U.S. Government Pursues Mobile Management Platform

The General Services Administration wants to establish a platform for mobile devices and applications that would be applicable across all federal agencies. It’s one part of the Digital Government Strategy laid out by the Obama White House.

Setting up a bring-your-own device (BYOD) model could be in the cards. The BlackBerry long a Washington favorite has fallen out of favor as more people gravitate toward Apple’s iPhone and the bevy of Android options available. Until recently, BlackBerry’s Enterprise Server didn’t support other mobile operating systems, Information Week noted.

The GSA wants a platform that is heavy on security and can support upward of 10,000 devices. More specifically, the agency wants it to have monitoring tools; security and compliance reporting; ID card support, device provisioning and more.

In newly released procurement documents, the GSA draws up a number of scenarios for a potential platform that include both agency-issued devices and BYOD policies. It also tackles what to do in case a phone is lost or stolen, how to intervene when there is a security problem, how new applications should be delivered, etc.

Follow senior online managing editor


@Craig_Galbraith

on Twitter.