The federal administration will purchase 300,000 Apple devices by the end of 2027. This was announced by the IT distributor Bechtle, which has concluded a corresponding framework agreement with the procurement office of the Federal Ministry of the Interior (BMI). The project is budgeted at around 770 million euros if it is fully utilized. iPhones, iPads and devices with accessories must use the iNDIGO (“iOS Native Device in Government Operation”) platform, which should allow confidential content up to the “For Official Use Only” (VS-NFD) status (stored on the hardware) to be kept or changed.
Advertisement
Materna on board
Bechtle is involved in this project Universal Provider. In addition to the device set-up, the company also has to deliver protective cases and “service pens”, i.e. the Apple Pencil, to federal employees. Bechtle also provides user support. The project is located in the company’s system house in Bonn, as they have been “working in the government sector there for many years.” Materna was selected as the service partner for the implementation of iINDIGO.
By providing a common device platform, BMI says it wants to create “the basis for even more efficient mobile collaboration between all employees of the federal administration.” State Secretary Markus Richter said, “At the same time, we are setting a high security standard that meets all the requirements of administrative work from a technical and organizational point of view.”
Indigo with BSI-OK
iINDIGO is still hardly known outside administrative IT. It is said to offer “a comprehensive combination of built-in security features, regular updates, hardware-based encryption and strict privacy policies”. The Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) released the platform for VS-NFD.
The system is based on MDM profiles and other measures and aims to ensure that officials can work securely on iPhones and iPads. Special applications are approved for this. For example, users need their own browser apps such as the one developed by Marterna “TrustOwl”. The system is already present from iOS 15.1 or iPadOS 15.6.1. Apple guarantees highly secure use per device for up to six years, As service provider Egilimo writes,
(B.Sc.)
