Microsoft UK Public Sector - Efficiency - Mobile computing: powering public service in the community

Public service belongs in the community, not behind a desk. Today’s technologies support workers on-site through suites of products devoted to connectivity, security and productivity. Sally Whittle finds many public sector organisations already reaping rewards.

According to the Future Work Forum, one in three UK workers does at least part of their work each week away from the office. Millions of working hours each day are spent working in the community, travelling to meetings and remote offices, or working from home.

It’s a scenario that’s especially familiar to anyone working in the public sector, says Nick Umney, a technical specialist working in Microsoft’s Public Sector team. “Today, very few people spend five days a week working at a desk in the office, particularly with the growing awareness of flexible and remote working,” he says. “The challenge is how do we enable those workers in the field, or at remote locations, to be as productive and efficient as they possibly can.”

One part of the solution is to deploy mobile technology to provide public sector workers with access to job-related information wherever they are based. The potential benefits of mobile working are certainly compelling: the UK government estimates the public sector could save up to £336 million a year through mobile working. These savings would be generated through reduced office costs, efficiency savings, service improvement and improved data quality.

“I agree that the public sector could benefit enormously from mobile working because for many roles, the ‘real’ work is outside the office,” says Rob Bamforth, a research analyst with Quocirca. “Providing access to IT on the move saves time, and therefore makes the individual more productive.”

For example, the London Borough of Sutton achieved 47% efficiency savings when it provided finance staff with tablet PCs to record the results of home-based interviews with individuals requesting financial support. Staff used specially designed forms on the tablet PCs to record vital details, and generated the required paperwork for an application on the spot. Computerising the process has reduced errors and also means the results can be processed more easily – a typical application can now be assessed in less than one week, compared to five weeks previously.

In Sheffield, 84 local councillors have been provided with handheld computers that allow them to electronically record requests and complaints from citizens, which are automatically sent back to the council’s contact centre. The system saves each councillor around three hours per week in paperwork and administration, translating into a major financial saving for the council.

However, achieving the benefits of mobile computing isn’t always straightforward and there are plenty of potential pitfalls, warns Bamforth. “Often the biggest challenge with mobile computing deployments is a lack of knowledge and a lack of planning,” he says. “If mobile computing is going to deliver the expected benefits, you need to have the right people using the right application, the right device and the right connectivity.”

Local authorities can access expert advice and support for mobile projects from Project Nomad, which has funded a number of mobile computing pilots in the public sector. Owned by Cambridgeshire County Council, the Project Nomad website also includes step-by-step planning tools for every step of a mobile computing project, and examples of existing projects and experiences from across the sector.

As well as taking advice, Bamforth advises organisations to spend time considering seriously what information is required, what will be done with that information, and whether it can be provided securely and cost-effectively. “Not everyone needs access to the full database or a high-speed wireless connection,” he says. “It’s important to think about whether you can provide a web-based interface with access to specific features or functions, and whether someone needs 3G access, or whether they could use WiFi or GPRS over a mobile network, for example.”

The South Wales Fire and Rescue Service use GPRS to send information wirelessly to firefighters responding to calls across its region. In 2006, the Service, which is one of the largest fire services in the UK, invested in a new online repository based on Microsoft SharePoint Server, which holds information about potential hazards held in buildings, as well as diagrams of building layout and fire plans.

The information can be securely accessed by staff using in-cab computers running Windows, which saves valuable minutes in an emergency, says Chris Williams, ICT manager with the South Wales Fire and Rescue Service. “The information is immediately available and it’s correct and understood first time, and staff are prepared for what they might face in any situation,” says Williams. “If it just saves one life, though, it will have more than paid for itself.”

One of the key advantages of mobile technology is the ability to deliver services in the field. For example, ambulance staff working in Cambridgeshire use mobile devices to connect to specific elements of the County Social Services social care system (Swift) over the internet. The system enables paramedics to contact care workers or relatives before a patient is admitted to A&E, saving a good deal of time and potential distress.

However, when handling public information, security is a major concern, says Bamforth. “If you’re handling public information, which might include sensitive personal data, then you need to be absolutely sure that only the right people can access it,” he says.

One way of protecting information is to use a secure access solution such as Microsoft Intelligent Application Gateway (IAG) to set policies governing who can access information. With IAG, it’s possible to define access according to specific job roles and even devices. “You can decide exactly what information specific people can see, what they can do with it – and even tailor that according to the device they’re using,” says Umney. “For example, you might decide that if someone is using a laptop running an up-to-date operating system and antivirus software they can see records, but if the antivirus hasn’t been updated, they cannot access personal data.”

In Cambridgeshire, ambulance staff accessing the Swift system only access a web-based application that holds a fraction of the total database – the complete database is behind a firewall and can’t be accessed or modified by mobile staff. Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust uses IAG to provide secure remote access to more than 3,000 staff. IAG means that radiologists can now access PACS images from home, providing immediate access to expertise and helping improve efficiency.

With the right planning and security in place, though, mobile computing has the potential to save millions in public spending, Bamforth believes. “If you can meet the challenge of keeping information secure, and managing the number of devices involved, then you can improve efficiency, reduce real estate costs, reduce energy and carbon consumption – with the right planning, there’s no reason not to consider deploying mobile services.”

Project Nomad

Learn more about SharePoint Server

Secure remote access with Microsoft IAG (Intelligent Application Gateway)

Brighton-based Sally is a leading IT journalist with many years under her belt at titles including Computing and Information Week. She specialises in the public sector, training and HR.