Overview

Public services in the UK have been set a challenge: to transform. By 2011, public sector organisations must undergo a revolution in efficiency and efficacy.

The key to transformation is giving front-line public service workers, from police officers to social care professionals to maintenance staff to elected council members, access to the data they need to provide public services based around the needs of their “customer” rather than the traditional view from a single public agency. Providers of public services must have secure and continuous access to data and communications resources wherever they do their work.

Today, the technology to allow continuous access to data is available in a robust and proven commercial off-the-shelf format. A BlackBerry® solution is an “out of the box” end-to-end wireless data and email solution. The solution is approved by CESG, the government’s security authority, for use with restricted data. BlackBerry solutions are already widely in use in central government, criminal justice, local government, the NHS and other parts of the public sector and are helping transform the way that public sector organisations work.

A BlackBerry solution enables government employees to:

• Improve decision making
• Keep work moving forward
• Increase responsiveness
• Reduce administration time
• Access key information immediately at the point of need

For Government departments and organisations, a BlackBerry solution can:

• Achieve compelling ROI
• Improve organisational effectiveness
• Improve emergency preparedness
• Offer developed custom solutions

Government Case Studies

A number of forward-looking public sector organisations have already implemented the BlackBerry® Enterprise Solution and are reaping the benefits of secure mobile access to emails and mission-critical data.

Click the links below to see how:

• Royal Mail – Case study (PDF)
• Bedfordshire Police – Video (WMV 12.9MB)
• West Yorkshire Police – Case study (PDF), Video (WMV 8.7MB)
• Addenbrooke's Hospital – Case study (PDF)
• Oxford University Medical School – Case study (PDF)
• Gateshead Metropolitan Borough Council – Case study (PDF)
• Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead Council  – Case study (PDF)

Why BlackBerry?

A BlackBerry® solution is widely known in the commercial world as just a mobile email solution, but email on demand (including attachments) is only a small part of its capability. The technology is also ideal for deploying back-office applications to the front line.

BlackBerry® Enterprise Solution is a secure end-to-end solution for pushing data and email to rugged hand-held devices. As a tool for transforming government, its advantages over other mobile communications technologies include:

• ‘Out of the box’ solution. The BlackBerry Enterprise Solution, consisting of the BlackBerry® Enterprise Server, software and a wide choice of devices, is a robust and proven end-to-end system with no unpleasant surprises in pricing or facilities.

• Flexible and scalable. A BlackBerry solution can readily be configured to handle data feeds to and from any back-office system, as well as the familiar email application (and voice communications). When BlackBerry technology is embedded in a local area network, one infrastructure can provide access to multiple applications, for example housing, trading standards and adult care in the community. Of course, the organisation itself decides which user has access to which applications.

• Streetwise form. Public servants don’t generally work in first-class lounges. BlackBerry smartphones are discreet, rugged and unthreatening to clients. There is no waiting to boot up—and if a device is stolen or mislaid no sensitive data is compromised.

• Security. After extensive and gruelling tests, the Communications and Electronics Security Group (CESG), the government’s security authority, has assured the BlackBerry wireless communication solution for use by government with data up to and including the restricted security classification. This means that both the device and the data transmission are securely protected from attack. Unlike all other mobile technologies, BlackBerry solutions were designed with end-to-end security in mind.

• Single solution. A BlackBerry solution has an open platform which is easy to interface with the back office, allowing organisations to mobilise almost any application. A single BlackBerry Enterprise Solution can provide public facing workers with access to their core applications wherever they are—and senior managers with always-on email, too.

Security

Mobilise Restricted Data

After an intensive security evaluation, the Government Security Authority, CESG, has issued a final guidance document that assures the BlackBerry® wireless communications solution for use by government employees to handle restricted data.

With a BlackBerry solution, government and public sector professionals can securely connect to colleagues and operational data such as patient records, social services systems and the Police National Computer when on the move. CESG approval means that BlackBerry solutions can now be deployed with confidence by government organisations to provide mobile access to restricted data.

What CESG approval means

CESG's approval of BlackBerry technology for restricted data enables government users with stringent security requirements to deploy the BlackBerry® Enterprise Solution with confidence.

CESG is the National Technical Authority for Information Assurance. Following a fast-paced first phase of the evaluation, it has released guidance that allows government customers to start deploying BlackBerry smartphones to their mobile staff. The guidance covers email, attachment viewing and mobile data services.

Read the official BlackBerry press release announcing CESG's approval of BlackBerry solutions (PDF).

Download further details on CESG assurance for BlackBerry solutions and restricted data (PDF).

To see the international approvals and certifications for BlackBerry solutions, please click on the links below:

• Government Approvals
• NATO Approval
• Cryptographic Module Validation Program
• Common Criteria Evaluation Scheme
• Fraunhofer-SIT Security Assessment

Find Out More

If you'd like to know more about how CESG-approved BlackBerry® solutions can empower your department to achieve truly mobile government, contact our BlackBerry government team.