Organizations across public and private sectors are “migrating to the cloud” — but what does that mean and why should your public safety agency make the shift?
Moving to the cloud decentralizes your operational ability, helps ensure continuity in case of disruption, gives you access to more data and improves data security while providing cost savings. For Emergency Communication Centers (ECCs), the cloud offers the ability to become more mobile and effective.
RapidSOS offers cloud-based technology for 9-1-1 centers, delivering extra benefits and providing connections to life-saving data. Here are four reasons you should embrace a shift to the cloud:
1. The public safety cloud lets any agency, large or small, become data-driven
Legacy systems are holding public safety agencies back and preventing them from accessing or utilizing data in different media formats. A shift to the cloud helps 911 telecommunicators to harness the power of rich data, allowing them to receive critical emergency information in the form of voice, text, video and more.
The cloud expands possibilities for ECCs. RapidSOS provides partner data from over 400M connected devices to ECCs through our emergency response data platform. This data can be supplied in real-time to telecommunicators, enhancing situational awareness and delivering vehicle crash data, security alarm verification, vital health information and more to first responders to help them save more lives.
2. The public safety cloud is more secure
The cloud offers heightened security, a key concern for many local governments. When emergency and police responses are shut down a city or county’s population becomes uniquely vulnerable.
The cloud makes ECC operations and data safer, putting extra layers of protection between the agency and bad actors. The best secure cloud storage takes the strain off of on-site resources and can provide redundant back-ups, allowing for a swift recovery in case of a breach or ransomware attempt.
RapidSOS’s EDX solution is built on Amazon Web Services’ (AWS) GovCloud, delivering high levels of redundancy for 24/7 availability and superior security in line with strict federal requirements for regulated data. AWS enables RapidSOS solutions with best-in-class IT infrastructure deployment which is unparalleled in terms of security, updates, scalability, and geographic redundancy.
AWS provides a highly available, highly scalable platform optimized for the critical nature required of public safety applications. RapidSOS benefits from AWS’ preexisting network operations and security operations that enable data sharing across disparate platforms, uniting ECC operations by providing data interoperability.
3. The public safety cloud provides mobility in case of disaster
The cloud makes it possible for operations to be carried out by staff even when the base of normal operations is unreachable or unusable. Nothing is tied to a desktop or office, so services still work and people can be on duty even if they aren’t at the location.
In the case of a natural disaster, telecommunicators can log in and work remotely, maintaining continuity of emergency response services. RapidSOS allows your agency to have more mobility in case of network outages by continuing to deliver rich data via the cloud connection. One example is the 2020 Christmas Day Bombing in Nashville, TN. During the multi-hour outage that disrupted communication networks, dispatchers used RapidSOS to respond to emergencies.
4. The public safety cloud delivers considerable cost savings
Monetary cloud advantages include:
- A lower cost of ownership, since servers are virtual, meaning no costly capital expenditures.
- Reduced maintenance and operational costs since there isn’t on-site hardware to service.
- Minimized IT staffing costs since cloud providers provide for maintenance and configuration.
- The ability to reallocate the resources formerly used for the above purposes to other needs, like adding more staff.
The RapidSOS Portal is free to public safety agencies around the world. It’s a way to give your telecommunicators and first responders access to life-saving data without added cost, for superior outcomes.
The public safety cloud and RapidSOS
When you use RapidSOS, your public safety agency can begin leveraging rich data from connected devices. This additional data is delivered in real-time via the cloud-based RapidSOS Platform, enriching existing information coming through 911 channels.
The RapidSOS Portal delivers:
- Public safety-grade infrastructure that doesn’t require additional hardware or software
- Web-based access for continuity of operations during network failures and outages
- Integration with all major public safety software systems to simplify the product experience
Are you ready to start your cloud journey? RapidSOS can help. Contact us today to ask how cloud connectivity and RapidSOS can help your ECC be more data-driven, secure, mobile, and cost-effective.