Ireland’s Presidency of the EU Council of Ministers in 2013 looks set to herald a ‘bring your own device’ initiative, as the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation is seeking a system for managing mobile devices, such as tablet computers.
In a request for tender document issued yesterday, the department said it expects a “significant number” of its staff will be heavily involved in regular EU meetings both at home and abroad.
“A successful presidency will require those staff to be provided with the most effective and efficient ICT support tools, including tablet computers, to provide remote access to departmental email, calendar, documents and other ICT systems,” the document states.
The winning system must support Apple iOS, Android and Windows Phone, with the RIM BlackBerry platform listed as optional. The proposed system must also be capable of ‘sandboxing’ multiple email accounts so that content can’t be transferred between them.
Citing time constraints, the department says it wants a solution that can be implemented quickly but securely.
The tender covers the purchase of an MDM system, along with associated support and maintenance for a minimum of one year, and the contract will be renewable on an annual basis for up to four years at the department’s discretion.
The tender document lists three criteria for a successful bid: technical capabilities are the main consideration, with a 50pc weighting; total cost of ownership will comprise 40pc of the decision and 10pc of the final choice will come down to ease of deployment.
It won’t be BYOD across the board at the department. Based on the tender outline, around 50 devices will fall under the management of the MDM, whereas there are close to 900 staff employed by the department at its offices in Dublin, Kilkenny, Carlow, Sligo, Shannon and Cork.
The closing date for submissions is Wednesday, 11 July.
Mobile gadgets image via Shutterstock
