5 Reasons Why Your Agency Should Move to the Cloud

Many private businesses have adopted cloud computing in their operations in the past few years. Cloud computing in the public sector is now more widely gaining adoption too. Agencies spend large budgets on building and maintaining technology infrastructure only to be left with largely outdated and legacy software systems to manage.

Cloud computing enables your agency to securely access software on the internet as-a-service. Software-as-a-service is a widely accepted, safe way of storing and sharing information.

Cloud computing services fall into three major categories that include Platform as a Service (PaaS), Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), and Software as a Service (SaaS). You can choose any of these services depending on the needs of your agency. If you are unsure about moving from the traditional model, here are the top 5 reasons why you should move your agency to cloud computing.

1. Resources — The average sized law-enforcement agency in the United States is around 34 sworn. At this size, it doesn’t leave much room for a large IT staff, if any at all. Aside from that, building and running a data center is expensive. You need to purchase, maintain and upgrade the right equipment and hire IT technicians to install and manage the data center. When you move to the cloud, you only pay for the resources you use, and those resources are built, managed and upgraded as part of a low, predictable cost.
2. Reliability — Traditionally, capacity and breakage planning requires an IT department to keep additional servers, devices and software licenses “on-the-shelf”… and these resources may go unused. When running in the cloud, additional storage space or features can scale up on-demand, in minutes. Lastly, because the cloud provider has built infrastrucutre to handle scale for multiple agencies, the infrastructure is redundant and built for reliability with no downtime. Cloud computing services always plan for automated backup and fast disaster recovery.
3. Security — In most cases, storing your data in the cloud is more secure and more complaint (with standards like CJIS) than any physical server or data center. We have seen many physical servers that are secured only in a closet, if they are secured at all. Breaching the security measures on clouding platforms like the AWS GovCloud is difficult. “From Personally Identifiable Information (PII), sensitive patient medical records, and financial data to law enforcement data, export controlled data and other forms of CUI, AWS GovCloud (US) helps customers address compliance at every stage of their cloud journey”.
4. Functionality — One of the major benefits of cloud computing is mobility. A cloud-based public safety platform. gives your agency and users the flexibility to work from any location. Law enforcement and first responders can easily access data and complete their tasks from the field. Cloud computing enables you to monitor the activities of your agency effectively. Furthermore, a modern cloud service is often more likely to be open to integration with other cloud services, adding to the available functionality and value of your cloud investment.
5. Maintainability —Gone are the days waiting for the next patch, or waiting 18+ months for a major update. Modern software-as-a-service platforms update on a much regular basis. These updates are available automatically when deployed with no manual intervention from the agency or agency IT staff. Users can enjoy the latest features and the most current technology as it becomes available… usually at no extra cost. This is yet another burden eased on the already limited resources of a typical agency.

In any case, moving to a cloud-based software-as-a-service provider for your agency’s public safety applications should be carefully considered. There are absolute advantages to running your Computer-Aided Dispatch, Records Management and Mobile Dispatch in the cloud. Your agency should review several vendors and thoroughly check functional requirements and check references before proceeding. The lives of the members of your community depend on it.