Tool aids workers on the move

Mobile government employees looking for a way to eliminate time-consuming

trips back to the office may find the answer in a wireless solution recently

announced from Ciber Inc., Sun Microsystems Inc. and Isovia Inc.

Sun, Isovia and Ciber developed the wireless case management solution

called mGovernment Case Management. It enables mobile federal, state and

local government employees, such as social workers and parole and probation

officers, to input case data, update files, receive alerts and respond to

requests while in the field, said Rick Bolin, Ciber's wireless national

practice leader.

Prototypes of the solution, which is compatible with any cellular phone,

smart phone, pager, personal digital assistant or Microsoft Corp. CE device,

have been tested by government agencies, and Ciber is talking to several

states and one federal agency about adopting it, Bolin said.

"Any agency that is leveraging mobile employees, whether they are in

the field doing inspections, certifications and investigations, or dealing

with land management and natural resources or law enforcement and public

safety," would be a potential customer, he said. "Any agency capable of

generating data in the field can benefit from real-time access from and

to their supervisors."

The mGovernment solution is available now from Ciber and its partners.

Pricing depends on the number of users and devices, but should range from

the "mid-$300,000 to mid-$600,000 [range] and up to $1 million," Bolin said.

Many states are nearing the end of their fiscal year but do have some

discretionary dollars at their disposal and are taking a "pilot first, full-scale

deployment second" approach to using the solution, Bolin said.

Darlene Yaplee, Sun's vice president for global integrators, said the

solution is not only a technological advancement but came from "an in-depth

understanding of what state and local governments are looking for in a wireless

solution and the implementation skills to pull everything together."

Ciber's Bolin said the next month should result in a number of government

deals being closed. "We're very confident in the stability and the security

of this solution...and in the next 30 to 40 days we should have a more robust

story to tell," he said.