How to Navigate the Complexities of Mission-Critical Vendor Management

In Summary:

• Today's average public safety agency has more than 30 vendor support agreements to manage.

• Vendor support agreements have become more difficult to understand given their size and complexity.

• Public safety organizations are looking for strategies to help navigate the complexities associated with today's increasingly complicated vendor environment.

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It used to be much easier for public safety agencies to manage their vendors compared to a decade ago. At that time they were simple and easy to understand and they generally only involved the radio, computer-aided dispatch (CAD) and 911 call-handling system providers.

Pennsylvania Region 13: A Holistic Approach to Network Management for Less

In Summary:

• Region 13 Task Force in Southwestern Pennsylvania covers a population of 3 million people and 713 public safety agencies.

• The Region needed a cost-effective, yet reliable, network maintenance solution to monitor its IP-based emergency services Internet Protocol (IP)-based network (ESInet).

• MCP's provides the region with network maintenance and monitoring services from MCP to help them realize single-sourced, proactive and reliable network monitoring and maintenance, triage and support from one partner at the fraction of the cost of working with multiple vendors.

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Overview and Agency Challenge

Region 13 designed and implemented a regional, interoperable Emergency Services Internet Protocol (IP) network (ESInet) in 2012 with the help of Mission Critical Partners (MCP). A robust and complex network constructed of dark-fiber meshed from multiple vendors and microwave hops on a Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) router platform, the ESInet serves all 9-1-1 public safety answering points (PSAPs) and emergency operations centers (EOCs) in the region, as well as public safety radio and video applications. The ESInet’s mission-critical nature requires a network management and oversight solution that ensures the highest level of reliability and uptime while keeping operating costs manageable.

Florida County Gains 911 Network Visibility with MCP's Co-Managed IT Platform

In Summary:

• Lee County, Florida 911 officials were not satisfied with the network maintenance they were received from their technology vendors
• MCP provides ongoing IT support for Lee County via an online dashboard that is intended to provide a real-time network diagram and information on active alarms and ticket status, as well as reporting capabilities.

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Overview and Agency Challenge

Maintaining network up time during large-scale disasters like Hurricane Irma and during normal operations was top of mind for Lee County, Florida officials. Despite several 911 vendors providing 911 network monitoring services, Lee County officials weren’t satisfied with the level of service they were receiving. They sought greater clarity on network activity, more customization (instead of an off-the-shelf solution), and a mechanism for identifying current and historic network activities.

Next Generation 911: A New World for PSAP Network Maintenance

 In Summary:

• Next Generation 911 will improve emergency response dramatically, but will bring challenges that require new approaches and skill sets.

• Network and systems management will become considerably more complicated after an NG911 system has been implemented.

• Many PSAPs lack the IT expertise to adequately monitor and protect and NG911 system.

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On-Demand Webinar: Strategies to Mitigate Cybersecurity Risks in Today's Emergency Communications Center

In today's increasingly IP-based network environment, some of the biggest threats facing 911 call centers are unplanned network or application disruptions. These outages can be caused by hardware or circuit failures—or worse a targeted cyber attack—and gaps in support agreements and slow vendor response times can increase their severity. As a result, troubleshooting falls on the shoulders of PSAP management.

In this on-demand webinar, we discuss how PSAP network management is changing and how agencies must adjust to alleviate their risk.

In this webinar, you'll learn:

• Why PSAP leadership is becoming more involved and taking on more responsibility when it comes to supporting public safety infrastructure
• The critical factors impacting network reliability and continuity of operations in the PSAP
• Common mistakes that are made in PSAP network management, and how they can be avoided
• Key strategies for reducing the risk of cyber attack

On-demand webinar length: 45 minutes