How Mobile Application Management Improves Productivity in the Public Sector

It's not just businesses that are attempting to create more productive workforces and cut costs through mobile application management (MAM®). The use of mobile applications is growing dramatically in the public sector, too. According to a study published by the Center for Digital Government, 90% of respondents believe the use of mobile technologies will help improve the productivity of government workforces. The potential benefits for government agencies that adopt MAM programs are huge – especially in the area of training. Most U.S. government, state, and local agencies rely on printed training manuals and techniques for job-related training, education, and recruitment. This adds up to billions of dollars in inefficient and wasteful costs each year. The use of enterprise mobile apps can dramatically reduce these costs while providing additional benefits to both government entities and workers. For example, mobile training apps that offer virtual learning and self-paced video can provide real-time updates of procedures and information while supplying recruits and field workers with state-of-the-art training capabilities in a medium they've come to understand and expect. Some federal agencies have already distributed multiple apps for government workers, as seen with the Army Marketplace enterprise app store. Still, many government agencies struggle with how to deploy an app that meets stringent mobile app security requirements. If an agency is able to work through security issues, mobile app adoption remains a stubborn challenge. For years, mobile device management (MDM) – which maintains control over an employee's device to ensure security, has been the customary practice for mobile management. But as government budgets continue to shrink, supplying federal employees with government funded mobile devices isn't likely. Another drawback with MDM is that it creates barriers for adoption, as many end users don't want to lose privacy and enable the IT department to wipe all work and personal data clean. Instead of buying mobile devices for government workers to use for training and other types of mobile apps, agencies can secure data and apps at the app-level with a mobile application management (MAM) solution. An app-level approach to mobile management can enable government agencies to avoid the legal concerns and adoption challenges associated with controlling employees’ personal devices. MAM allows government agencies to secure apps and data without interfering with employees’ personal data. For more information, read "App-level approach to mobile management" on GCN.