The document discusses how the consumerization of IT is transforming the public sector workforce by allowing government employees to work anywhere, anytime, and on any device. It highlights opportunities like improved employee morale and increased work flexibility. However, it also notes challenges in ensuring cybersecurity, data security, and addressing legal issues with policies that have not caught up with changing technologies. The document advocates that agencies build flexible infrastructures that can support new devices and workstyles while still maintaining proper governance over data and systems.
The Impact of the Consumerization of IT on the Public Sector
1. The Impact of Consumerization of IT on the Public Sectorwww.govloop.com 1
Industry
Perspective
The Impact of
Consumerization of IT
on the Public Sector
2. HP Industry Perspective http://government.hp.com1
In this report, Bruce Michelson, DistinguishedTechnologist at HP, highlights how the
consumerization of IT is transforming the public sector workforce, and making the
ability to work anywhere, anytime, on any device a reality for government employees.
3. The Impact of Consumerization of IT on the Public Sectorwww.govloop.com 2
line operations. Government
employees want to use their
smartphones and tablets at work
for business functions across all
levels of government. This trend
is only increasing for IT depart-
ments, who are now looking at
ways to safely and securely pro-
vide the infrastructure needed to
support the consumerization of
IT.
The Digital Government Strat-
egy, which was released in Au-
gust of 2012, advises agencies to
safely and securely adopt mobile
technology. Federal Chief Infor-
mation Officer StevenVanRoekel
unveiled his vision for Digital
Government, and one of the key
mandates was the ability for gov-
ernment workers to be able to
work anywhere, anytime, and on
any device.The mandate is a lofty
goal considering the enormous
challenge of securing, managing
and protecting consumer devices
he consumerization
of IT is a trend that
has not been taken
lightly within government. With
the speed at which technology
changes, new devices, strategies
and technologies have emerged
in the workplace. For instance, a
computer in the early 1970s was
a device that could fill an entire
office. Today, 130 million Ameri-
cans carry around smartphones
with the same or greater com-
puting power of a 1970s com-
puter in their pockets. Not sur-
prisingly, those same 130 million
Americans want to bring those
devices to work and access re-
sources anytime, anywhere.
Not only have these new tools
sparked interest in transform-
ing the way society engages
and communicates, government
agencies are seeking to leverage
emerging devices for new busi-
ness efficiencies and to stream-
The Impact of Consumerization of IT
on the Public Sector
in the workplace, but the Digital
Government Strategy is an im-
portant step forward to encour-
age federal agencies to imple-
ment emerging technologies.
In light of policy shifts like the
Digital Government Strategy,
agencies are asking: how do we
implement these changes me-
thodically and responsibly, and
how will the consumerization of
IT continue to affect agencies go-
ing forward?
In this report, Bruce Michelson, a
Distinguished Technologist at HP,
will explore the changing IT land-
scape, offer insights on how the
consumerization of IT is forcing
agencies to consider Bring Your
Own Device (BYOD), and ex-
plain how mobility is transform-
ing the public sector.
4. HP Industry Perspective http://government.hp.com3
In many ways, the definition of consumerization of
IT parallels that of a Rorschach test - everybody
sees the ink blots in a different context. In this re-
port, Michelson defines the consumerization of IT
as “getting the back office IT infrastructure pre-
pared to be device-agnostic.”The goal is simple, or-
ganizations need to provide access to the end user
in a safe, secure, networked way. Michelson adds
that, “what defines consumerization is not BYOD
or mobility, but building an infrastructure that can
support BYOD or mobility.”
What is Consumerization of IT?
3 Opportunities with Consumerization of IT
“Thirty percent of people check their work email
before they go to sleep at night. A typical Facebook
user looks at Facebook no less than 14 times a
day,” notes Michelson. These statistics show that
the consumerization of IT is happening whether
organizations are ready or not. As a result, organi-
zations must adapt and prepare for this new reality.
This is not just because of perceived risks, but also
because there are noteworthy benefits that they
will want to leverage for business improvement.
Below are three opportunities that consumeriza-
tion of IT presents for agencies.
Cultural Impact
Budget cuts, pay freezes, and sequestration have
driven overall government employee satisfaction to
record lows.The Office of Personnel Management’s
annual Federal Viewpoint Survey found employee
satisfaction down five percent in the past year. One
way agencies have proven to boost morale is to in-
tegrate the consumerization of IT. Michelson adds,
“The perception that the end users get to choose
their own device, get to be agile, and get to use
cool technologies shouldn’t be underestimated.”
When so much of what is happening in agencies
these days feels as if it is out of an employee’s con-
trol, enabling personnel to select the kind of device
that makes them most comfortable and productive
goes a long way toward improving morale and mis-
sion achievement.
The agencies that scored the highest on the survey,
NASA and the State Department, both integrate
tablets and smartphones into their agency culture.
