Pierce County, Washington (Pat McCarthy, county executive), delivers essential services to residents of the second largest county in the state. The county has 3,000 employees serving 800,000 public customers, and it has 24 separate departments with different technology needs. Its diverse population lives in both urban and remote, rural areas. Layoffs and other budget pressures made it increasingly difficult to provide necessary services to residents.

Mobile technology has played a key role in helping Pierce County meet its mission despite a struggling economy and tight budgets. In February 2011, a pilot program was launched to see how e-tablets could help county leaders work more productively away from the office. Tablets proved to be a cost-efficient way for elected officials and management staff to stay connected and to be more productive.

The county, however, faced challenges when it came to deploying 200 new tablets, including how to safeguard sensitive information and control what apps could be installed. “Through a test run, we quickly learned that using the native device configuration tool was not going to be the best answer. We needed a mobile device management (MDM) system that could help monitor the new devices and from it, deliver better governance to our residents,” says Kevin Mattsen, system engineer for the county.

Technology staff investigated vendors and decided to partner with AirWatch, which helped staff members meet an aggressive deadline to deploy the tablets within 60 days. Staff can now remotely configure and monitor all the devices from a single web-based console. The company also provided enhanced password controls and the ability to remotely lock and wipe any lost or stolen tablets.

“What the tablet gives users is instant, on-demand access to an entire workflow wherever needed,” Mattsen says. “We configure the VPN to automatically connect so users can instantly get into their files. This is a critical function when your goal is being among residents and bringing government to them.”

One of the services that AirWatch provides is the internal application catalog that allows county technology staff to control what applications end users can download to their devices. The county also offers a store of approved apps, keeping users from downloading unauthorized apps. “The store gives users quick access to applications built in-house,” says Mattsen.

Not only does the catalog protect users from downloading unsafe or inappropriate apps, but it also serves as a central “store” for in-house apps. A number of these apps are used for emergency management and public safety, so it is important that officials can access them easily.

Pierce County is planning to expand mobile device services during 2013, including possibly supporting smartphones. The county also plans to develop more custom applications that will be distributed by the internal application catalog. One example is the award-winning damage assessment app that allows emergency responders to track property damage caused by a disaster. Mobile apps help this local government prepare for any emergency, from floods to earthquakes to possible volcanic activity on Mount Rainier.