NDL

Graham Baker, RIM

Our next interviewee in our series with leaders in the mobile marketplace is Graham Baker, Public Sector Sales Manager EMEA for RIM. He talks about some highly-successful mobile implementations which are making significant improvements to public services, and offers a prediction for the next big thing.

What’s your view on the current uptake of mobile working in the public sector?
There has been strong adoption of mobile working across most areas of the public sector, not just in the UK but Europe as well. And that’s because mobility lends itself so well to this sector, which is all about enabling frontline public sector workers to be more effective and efficient by providing access to key information at the point of need.

Public services have been ‘computerised’ for years, but this has created its own inefficiencies. Traditionally mobile workers out in the community have relied on pen and paper and have then had to come back to the office to input data. These inefficiencies are eliminated by introducing a mobile solution enabling them to access, enter and update data on the spot, while they are with the client, in real time.

The public sector has begun to realise the benefits of mobile working but it is pockets rather than cross-government, so there is still a long way to go until every public sector organisation embraces mobile working.

Which areas of the public sector have seen the most successful use of mobile working – and how are they showing greater effectiveness?
The most successful areas we’ve seen are both local government and criminal justice. As far as local government is concerned, there are lots of good examples of where a mobile solution has clearly introduced efficiencies. One example is the Direct & Care department of Glasgow City Council. Previously paper-based, this service now enables community care officers to access a full case history while out with patients so that they can better analyse a patient’s condition and also make more informed decisions. They can use their BlackBerry smartphones to respond immediately to patients’ needs, and view, enter and update data in real time. This is a fantastic example of increased efficiencies.

But when we look at increased effectiveness, mobility is also achieving substantial improvements when used imaginatively. One critical example is at Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge. It’s one of the leading performers of transplant surgery in the country, which is a high-risk procedure and very difficult to plan in advance. The time between the availability of a donor organ and the transplant itself is crucial. Addenbrooke’s has now mobilised this process, using BlackBerry smartphones to alert all involved, collect data and book the hospital facilities. The time from donation to transplant is therefore much shorter and thus procedures are more effective.

One final example of where mobile technology is making a real difference is with frontline police officers. Equipped with BlackBerry smartphones, many frontline officers now have secure and immediate access to data applications, including the Police National Computer, which allows them to perform routine administrative duties and undertake standard reporting procedures while in the field. This ultimately enables every officer to spend more time actually policing in the community, rather than returning to base to retrieve, report and file information.

What are the key barriers faced by the public sector when implementing mobile solutions?
Of course cost is always an issue, but in many circumstances it is easy to calculate a quick return on investment. We also asked J Gold Associates to carry out an independent study in 2008 which showed there are two other key issues. These are firstly security, and in particular the danger of having sensitive operational data on a mobile device; and secondly lack of knowledge and not knowing where to go for advice.

Security is obviously a huge issue. We’re talking about highly-sensitive information. The only way the public sector can ensure its data will be protected to the necessary levels is to buy a solution which has been verified by an independent third-party security tester under the CESG scheme – this is the benchmark of stringent security.

As far as where to go for knowledge and advice, local authorities need to capitalise on and learn from the experiences of their colleagues who are already doing great things. Let’s take trading standards as an example: there are 240 councils in the UK with a trading standards function. They should all take on board the highly-successful mobile roll out at the Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead (RBWM), within its trading standards licensing department. Through visionary leadership, they have successfully grown NDL’s mobile solution from alcohol licensing to taxis. RBWM is also looking to develop mobile access capabilities for other departments in the near future.

Apart from security, are there any other key differences faced by the public sector?
The other key difference is the way the public sector can choose the suppliers from whom they buy products. It needs to demonstrate best value and is tied to framework agreements. But these are dominated by the main suppliers, while many of the best solutions are from the smaller niche and nimble players who don’t have access to these framework agreements. The public sector is often prevented from buying the right solutions: it’s a frustrating situation.

What do you think is the next big thing in public sector mobility?
I think it will be presence: determining where people are at that precise moment and using that information to direct their activities. We’ll see far greater use of GPS, sending pertinent information out to officers based on their location. This will enable quick response to immediate needs: it will not only drive efficiencies but also make services more effective.