The ability to work from anywhere at anytime is one of the most essential elements for mission success for federal agencies. From State Department employees ensuring the safety of citizens overseas by tweeting the location of hot spots during this tumultuous summer to United States Air Force mechanics being able to reduce maintenance downtime windows by having access to manuals and ordering replacement parts from the hanger, the mission-critical opportunities opened up by mobility are significant.
However, federal agencies have, in the past, received failing grades for not only their willingness to integrity mobility into the IT playbook, but also in their ability to execute. So, it was refreshing to listen to agency leaders share their success, best practices, and lessons learned in a recent Federal Executive Forum conversation. Joining host Jim Flyzik and mobility specialist Chris O’Connell, Vice President of Public Sector, at Appian, were Jake Marcellus, Acting Portfolio Manager, Department of Defense Mobility, Jeff Hill, Deputy Division Chief of Mobility and Remote Access Division, Department of State, and Frank Konieczny, Chief Technology Officer, US Air Force.
The fast-paced conversation touched on many aspects of success, but perhaps nowhere was the change in perspective on mobility more evident than in how DISA is empowering classified workers to go mobile. The key to DISA’s confidence in empowering classified workers to go mobile is because they have put in place a well-managed process, including evaluation and feedback that has built confidence and success. The importance of good process was reiterated by Air Force CTO, Frank Konieczny who also emphasized that no mobility plan should be rolled out “without good infrastructure.” Jeff Hill from State added a further dimension to the idea of good process with a lesson from his playbook that “baking in security” is critical if you actually want to roll a mobile app, or other mobility solution out in a reasonable time period.
But while mobile policies and supporting and infrastructure are important, it’s just as important to provide end users with great applications that enable them to work smarter in pursuit of the mission. Jake Marcellus discussed DISA’s DOD Mobile App Store that is used with their Integrated Defense Enterprise Acquisition System (IDEAS) program. Chris O’Connell explained “DISA’s Integrated Defense Enterprise Acquisition System is a natively-mobile, cloud-based shared services solution designed to meet the contract writing and acquisition needs of the entire DOD procurement environment.” IDEAS was developed to promote acquisition agility and demonstrate how “rapid delivery, scaling, and utilization of secure mobile capabilities” can not only be accomplished in a complex organization but the benefits it brings in terms of streamlining process and driving mission success.
As Chris O’Connell pointed out this is an “exciting time for federal mobility” If you’re ready to take your agency mobile, why not listen to conversation in full so that you get off to a head start. You can access the recording of the conversation here.
