Friday 2nd November, 2012

An early finding from Socitm's IT Trends 2012/13 research, cited in the briefing, suggests that nationally, some 20% of local authorities are either investigating or running a pilot for ‘bring your own device’ (BYOD).

The briefing by Socitm addresses whether BYOD schemes offer a ‘one-hit’ solution to falling budgets, or should public service organisations need to step back before embarking on a BYOD programme.

Pioneers including Surrey CC and the Essex Online Partnership, with a number of other councils have implemented BYOD formally, with many more allowing employees casual use.

The briefing points out that BYOD is not just about employees using devices such as their smartphone, tablet or laptop, but extends to use of their favourite applications in the workplace, including third party collaborative working applications, 'cloud' apps that might be used for storage and sharing, and social media.

Chris Head, briefing author said: "With demands from senior managers and politicians to connect their newly acquired smartphone or tablet, or in response to the need to provide up-to-date equipment to run supported versions of office software despite budget cuts, ICT managers are under pressure to embrace BYOD"