The landscape of technology is ever-changing. What once was in the background is now front and center for many organizations. In addition, technology has moved past being a one-way data flow for users and is now far more interactive. The result is organizations are spending more and more time on their technology infrastructure and applications, and less time on their primary mission. While technology-skilled staffing needs increase, organizations are finding it increasingly difficult to keep up with newer technologies that are supposed to help them. What was thought to be a boost to an organization’s capabilities has quickly become a liability.

Managed Services can provide the solution needed to leverage technology to its fullest without sacrificing the primary mission. By entrusting the responsibility of management for an organization’s technology infrastructure, they can instead focus on their core goals while reducing resource and financial overhead. An organization gains the benefit of skilled resources, streamlined support services, research and development tailored to their needs, and smoother operations without needing to pivot into areas they are not as familiar with. However, it is important to determine whether a Managed Services provider is a good fit for the organization. Especially in the law enforcement community, granting control of the technology infrastructure to an external provider is an important decision that warrants the highest level of scrutiny.

There are many points to consider when selecting a Managed Services provider. Though this is not a comprehensive list, it can provide a good outline for what to look for in a provider as it pertains to the law enforcement community.

• CJIS Expertise: This is the most important element to look for in a provider. Without sufficient CJIS expertise, a provider will not be able to effectively manage an organization’s environment to the compliancy levels required by the CJIS Security Policy. The provider will need to submit to background checks and security awareness training amongst other policy requirements regarding access to the organization’s technology infrastructure. A provider with the proper expertise will know what is needed prior to engagement and will be ready to start quickly with the proper toolsets and knowledge.

• Technology Compatibility: With the vast array of technology platforms available, it is important to find a provider that has expertise in the specific platforms in use by the organization. The provider should perform a review of the environment and provide the necessary credentials to show their level of expertise with the technologies in question. This should include switches, routers, firewalls, servers, virtualization, cloud services, operating systems, applications, and more.

• Support Capabilities: Any selected provider should have clear support paths for initial contact and escalation. A support helpdesk that is available 24 hours a day should be a requirement and so is an escalation path that will allow for expedited service in case of an emergency.

• Communication: Outsourcing an organization’s technology infrastructure should not result in a silo. The provider should be in constant communication: providing status updates, engaging in project progress, troubleshooting, root cause analysis, and pro-active monitoring. Documentation should be provided for all environments managed to the organization as well as policies and reporting. It is imperative that a provider be able to perform at this level of communication to ensure the organization is aware of what is happening within their infrastructure.

Leveraging a Managed Services provider should result in less overhead for the organization. The provider should be responsible for the lifecycle of technology projects, which can be broken down as follows:

• Research: The provider should engage with the organization on any needs based on their review of the environment and any upcoming projects. At this stage, the provider will utilize their expertise to research solutions that meet the needs of the organization while remaining cost-effective.

• Recommend: Once a solution or solution options have been developed, they should be presented to the organization. The recommendation should document the need, how the solution meets that need, any additional requirements that will need to be implemented for the solution, and a complete breakdown of up-front costs as well as any ongoing costs associated with the solution.

• Procurement: Some Managed Services providers are also re-sellers and can have a value-add for procurement purposes. Whether purchasing through the provider or another vendor, the provider should be involved, where appropriate, to assist in any technical questions and to review quotes and orders to ensure accuracy.

• Deployment: The provider should be responsible for any physical installation where applicable and allowed. For software, cloud, or virtual solutions, the provider should also be responsible for all installation and configuration. Regular updates and milestone completions should be provided to the organization during the deployment process. Documentation and training should also be provided, once completed, where needed.

• Administration: Once deployed, the provider should take ownership of the solution and manage any updates, modifications, patching, and general upkeep, providing additional documentation, where applicable, and keeping the organization informed of any changes following a standard Request for Change process.

• Support: As the solution owner, the provider should now be the first point of contact for any issues with the solution, providing troubleshooting and root cause analysis. They should be responsible for engaging vendor support when needed and be timely in their responses to the organization, providing updates regularly.

• Decommission: At some point in time, the solution will age out due to vendor support, newer solutions, or because it is no longer needed. In this case, the provider should be responsible for transitioning away from the solution, retaining any required data, wiping configurations, and disposing of any hardware in a CJIS-compliant manner with documentation provided to the organization. This is the final stage of a solution lifecycle.

Managed Services can be the answer to many organization’s questions around technology if they meet the needs of the organization and understand the lifecycles they are responsible for. The ability to unburden technology management from their operations can free up monetary and staff resources to focus on their primary mission. Within the law enforcement community, this can be a major boost to their core services. Whether an agency or a law enforcement-adjacent private corporation, technology can transform operations and provide more robust services that ultimately serve the primary mission. With Managed Services, those benefits can be realized without the monumental effort to figure it out alone.

To learn more about Nlets Managed Services, contact Nlets today.