Currently, the majority of handsets allowed for use by Pentagon employees are BlackBerry models, but that could be about to change. During a press conference on Tuesday, Air Force Maj. Gen. Robert Wheeler, the Pentagon’s deputy chief information officer, said that the agency is about to go "device agnostic," and while the Pentagon is not about to change its policy to BYOD, it will allow employees to use an Android or iOS device starting in February 2014. Actually, any operating system that can meet the tough requirements of the Pentagon will be be able to be used by employees and so far that includes BlackBerry, iOS and Android.
Will you bring a Samsung GALAXY Note II to work at the Pentagon?
Right now, 470,000 of the 600,000 mobile handsets used by the Pentagon are BlackBerry models. You can expect a big change in those figures next year. According to a release issued by the Defense Department, the agency wants to make sure that its employees sporting mobile devices have secure classified and protected unclassified solutions using commercial, off the shelf devices to cut back on costs. At the same time, the devices should allow for personal productivity.
We've seen a number of corporations switch to iOS or Android from the BlackBerry platform along with some governmental agencies. The idea is to allow employees to use the same phone that they use at home to avoid the long learning curve that would be required for the use of an unfamiliar UI.
"The Department of Defense is taking a leadership role in leveraging mobile device technology by ensuring its workforce is empowered with mobile devices. As today’s DoD personnel increasingly rely on mobile technology as a key capability enabler for joint force combat operations, the application of mobile technology into global operations, integration of secure and non-secure communications, and development of portable, cloud-enabled capability will dramatically increase the number of people able to collaborate and share information rapidly."-Teri Takai, Defense Department chief information officer
Alan, an ardent smartphone enthusiast and a veteran writer at PhoneArena since 2009, has witnessed and chronicled the transformative years of mobile technology. Owning iconic phones from the original iPhone to the iPhone 15 Pro Max, he has seen smartphones evolve into a global phenomenon. Beyond smartphones, Alan has covered the emergence of tablets, smartwatches, and smart speakers.
Recommended Stories
Loading Comments...
COMMENT
All comments need to comply with our
Community Guidelines
Phonearena comments rules
A discussion is a place, where people can voice their opinion, no matter if it
is positive, neutral or negative. However, when posting, one must stay true to the topic, and not just share some
random thoughts, which are not directly related to the matter.
Things that are NOT allowed:
Off-topic talk - you must stick to the subject of discussion
Offensive, hate speech - if you want to say something, say it politely
Spam/Advertisements - these posts are deleted
Multiple accounts - one person can have only one account
Impersonations and offensive nicknames - these accounts get banned
Moderation is done by humans. We try to be as objective as possible and moderate with zero bias. If you think a
post should be moderated - please, report it.
Have a question about the rules or why you have been moderated/limited/banned? Please,
contact us.
FCC OKs Cingular\'s purchase of AT&T Wireless
Things that are NOT allowed: