Social Computing on Cell Phones

Mobile phones are becoming the most important device a consumer owns. With new applications being built daily by a developer community utilizing the rich operating system on these devices, a mobile phone user’s persona—applications, pictures, videos, music, emails, bank info, credit card information, PIM—become more valuable. We need to think very differently about phones – how we secure them, what applications we run on them, how we use them at home and work, and how we manage them.

DoD can provide mobile phones  because they can see benefits for the deployed troops. Simultaneously, more employees are purchasing powerful personal phones and are frustrated by IT not allowing warrior operated devices not to connect to the public Internet. Rather than carry two phones, the troops should be able to do social computing (whenever bandwidth is available).

DoD could securely deploy NIPRNET communications alongside personal social computing in a managed environment, enabling soldiers to carry a single mobile phone.