Wearable technologies to boost Smart Mobile Government projects

By Rebecca Gibson on 03 September 2014

Wearable technologies to boost Smart Mobile Government projects

Wearable technologies will boost Smart Mobile Government (Smart mGovt) projects and pave the way for public sector-led internet of things (IoT) ecosystems in the Asia Pacific region, according to IDC Government Insights.

IDC’s Designing Tomorrow’s Smart mGovernment Landscapes Enabled by the Growth of Wearables and the Internet of Things report indicated that the IoT, context, instantaneous reach, privacy, security, technology readiness and wearables are the seven key components necessary for Smart mGovt adoption. In addition, Smart mGovt initiatives are driven by mission-critical and real-time solutions in functional domains such as public order and safety, transportation, healthcare, and social services.

In addition, the report highlighted that as mobile devices have continued to grow exponentially in the consumer space, several government IT departments have been challenged by shadow IT operational threats arising through bring your own device (BYOD) demands.

IDC predicts that although these governments will continue to face challenges regarding the usability, operational and security concerns of shadow IT, leading public sector agencies and private sector organisations will need to showcase the benefits of Smart mGovt solutions. Meanwhile, sceptical government IT departments will need to be reassured about the viability of Smart mGovt solutions.

According to the study, many public sector organisations and government IT departments will look to implement choose your own device (CYOD) policies to overcome the operational and security challenges related to BYOD initiatives.

CYOD schemes can help government IT departments to control the number of foreign mobile devices within the enterprise to eliminate shadow IT threats and improve security. In addition, they provide a way for public sector employers to partially satisfy employees needs.

“In the mid- to long-term, mobility solutions, wearables, and the IoT markets will see significant public sector uptake and growth once the adoption tipping point is breached,” said Gerald Wang, research manager of IDC Government Insights. “Meanwhile, solution providers and public sector end users who consider themselves early adopters of emerging technologies can consider a more granular and targeted approach toward Smart mGovt initiatives.”