System Center Configuration Manager Brings York Region Police Closer to the Community
Canada’s sixth-largest municipality and home to 1 million residents, Southern Ontario’s York Region relies on its law enforcement agency, York Regional Police, to keep the community safe. York Regional Police needed to ensure its 200 cruisers equipped with mobile workstations had access to secure intelligence and the latest geographical and e-ticketing applications. York Region Police also needed a centralized IT solution that would automatically push the latest applications and security updates to police cruisers. Working with Microsoft® Gold Certified partner LegendCorp, York Regional Police deployed Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager 2007. As a result, police officers no longer have to bring their patrol cars into the station to install the latest security patches. They also have access to updated community maps and can issue e-tickets from their mobile workstation – allowing them to spend more time in the community.
Situation
York Region, part of the Greater Toronto Area, is Canada’s sixth-largest municipality consisting of nine joined municipalities and 1 million residents. This expanding community relies on its police force - York Regional Police – to keep it safe. Each day the region’s 1,300 officers work selflessly to assist people in crisis situations. Part of York Region’s commitment to always be there for those in need includes keeping its fleet of 200 patrol cars on the road so they can quickly respond to calls for help.
Information is critical to the organization’s ability to serve the community, which is why it has equipped its cruisers with laptop-based mobile workstations that contain all applications and network connectivity an officer needs to perform their job. Officers need reliable access to up-to-date geographical information, e-ticketing applications and current intelligence. However, York Regional Police’s existing IT system had limited flexibility and lacked the ability to deliver security and application updates remotely, which resulted in police officers spending more time in the station and less time on the streets helping the community.
“Technology is one of the tools that can help keep our community safe. Mobile video in police cruisers and making information available to officers regardless of where they are located are just a few examples of how we are using and planning to use technology today and in the future,” says Nick Mohamed, Assistant Manager, IT, York Regional Police. “However without the ability to remotely update software, cars had to be taken off the road to be serviced. We needed a less disruptive way of managing IT maintenance and updates so that our officers could spend their valuable time in the field.”
The existing system also put a significant strain on the organization’s technology resources. The IT department spent a lot of time coordinating security updates and up to three IT specialists would be needed to manually roll them out to the cruisers and across the organization’s desktop environment. In addition, with close to 1,300 officers, York Regional Police found it difficult to keep track of its software and hardware assets.
“We wanted to deliver higher levels of support to our mobile workforce and implement a stronger disaster recovery system, which would enhance York Regional Police’s ability to serve the public,” says Mohamed. “In order to do this we needed to centralize our infrastructure and gain greater visibility into network activity. This would help us work more effectively.”
Solution
York Regional Police turned to Microsoft® Gold Certified partner LegendCorp to help standardize its application processes and give the IT department better control and visibility into its infrastructure.
“The IT team was spending significant time manually rebuilding laptops and needed to better integrate various systems and increase operational efficiency,” says Andy Papadopoulos, president, LegendCorp. “We recommended Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager 2007 as it can quickly push the latest security and application updates remotely. The singular interface also provides a complete image of the system and its activity - providing the transparency that York Regional Police needed.”
LegendCorp first demonstrated the capabilities of Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager 2007 in a test lab environment in early November 2007. Within five days, the IT team felt confident with the test results and decided to fully implement the solution across the organization.
Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager 2007 (SCCM) delivers powerful capabilities that enable York Regional Police’s IT department and Technical Support Unit (TSU) to assess, deploy and update servers and mobile devices. The Software Distribution tool, which is a part of SCCM 2007, simplifies the complex task of distributing security updates and applications to the cruiser workstations.
“By implementing Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager 2007, York Regional Police’s IT department can focus on application enhancements rather than manually pushing out updates. The familiar Microsoft interface and simple-to-use commands meant minimal training and support for the IT team, which has put a lot of time back into their hands,” says Papadopoulos.
Benefits
Since deploying Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager 2007, York Regional Police’s IT team has reduced the time it spends manually pushing out security and application updates. As a result, police officers can spend more time on the road helping the community. The ability to have an in-depth view of the network has also helped enhance the security and stability of the IT environment. In addition, York Regional Police has been able to strengthen its disaster recovery capabilities, ensuring officers have access to the information they need, even in times of crisis.
Fewer manual tasks
By implementing the Software Distribution feature within Configuration Manager, York Regional Police has simplified the complex task of distributing applications and updates. The reduction of manual touch points also means patches, updates and new applications are delivered to vehicles faster. “The York Region community is growing rapidly, and new street names are being created all the time as new developments are built. We can now update this data in the cruiser workstations, ensuring our officers have the most up to date geographical information when responding to a distress call,” says Mohamed.
In addition, when officers access the e-ticketing application and swipe driver’s licenses, the data collected is automatically backed up to the main network, helping to reduce dependence on paper. It has also reduced the need for data re-entry. Officers no longer need to return to their divisions to finish their reports. Instead, they can work directly from their mobile workstations.
Increased control
The new solution also provides York Regional Police with better asset intelligence and, in turn, better control over its IT infrastructure. By translating and compiling inventory data into a single report, IT managers can easily optimize their hardware and software usage and take action when necessary.
“Getting that in-depth look into the network lets us proactively manage configurations and updates and push out applications instead of waiting until it becomes a problem,” says Mohamed.
Stronger disaster recovery plan
Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager also helps York Regional Police quickly make adjustments in times of crisis. The system’s failover capabilities let the organization deal with increased demand and make any necessary system changes.
“In policing, time is of the essence. It’s all about how quickly you can recover your system if it fails. With the new tool we can react and reconfigure almost seamlessly. The insight we have now enables us to be constantly aware of the system’s status and be proactive about troubleshooting,” says Mohamed.
York Regional Police is seeing tremendous value from System Center Configuration Manager 2007 and, working with LegendCorp, has plans to expand its use of security management tools by introducing Microsoft Forefront™ Client Security. Forefront provides unified protection and anti-spam capabilities, giving organizations another layer to help protect their networks.
“We are thrilled with the flexibility and control that Configuration Manager 2007 has added to our infrastructure. It’s helped better support our mobile workforce, increase information security and adequately plan for disaster recovery,” says Mohamed.