Background and Vision
Mobile connectivity has been one of the biggest drivers of technological change over the last ten years – smart phone penetration is greater than PC penetration in both the US and most other countries around the world. The notion of having almost every citizen connected to the Internet at all times, with the ability to know their location, movement, as well as be able to record their environment, has re-made entire industries. And this mobile connectivity construct is expanding just beyond “smart phones” to the “Internet of Things,” including wearables such as watches and clothing to sensor-like devices in the environment. The County must look toward technology solutions that are not just compatible with this growing number of Internet-connected devices, but indeed take advantage of this mobility to create more relevant and more productive experiences – both for County employees and for residents.
Technology Projects
The County has recently redesigned and upgraded its website to be mobile-friendly while providing similar functionality to the full site, and the County is leveraging social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter which are mobile-enabled. In addition, SMC Public WiFi locations will be accessible through mobile devices. Internally, many of the application modernization projects as well as communication projects are mobile-enabled (and mobile-optimized) to allow County employees to access such applications anywhere from their devices. The County is also deploying a Virtual Desktop Infrastructure to support a growing number of remote workers.
Next Steps
The County will look to build mobile sites and applications to access more County services.
Other Resources