The ability to integrate these new technologies
gives employees a feeling of empowerment and in-
novation.According to the survey, only 31% of fed-
eral employees felt empowered to be innovative at
their agency, while respondents from NASA scored
over 70%. The cultural impact of these devices can-
not be overlooked.
Access - Work on the Go!
Field workers have often been saddled with cum-
bersome paper files and limited access to agency
data. The emergence of mobile devices enables gov-
ernment employees to stay connected anywhere.
Take the Air Force, for example. Last year they pur-
chased 18,000 tablets to replace heavy flight bags
with light and efficient tablets.The flight bags often
weighed more than 40 pounds and contained the
flight plan and other navigational materials. Now
all of the flight plan information is condensed into
one device, and can be easily accessed by Air Force
personnel.
Agility
The Census Bureau is one of the most diverse and
field-driven agencies in the government. Now they
are trying to connect their employees and the pub-
lic using tablets. The goal is to become more effi-
cient in collecting Census data. Census is develop-
5. The Impact of Consumerization of IT on the Public Sectorwww.govloop.com 4
3 Core Challenges Presented by the
Consumerization of IT
One of the things forcing the consumerization of
IT is Bring Your Own Device (BYOD). GovLoop’s
recent guide, Exploring the Role of BringYour Own De-
vice in the Public Sector, found that over 40% of feds
use their personal phones to access their work
email. That number is staggering since just a few
years ago most people wouldn’t have predicted this
ing new mobile applications so fieldworkers can
use tablets to collect information instead of filing
tedious paperwork. That is a new level of agility
for the agency, and will improve reporting accuracy
and efficiency. Michelson says this kind of agility is
key because then, “IT is not seen as an inhibitor,
but as an enabler.”
Those are three good reasons to welcome the
consumerization of IT; however, moving to these
innovative technologies does present risks. Three
risks are identified below.
would ever happen because of security and manage-
ment issues.Michelson says the typical end user,“will
access the IT infrastructure from four to five differ-
ent devices.”
This has led to many challenges for government
agencies. Michelson noted that a lot of agencies ‘just
say no’ to consumerization of IT. The problem is
that,“saying no doesn’t work because people will do
it anyway.” Rather than not allowing it, the best pos-
ture for an agency is to learn about resource needs
and current behavior,then adjust policies to account
for this impact on the workplace without compro-
mising security. That’s why it is important to identify
the potentials risks and build policies that address
them in advance. Michelson suggested that there
are three core challenges: cybersecurity, data secu-
rity and an undefined legal environment.
Cyber Security
One of the core challenges for IT profession-
als related to BYOD is retaining security. Agen-
cies are challenged to retain security because, in
many instances, technology has outpaced security
and governance policies by leaps and bounds. Gov-
Loop conducted a survey of feds who use BYOD
and found that 80% of respondents did not have a
formal BYOD program at their agency. This trend
cannot be overlooked and Michelson says the pri-
mary mission of IT is still governance. “You can’t
sacrifice governance because of an indiscrete trend,
you have to find ways to embrace it.” He continues,
“We are still managing from a governance policy
process procedure acquisition standpoint. Which
means that we are managing devices that didn’t ex-
ist five years ago the same way we manage desk-
tops and laptops. So there is no wonder there are
so many security breaches.”
Evidence that security is a core challenge for gov-
ernment is easy to find.The Government Account-
6. HP Industry Perspective http://government.hp.com5
ability Office estimated that cyber attacks on agen-
cies were up a staggering 782%. “All you have to do
is look at the headlines to know that government
agencies have been targeted by hacktivists.The only
answer is to step up our investment in governance,”
states Michelson.
The Obama administration has taken note of the
risks to cyber security, releasing an Executive Or-
der – Improving Critical Infrastructure Cyberse-
curity. The February Executive Order called for an
increased level of collaboration between the pub-
lic and private sectors. Another option to mitigate
risks is implementing tiered service levels.The tiered
service level security system means different people
have different levels of access on devices. For ex-
ample a senior executive may be able to download
financial information to a tablet, while entry-level
employees could simply access their email.Addition-
ally, a tiered approach is in response to the ineffec-
tive ‘one-size-fits-all’ security approach. Michelson
states,“It used to be thought that one size standard-
ization across an entire enterprise was the best deal
according to the cost-risk analysis. Now it’s really
user segmentation. It is alignment of devices, costs,
risks and service level.
Michelson stresses that this is a shift in both practice
and culture.“Everything we’ve been taught about IT
is standardization, standardization, standardization.
Now we’re being asked to do just the opposite.Now
we’re being asked to take risks and to do things that
aren’t in our DNA and from us in IT, it’s an extraor-
dinarily uncomfortable scenario but it’s one we’ve
got to get our arms around and move forward.”
Although cyber risks are a reality, agencies cannot
adopt a zero-tolerance policy towards personal
devices in the workplace. There are many benefits
to implementing BYOD, and defining proper gover-
nance policies is one way to protect against this risk.
