2012 was a pretty big year, in terms of mobile and enterprise mobility. Look at just a few of the milestones that spring to mind in a quick mental review of the year’s biggest mobile headlines:

An old friend of mine tweeted that in the recent presidential elections, the biggest winner was Big Data. The implication is that the race for president – and probably many other lesser races, as well – went to the candidate that used technology most effectively. As ever, money was a huge issue, but perhaps for the first time on a national scale in the United States, tech trumped it.

In my opinion, Big Data wasn’t the only winning technology. Mobility was also very evident in the race. Both presidential candidates released mobile apps for supporters to track them in the polls, and each attempted to harness mobility to allow users to lend a hand to their respective campaigns. It was probably not a coincidence that, according to Pew Research results, traditionally disenfranchised youth and minorities – the voting blocks that came out most strongly in support of the incumbent — are more likely to have a smartphone, and to know how to use it.

A friend of mine was responsible for creating the BYOD pilot program for a Fortune 10, $50B healthcare company. In the process he learned several important and surprising lessons, which he has kindly passed along in blog form.

One lesson he learned is that the biggest cost in developing a large corporate BYOD policy rollout may not be directly related to technology or devices at all. In many cases, it’s the tab for lawyers and HR staffers to review proposed policies, and to develop the lengthy contracts employees ultimately need to sign to use their personal devices on the corporate network.

Originally Posted by Aaron Goldberg, Tablets at Work Blog

When we start to talk about using tablets in an enterprise, one of the first things that must be understood is that the tablets we all know and love are not industrial-strength designs focused on the needs of a commercial organization.  Rather, these are consumer-first products that have real limitations when it comes to using them for business.  And this isn’t just a hardware discussion, although there are some key hardware differences.

1.  Operating System

The first large difference that has to be addressed is the operating system.  And the operating system is dramatically impacted depending on what the tablet is used for.  Consumer tablets are for browsing, running little apps, games, and generally “light-weight” work. 

I get to talk to a lot of CIOs in my line, and I always enjoy getting their perspective on technology and change. I’m frequently awed by their intelligence and the sheer scope of their knowledge and experience. I’ve often been surprised by their backgrounds, as well. I can think of top CIOs who came out of college with degrees in Philosophy, Chemistry, even Zoology. None of them thought they’d end up running IT for a major agency or corporation. (Guess which one ran an entire State’s IT? See the answer below.*)

So it’s particularly interesting to talk to them now, as the world they grew up and carved out a career in begins to disintegrate around them. Some people are even questioning if there will be such a thing as a CIO role 10 years from now. The question isn’t that far-fetched: “Self service” IT is a reality now, with a complete range of custom IT resources readily available to any department or individual who decides to “go rogue,” while bring-your-own device (BYOD) is spreading through organizations like wildfire – regardless of IT’s official policy on the practice, one way or the other.

It’s one thing to make big investments in mobile technology and other IT infrastructure in an effort to enhance the academic learning experience. It’s another thing altogether to ensure that technology is actively and effectively applied. When mobile IT and infrastructure investments are not paired with solid professional development for faculty and other staff, it’s unclear whether upgrading an institution’s technology to embrace mobility will ever pay off.

That’s the lesson that many colleges are now taking to heart as they seek ways to ensure they are maximizing their returns on mobile investments. They realize they must make professional development a priority if they are to engage faculty and produce successful outcomes.

The following ideas can potentially help your university make the most of its mobile technology commitment and investments:

First responders such as police, firefighters and emergency medical technicians (EMTs) play a critical, highly visible role in state and local government service. In fact, they’re often the public face of government itself.

In the past, public safety personnel relied on clipboards, paper charts and files. Employees had to commute back to a central office to synch devices, and complete and file paperwork, and information was only accessible from mainframe desktops. To significantly improve service and increase efficiency, public safety departments across the U.S. have turned to mobile computing technologies like laptops, tablets and smartphones.

How should educators incorporate mobile technology into the college learning experience to achieve maximum student success?

It’s a question on many minds these days. While educators have grappled with this question in relation to online learning for many years, they are just now experiencing the “disruptive” effects of mobile technology on campus and in the classroom. While just 1.2 percent of college-age students used mobile technology in 2005, as of mid-2011, 88 percent of undergrads had a laptop or tablet computer, according to research from Educause and Pew Research. That’s a lot of change in a short period of time.

To control financial and human resources and reduce costs, most government agencies have standardization policies for desktop environments. Agencies routinely let their employees choose from a number of standard desktop hardware and software configurations.

In both the private and public sector, laptops, tablets and smartphones are well on their way to becoming indispensible productivity tools. As governments move toward the inevitable adoption of mobile end user devices, broadening existing standardization policies can bring many benefits to the mobile environment.

Bryant University is a student-centered university focused on academic excellence that prepares its students to achieve their personal best in life and their chosen profession.  As part of their ongoing commitment to innovation, Bryant launched a pilot program with Lenovo to focus on improving student learning through tablet PC integration.