Like any other government agency, New England police departments are forced to face the reality of reduced budgets. As a result, many have decided to make cuts to their IT departments by reducing staff and purchases so they don’t have to decrease expenditures to line items, such as police officers and traditional police equipment.

However, research indicates that while some departments have cut their IT investments and staffing, others have increased their investments in IT. Putting money into IT can serve as a force multiplier, increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of the department. The truth is, police departments can find cost-effective IT solutions in a number of areas that allow them to save money while still keeping their technology current. Below are some solutions that can help New England police departments achieve this goal.

Cloud services

By moving infrastructure, data, and applications to a trusted cloud vendor, police departments can find substantial savings just like businesses do. Without the need to purchase hardware and other resources, more money remains in the budget. Moreover, the added benefit of utilizing the vendor’s specialized experts to manage these solutions means lower costs to train and hire new, high-salaried staff.

Managed backup

Any organization that deals with data is required to have an effective backup and recovery solution. The problem smaller departments face is they don’t have the staff to dedicate to this resource. If not done properly, data loss is a real possibility. If, however, a managed service provider handles backup solutions, IT resources can focus on other projects and still enjoy the assurance that their data will be there, should they need to recover it.

Networking and infrastructure

Networking technologies have grown increasingly complex with redundant systems required to reduce outages, load balancers needed to handle increased traffic to mission critical systems, and even server and desktop support becoming more complicated than the old adage, “Have you tried turning it off and on again?” Finding a managed services partner means police departments gain a highly skilled staff member who is experienced with the workings of these increasingly complex systems. Having one on hand to help plan, manage, and troubleshoot your network and infrastructure not only provides up front savings, but also helps decrease costs by preventing issues that could bring systems to a halt.

Security

Attractive targets to cybercriminals, government agencies not only store large amounts of personal information, but are also considered low hanging fruit by the more sophisticated attackers. The problem with security is that it can be very expensive. Security professionals are among the most highly trained and highly paid IT staff. Furthermore, technical security controls are not cheap. Therefore, having the right solutions in place can help substantially lower this cost. Knowing what is needed, what is duplicated, and what is ineffective in the security marketplace prevents wasted dollars.

Investing in a Solution

While New England police departments could reduce their IT budget in many ways, not all of the options constitute the best decisions. Having a trusted partner who understands the unique needs of law enforcement agencies helps make sure the right IT solutions are put in place so money is not wasted. Moreover, a managed services partner provides support in other realms as well. With the right partner at your side, you not only have a team of professionals to help manage your technology initiatives, but also the contacts to help you find the best discounts available to your department.