Data Security
In 2009, the Department of Veterans Affairs filed
2.7 million medical claims. In April, the laptop of
one VA employee was stolen which compromised
the security of 7,000 Veterans waiting on disabil-
ity claims. One laptop equaled 7,000 security risks.
However, the risks don’t seem to be stopping the
desire for devices. Michelson notes that the very
devices from which people have their identity sto-
len are the ones that want to bring them to work.
So how do you protect the data while still ensur-
ing accessibility? “BYOD is a lot more complicated
than just taking the buzzwords and ‘make it so’, as
Captain Picard would say. It’s about building an in-
frastructure.”
Of course, the VA is not alone when it comes to
agencies keeping track of their devices:
113 cellphones go missing ev-
ery minute and 25% of smart
phones are lost or broken and
need a replacement every
12 months113
Two million laptops get lost or
go missing get at TSA stations
and 97% of them are never re-
covered2M
56% of us on a monthly
basis call our cells to figure out
where we put our cell phones
at home
56%
The key to perfecting an organization’s infrastruc-
ture is to prepare a short and long term ecosys-
tem. Michelson notes, “eco-systems are based
7. The Impact of Consumerization of IT on the Public Sectorwww.govloop.com 6
Michelson adds that the officers were given corpo-
rate-issued mobile devices, which basically means
that they were on call 24/7. Now the question is:
does that qualify for overtime?
This question is one of many in a rapidly developing
legal environment. For government agencies, they
must be cautious of the shifting legal landscape, and
understand the legal risks while implementing any
kind of initiative created from the consumerization
of IT.
The Future of Consumerization
The pace of technology is staggeringly fast and
there is no indication that it will slow down any-
time soon, so predicting the future is murky at best.
However, Michelson says,“Organizations are taking
a pause right now to reassess. There is more of
a holistic rush to build the backend infrastructure
because people have seen enough about BYOD and
consumerization to know that the old rules simply
won’t apply to the new technology.”
The trend of consumerization of IT is unlikely to go
away, and agencies must be ready and create infra-
structures that are device, service, and tool agnos-
tic.In doing so,agencies can leverage emerging con-
sumer technology to facilitate increased employee
engagement, new found business efficiencies, and
create a modern and agile government infrastruc-
ture.
upon what is required for a specific technology, not
focused necessarily on the business as a whole.”
When looking at an eco-system these might be
logical questions to ask:
What is the full investment required? Michelson
says, “Right now BYOD is not a cost saver. De-
vices at this point are companion pieces, so you
have to factor in the cost of the device, the cost
to secure it, govern it and exploit it.”
How long is this eco-system relevant?
Eco-systems need to have the same level of con-
trol that corporate owned devices have today.
Having an end user become a focal point for
governance seems to be an element worthy of
discussion.
Can the eco-system leverage existing invest-
ments?
An Undefined Legal Environment
If you are accessible anytime, anywhere on any de-
vice – do you get overtime if you answer emails
at 10 pm? There is a fascinating case right now in
Chicago that addresses this very issue. Chicago po-
lice Sgt. Jeffrey Allen filed a lawsuit in 2010 claiming
that the city owes him and fellow officers overtime
pay for work performed on department BlackBerry
phones.
The city gaveAllen a BlackBerry when he worked in
a unit determining which assets of criminal’s police
could seize. Susan Prince, an attorney with Business
and Legal Resources, says the deciding factor in this
dispute is likely to be the Fair Labor Standards Act,
which governs wage and overtime provisions for
American workers.
8. The Impact of Consumerization of IT on the Public Sectorwww.govloop.com 7
About GovLoop
GovLoop’s mission is to “connect government to
improve government.” We aim to inspire public sec-
tor professionals by serving as the knowledge net-
work for government. GovLoop connects more
than 65,000 members, fostering cross-government
collaboration, solving common problems and ad-
vancing government careers. GovLoop is headquar-
tered in Washington D.C. with a team of dedicated
professionals who share a commitment to connect
and improve government.
For more information about this report, please
reach out to Emily Jarvis, Online Editor, GovLoop,
at emily@govloop.com, or follow her on twitter: @
emichellejarvis.
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Phone: (202) 407-7421 Fax: (202) 407-7501
Twitter: @GovLoop
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emerging issues,understand their thinking,offer HP’s
unique expertise and insight, and describe the com-
pany’s positions. We are committed to active par-
ticipation in the global public policy dialogue in ac-
cordance with laws and our Standards of Business
Conduct.
As a leading technology solutions provider to con-
sumers, businesses and institutions globally, HP fo-
cuses on public policies that maximize the ability of
individuals and companies to innovate, benefit peo-
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As such, HP’s policy priorities are built on its two
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Environment - that support an economy based on
innovation as the key to sustainable growth.
We are members of national and regional trade
and industry associations in virtually every country
where we have a significant presence.
Additional information can be found at
http://government.hp.com.