Mobility

Are You Ready to Go Mobile?

A new survey finds many governments still have work to do when it comes to managing a mobile workforce.

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Amy has worked on StateTech since May 2007. As managing editor, she shapes editorial content for print and online. Before that, she spent 10 years at Network World as senior managing editor of features and managing editor of features. Amy began her IT publishing career at PC Week. While out of the office, she enjoys traveling and rooting for the Red Sox.

Despite the importance of enabling a mobile workforce, more than half of state and local governments aren’t quite ready yet.

According to the Mobile Work Exchange’s report, “State and Local Mobility Map: Road to Mobile Readiness,” 58 percent of state and local IT managers say their agency doesn’t provide the plans, tools and support necessary to manage a mobile workforce.

Released in July, the study is based on a survey of 150 state and local government IT managers. Today, just 40 percent of state and local employees use mobile devices for work-related tasks. But 65 percent of government IT leaders expect the number of mobile workers to increase over the next five years.

In order to support mobile workers, agencies are investing in secure remote connections (including virtual desktop infrastructure), encryption, automatic software updates, backup-and-restore technology, mobile device management, remote locking and wiping, and multifactor authentication.

Barriers to Embracing Mobility

Organizations face several challenges in fully embracing mobility, however. Chief among them are security concerns, which were cited by 56 percent of respondents. Other obstacles include lack of budget (52 percent), lack of technology infrastructure (48 percent), management resistance (29 percent) and cultural barriers (23 percent).

State and local IT leaders say their organizations can better achieve mobile readiness by enhancing IT infrastructure, offering end-user education and improving IT training.