VA caps iOS device deployment, eyes BYOD

iOS device deployment at the Veterans Affairs Department remains limited even though the department has allowed iPads and iPhones since October 2011, said VA Chief Information Officer Roger Baker during a Jan. 25 press call.

Fewer than 1,000 iOS devices are currently at VA. Baker said it will stay under the 1,000-device cap until a mobile device management system is in place. "We're not bumping up against that limit yet," he said.

An October 2011 request for information on FedBizOpps revealed VA was looking to buy a system that enables the secure connection of 10,000 mobile devices to VA's network--eventually scaling up to 100,000. Baker said he expects an award in late Q1 or early Q2 and a rollout of the system later in Q2.

The department will not acquire 100,000 mobile devices, said Baker; rather, VA will adopt a "bring your own device," or BYOD, strategy to meet its mobility goal. VA will not allow personal devices until an MDM is in place and it has scaled out to accommodate 100,000 devices, he said.

VA is now working through the legal questions of BYOD, such as: "What are we able to do with that device, even though it's owned by the individual?" he said. VA wants to accept a wider-variety of devices through BYOD, but security is paramount, said Baker. Every device type will be subject to the same level of review as iOS devices.

"If it's on the [iOS device] its encrypted with FIPS 140-2 encryption...Otherwise you can view things through the access gateway on the device but you can't download them," said Baker.

Baker said VA is unsure what device will be most popular in 2 years and that's why it will not "bet on" one device over others through a major mobile-device acquisition.

While VA won't be "willy nilly" about the devices it brings on, "there is a tremendous business case" for mobile use by VA clinicians and benefits processors in particular, said Baker. For example, an application under development at VA's Washington, D.C. medical center, called "Clinic in Hand," allows VA medical records to be viewed on mobile devices, he added. The application runs on the iOS platform and therefore could not in its current state run on Android or BlackBerry devices.

"Our app development group realizes we're going to try to be as agnostic as possible, but there are things that may be in one device type that aren't in another device type. And it may well be that you've got an enhanced app in one area that you wouldn't have in another."

For more:
- listen to the press call

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