Mobile and Wireless Technology in Government Sector

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In today's working society the need for relevant, up to date information which allows for accurate and appropriate decision making has become increasingly important. As technology has developed so have the expectations of customers.

The government's recent modernisation agenda has meant that local authorities are changing the way that they work and deliver services and information to their customers. By using modern technologies, such as mobile data communications, the government sector is opening up new opportunities for greater flexible working and information sharing between departments, partner organisations and customers.

Brand recognises that many local authority services are delivered by professionals outside normal office space, and in direct contact with citizens and the general public. So it is vital that such people have access to up to date information, precisely when they need it and wherever they are. This enables them to focus on the delivery of care or support, or needs assessment, or whatever they happen to be doing, and most importantly, to give better service to the person they are interacting with.

By using modern technologies such as wireless communications, the government sector is opening up new opportunities for greater flexible working and information sharing between departments, partner organisation and customers.

Facing the Challenge

One positive move in creating and maintaining excellence in quality of service is by adopting Seamless Roaming as part of the mobile data strategy.

New technologies such as Seamless Roaming, and new applications of existing technologies, such as GPRS, are being used in the search for operational efficiency to achieve mobile data from any location. New standards such as WiFi will help facilitate access to and the sharing of data for officers anywhere within the service, and prove to be a vital tool in all policing objectives.

The Technology

Brand's Apollo Solution, matured over 14 years of successful deployment, is making mobile data a reality for business-critical data applications using Seamless Roaming for organisations across the world. Providing a secure connection for the mobile user whilst travelling from location to location, it removes the uncertainty of using a wireless network to transfer vital information by transparently integrating GSM, GPRS, Tetra and WiFi networking with LAN environments, both within the enterprise, and in the field and provides automatic recovery from dropped connections without repeating a data transaction and assures that data is never lost, corrupted or compromised.

Brand's 'Seamless Roaming' offers mobile users the added benefits of high compression levels, fast packet loss recovery and dynamic switching between 802.11b, GPRS or other bearer networks depending on availability during the same transaction. The solution also has the capacity to aggregate bandwidth from different public carriers, or dissimilar communication bearer types.

Another major concern for government organisations would be the security of information and network security. Brand provides significant protection to the network and data by using authentication (AES Advanced Encryption Standard-3DES replacement) and encryption security which complies with all the standards.

Practical Solutions

Social Worker

A Social Worker is visiting a young family at their home. He /she needs to check the families' history whilst at their home to see when their last visit was. By using a handheld CE device and GPRS technology, the Social Worker is able to dial into the corporate LAN and access the families' records in a quick, reliable and secure manner. The need for paper based applications is eliminated, and the social workers job role is simplified, as he/she no longer has to type up daily reports upon returning to the office.

Environment Health Officer

An Environmental Health Officer is out on site visiting a nearby restaurant premises. The officer uses wireless technology to ensure that public health policies are being implemented efficiently. By checking records and certificates held on the officer's computer back at the head office. The officer uses a handheld Tablet PC, to log on to the database, and is then able to update the premises notes and log their findings.

Summary

Seamless Roaming represents an important step towards a new way of working within the government sector. Both the service and workforce benefit from the implementation of mobile technologies; as it makes the working process a more effective and efficient one. In addition, customer care is dramatically improved by information being available when are where the service is being carried out and insuring records are accurately updated.

Brand's solutions are deployed in many organisations across the world and specialises in implementing mission-critical wireless strategies. Brand's 'Apollo' solutions make mobile data a reality using session management. It removes the uncertainty of using a wireless network to transfer vital information and ensures compatibility with almost all data devices and networks resulting in a future-proofed investment for any government organisation, allowing access to all IP-based applications from the Headquarters or in the field.