The trend is increasingly moving towards mobile or hybrid workplace models. This development is also visible in local authorities, as mobile or location-independent working is becoming increasingly commonplace for employees. However, implementation is still lagging behind in many places.
The days of the classic office routine are long gone and home office and mobile working have also found their way into local authorities. However, many local authorities still face major challenges when it comes to implementation and the necessary digitalization. In contrast to companies, public authorities have longer procurement and investment cycles and have to comply with stricter legal regulations and security guidelines.
According to the study Future Panel “State and Administration” 2021, public authorities are aware of their need to catch up in terms of digitalization and have therefore introduced “internal administrative measures for digitalization”. at the top of their list of priorities.
Digitalization has its price
Another challenge for local authorities is to manage these additional tasks despite the tight budget situation caused by the pandemic. However, one thing is clear: without investment in IT infrastructure and the acquisition of a secure communication solution, digitalization can hardly be mastered. Without encrypted communication applications and company cell phones or tablets, employees are forced to use their private devices and insecure apps such as WhatsApp and the like. This so-called shadow IT needs to be curbed, as it poses major risks and dangers in terms of IT security and GDPR entails.
Local authorities therefore urgently need a suitable communication solution for both internal and external communication that combines security, ease of use and functionality.
The future of public authorities is mobile
In the future, the work of government employees will continue to be characterized by the increased use of ultra-mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets. These devices must guarantee secure and convenient working and communication. This means that they must have secure yet easy-to-use and intuitive applications that are ideally similar to the familiar Office applications. Otherwise, there is a risk that employees will continue to use WhatsApp and the like. So that government employees don’t have to carry two devices around with them, there are two other models to choose from in addition to the classic business cell phone: COPE (Corporate Owned, Personally Enabled) and BYOD (Bring Your Own Device). In the COPE model, the authority provides its employees with business devices that are also approved for private use. With a BYOD strategy, on the other hand, employees also use their private devices for business purposes. A strong trend towards the BYOD model can already be seen at municipal level. One of the reasons for this is that municipalities often do not have the financial means to equip their employees with work devices. At federal authority level, however, this model does not play a role. One reason for this is the frequent work with classified information up to classification level VS-NfD, which may not be edited on any device.
Strict separation of private and business data
As the devices are used for private and business purposes in the case of both BYOD and COPE, special security standards are required. Security regulations, such as the strict separation of private and business data, must be observed for the business use of an ultra-mobile end device. A suitable communication solution must comply with these regulations and all security standards.
Our future is mobile and employees in local authorities also want to be able to work securely and conveniently from anywhere. In order to meet this demand, employers need to provide their employees with a communication solution that enables them to work securely and conveniently on almost any ultra-mobile device.