Notice how slow the Federal Government has been to allowing iPhones and other similar devices

For those who think that government moves slowly, here is one more piece of evidence. From the Washington Post:

Citrix Systems and Juniper Networks are among the technology vendors that could benefit from a U.S. government search for ways to secure Apple’s smartphones and tablet computers for the use of federal employees.

Apple’s devices, along with those using Google’s Android software, are drawing interest from U.S. agencies responding to a workforce that increasingly wants an alternative to the Research in Motion BlackBerrys that have long dominated the federal market.

A shift away from RIM could require companies such as Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based Citrix and Juniper to furnish software and security to support wireless de­vices purchased from other manufacturers.

“It’s got to be a monster opportunity for infrastructure and security vendors,’’ said Daniel Ives, a senior vice president and analyst at FBR Capital Markets in New York.

Systems integrators that work with those vendors, such as Computer Sciences Corp., SAIC and Unisys, may also gain, said Tad Anderson, executive vice president of LRW Technologies, a Baltimore-based mobile-security provider.

Several federal agencies are exploring the use of Android-powered phones, and iPhones and ­iPads made by Cupertino, Calif.-based Apple. The Department of Veterans Affairs issued a query last month for a vendor that could control access and secure data for as many as 100,000 mobile-device users. . . .