lot has changed. Agencies are creating BYOD/mobile policies for their employees and announcing the release of hundreds of new mobile apps and sites- many of which you can check out here.
Some really cool ones that provide more information to the public include:
- Arlington National Cemetery Explorer App: DoD created a mobile application to enable the public to explore the Arlington National Cemetery’s events, locate grave sites, or other points of interest. You can learn more about the technology used by listening to an interview with Nick Miller, CIO Arlington National Cemetery.
- Social Security.gov Site: The Social Security Administration now provides the SocialSecurity.gov site in a mobile optimized form allowing the public to access this information with any device.
- IRS2Go: IRS2Go is a Department of Treasury IRS app designed to help taxpayers check on the status of their refund, sign up for helpful tax tips or get the most recent IRS Twitter feeds.
As we know, government agencies are also developing a mobile strategy to help internal processes, increase productivity and help employees do their job better. For many people work doesn’t end at 5PM. This means they are doing a lot of their work outside the office (not even including permanent teleworkers). According to a recent Mobile Work Exchange Report, 95% employees surveyed said access to mobile devices improved their work and 33% believe customer service has improved.
Although there are some great benefits (worker productivity, agility, employee satisfaction etc) there are several challenges that include:
- Data loss from lost and stolen devices
- Information stealing mobile malware
- Vulnerabilities from various devices
- Insecure Wi-Fi and network access
- Management
The thing is mobile is here to stay. According to the Mobile Work Exchange Report, 52% of respondents said their agency has matured its mobile IT strategy over the last year. Agencies will need to continue to develop their mobile strategy in the next few years, train their employees on security, and determine which devices (and apps) work best to meet their goals. Enterprise mobility is fundamentally changing the IT landscape. With a variety of smartphones, tablets and other innovative devices — and applications for those devices — available on the market, agencies must determine how to empower employees with these new technologies while maintaining security standards. To learn more about enterprise mobility, Google is hosting an executive briefing focused on enterprise mobility and the Android Platform. It’s taking place Thursday, June 6 from 9AM to 12PM ET in Washington, D.C. You can learn more and register by clicking here.
Want more information on mobility in government? Check out the resources below:
Recorded Training: Know What Your Citizens Want on Your Websites
Recorded Chat: Digital Government Strategy- One Year Later
Best Practice Guide: Crafting a Digital Government Strategy