Orchestrating Mobile Device Lifecycle Management for Census 2021

In preparation for the 2021 Census, ABS sought to strengthen end-to-end mobile device lifecycle management. The agency wanted to better support its administrative resources and field staff with modern technology and provide a way to safeguard this investment. In previous census projects, devices were often lost or never returned to appropriate depositaries for decommissioning and disposal.

ABS required a professional end-to-end program of mobile device management encompassing device procurement, staging, deployment to field, decommissioning, and buyback.

imei Professional Services held an initial workshop with key stakeholders to establish key requirements and ascertain the exact scope of the project. imei Managed Services with Telstra was then engaged to execute the project. This involved imei placing orders for 1,500 devices and SIMs from Telstra and taking charge of staging the devices over the life of the project. A project manager was assigned to align all aspects of the project and to take ownership of decommissioning and disposal services which had been a challenge in the past.

By working with imei Managed Services, ABS extended its capacity to support a robust end-to-end mobility solution for the 2021 Census project. Providing one point of engagement, imei coordinated device allocation and staging, configuration and enrolment, as well as managing the distribution to field workers. imei was also trusted to provide device fixes and troubleshooting support. At the end of the project imei orchestrated decommissioning and disposal, ensuring all devices were returned before wiping data.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) is the national statistical agency. An independent statutory agency of the Australian Government, it is responsible for statistical collection and analysis, and for giving evidence-based advice to federal, state and territory governments.