Who Pays for Government Employee’s Smartphones? [MetaFAQs]

Public entities have a different mandate than private companies, and yet in many ways aren’t that different from most employers.

Their choices for technology devices and services include off-the-shelf products designed for both commercial and consumer users, whether in Government or private enterprise.

Do Government employees use personal smartphones for work?

The vast majority (91%) of Government employees pay for their own phone service, and most (87%) paid for their own Smartphone. This is not substantially different than employees in private industry.metafacts-metafaqs-2016-10-24_07-48-37
Also, the BYOD policies for Government employees aren’t unique, with most employers allowing any type of mobile phone for work-related use, 38% of Government employees and 43% nationwide.

This is based on our most recent research among 7,336 US adults as part of the Technology User Profile (TUP) 2016 survey. In this MetaFAQ, Government employees include those working in local, state, or federal Government.

This MetaFAQs research result addresses one of the many questions profiling active technology users.

Many other related answers are part of the full TUP service, available to paid subscribers. The TUP chapter with substantial information about Government employees is the TUP 2016 User Profile Chapter.

These MetaFAQs are brought to you by MetaFacts, based on research results from their most-recent wave of Technology User Profile (TUP).

For more information about MetaFacts and subscribing to TUP, please contact MetaFacts.

Which industries use the newest or oldest versions of Windows? (MetaFAQs)

Some industries tend to be the first to adopt new information technology, while others tend to be laggards. Others leapfrog over each other, coordinating massive efforts to get current and compliant with the latest technology, only to have it outpace their initiatives.

One telling measure is the version of Operating Systems on employee’s Work PC.Windows OS Versions on Work PCs by Industry MetaFacts mq0664

Nearly three-quarters (73%) of employees in Government are using PCs with Windows 8 or older. This ranks Government as last. Furthermore, nearly two-thirds (63%) of Government employee’s computers are using Windows 7 or older.

The 2nd and 3rd-ranked industries as OS Laggards are Finance, Insurance, Real Estate and Higher Education.

In the decades of our research, we’ve seen that some industries perennially behave different than others, specifically Government and Education. These have their own seasons when they are are buying and when they aren’t. Also, these particular industry often have a more centralized approach to acquiring and managing tech products and services than many other industries. Also, higher educational institutions in the public eye have a fiduciary responsibility to the public that encourages transparent cost-justification and longer life cycles. Other industries often invest in the newest technology as a competitive advantage.

We don’t expect any industry to change overnight due to release of technology. Inertia itself doesn’t change quickly. Instead, we expect technology companies such as Microsoft to continue adapting their vertically-focused efforts to help guide these industries into the future.

About this MetaFAQ

In addition to profiling the operating systems and PCs of employees, many other related answers are part of the TUP service, available to paid subscribers. One section of TUP 2016 which includes extensive results about printers, printer users, and printing activities – the TUP 2016 Printers chapter. This is one of more than a dozen chapters in the entire TUP 2016 study.

These MetaFAQs are brought to you by MetaFacts, based on research results from the most-recent wave of TUP/Technology User Profile.

For more information about MetaFacts and subscribing to TUP, please contact MetaFacts.