Previous page: Wireless mechanisms
An even better scenario is the government outreach worker who can make a visit to a housebound elderly woman or to a remote First Nations village with a mobile device. This tablet or pocket PC can be loaded with software to fill in an application for a benefit, check the status of a claim or fill in a tax return.
These are the types of applications that would be a real improvement to service delivery for those who need it most. To do this, however, requires devices that access the "home" network through a wireless connection. There is of course the technical and business feasibility of all this to consider. Connectivity by fixed or wireless broadband in municipal areas is not a problem, although should that access be free, subscription or pay-per-use also needs thought.
What about the rural areas, where the "last mile" has been such an issue in the past? It may be that the arrival of Wi-Max proves to be the answer, while satellite broadband has also been available for some time now. Cost and reliability are two considerations, but these are not just the domain of the network provision. There is also the cost, reliability and availability of the devices needed and the applications to deliver the services.
Laptops are one option, but there are some reasons when a laptop is not the device of choice. Laptops are a target for theft, and potentially label the worker as a target too. Handheld devices, PDAs and tablet PCs are also possibilities.
Now there is the question of the mobile applications. Can the systems and applications used, for example to process claims or tax returns, be made available on the device? This answer has in many cases, and in other countries, been no.
It has proved difficult to take legacy applications and put a mobile version on a handheld device that can access the "home" system either in real-time or by delayed download. Front-end applications must be able to capture the information in a way that satisfies the business rules required by the back-end systems.
Check: Identity
That brings the next consideration: security and identity management. How to ensure the person accessing the application is who they say they are, or that the person on whose behalf they are accessing the system is who they say they are.
Governments in many countries struggle to have a "single view" of the citizen. This not only means making decisions about service delivery suffer, but also identifying that individual beyond doubt without resorting to manual cross-checks and other data points is difficult.
There is also the question of ensuring the connection is secure. Some governments will not even interact with citizens by e-mail as they cannot guarantee security beyond their own secure network.
Solving these challenges is not and has not been cheap. It brings us right back to the question of where and on what to spend the money to deliver the services that government is committed to.
It's about balancing the cost against the need to implement policy. And it's about being able to make informed decisions about which services to offer, by which segments of the community and by the most suitable channels. This means having a defined contact management strategy, followed by a sensible channel strategy, all underpinned by the data that enables informed decisions.
Sue Thomas is a government industry consultant for EDS Canada. Contact her at sue.thomas@eds.com
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