Why can’t I check e-mail on my iPhone?
What handheld devices would you like to see your agency support?
Mobile devices like smartphones and tablet computers are the hottest of the hot gadgets these days. In the case of smart phones, at least, many agencies dole them out to some employees as standard-issue equipment for voice and mobile messaging needs. But in other cases, government employees are using their own personal devices, from Android smartphones to Apple iPads, to check in and stay on top of their office chores.
However it is that these devices get into workers’ hands, this “consumerization of IT,” as it’s called, has many agency chief information on notice. They understand that the devices are going to reshape how government work gets done, but they also know that the gadgets pose new management and security challenges that have to be addressed.
What are your agency’s policies about smartphones and handheld computing devices? Are there certain devices that your agency issues and supports? Are there others that they don’t but you wished they did?
Also, what kind of workplace role do you see these devices playing? And what will be the biggest stumbling blocks in the way of this happening?
Please share your comments below.