4 Steps to Move Your Public Safety Suite to the Cloud

Moving to the cloud used to mean VPNs, firewall configurations, and months of complex networking work. Not anymore.

CentralSquare recently surpassed 1,000 cloud deployments, and for agencies running Public Safety Suite, the path to the cloud has never been faster or simpler. Thanks to CentralSquare Edge, there’s no VPN required—just a streamlined process that gets your agency live in the cloud in as little as 8 hours.

• ONESolution: 8 hours
• Pro: 20 hours
• Enterprise: 24–48 hours

You’ll keep the product your team knows and trusts, with all the benefits of the cloud. That means stronger security in an age of increasing cyberthreats, improved performance, and automatic updates. It also means fewer hardware expenses and less strain on your IT team.

Public safety cloud migration has never been easier. In just four steps, your agency can be live.

What is CentralSquare Edge?

CentralSquare Edge is the technology that makes this possible.

Traditionally, moving to the cloud required VPN configuration, firewall ACL updates, and complex routing setups—all of which added time, cost, and IT burden to the migration process.

CentralSquare Edge eliminates all of that. It provides simple, FIPS-compliant connectivity to CentralSquare’s cloud environment without any of the traditional networking complexity.

Built on Zero Trust security principles, every user, device, and connection is verified before access is granted, so your agency stays secure without sacrificing simplicity. Whether you’re a large metro department or a small rural agency, Edge scales to fit your needs.

The best part is there’s no additional cost. CentralSquare Edge is included in the offering, giving agencies of all sizes stronger security, simpler operations, and faster onboarding from day one.

Step 1. Kick-Off with Cloud Team

Every cloud journey starts somewhere. For agencies using Public Safety Suite, it starts with a simple kick-off call between your IT team and CentralSquare’s cloud team.

In the original migration process, this step required completing a VPN Worksheet. It was a form that captured DNS settings, firewall data, and other networking details before anything could move forward. Not anymore.

With Edge, that complexity is gone. Now CentralSquare simply provides Edge networking documentation for your agency to complete—no VPN worksheets, firewall rules, or complex routing configurations. It’s a straightforward process designed to get migrations moving quickly with minimal IT overhead.

This step sets everything in motion. Once the documentation is complete, CentralSquare’s team has what they need to begin setting up your environment, and your cloud adoption is officially underway.

Step 2. Connect to the Cloud

With your Edge documentation in hand, CentralSquare’s team starts the configuration process. We provide your agency with single-use tokens and installation instructions for CentralSquare Edge connectivity. There are no VPN tunnels to build or ACL changes to coordinate. And there’s no back-and-forth with your network team. We establish a secure, seamless connection to the cloud, managing the process from start to finish.

You also need to identify a project sponsor at this stage. This person becomes CentralSquare’s go-to point of contact during the testing phase, helping to coordinate across departments and keep the migration moving efficiently on your end.

With connectivity established and a clear point of contact in place, your agency is ready to move into testing.

Step 3. Testing

With connectivity established, CentralSquare works closely with your project sponsor to make sure everything is ready before go-live.

Our team verifies that all applications are functioning as expected. Third-party interfaces and integrations with other systems are tested and confirmed. Nothing gets waved through—every connection, workflow, and touchpoint is validated before your agency moves forward.

Your project sponsor plays an important role here. They coordinate with end users across departments to validate access and functionality from the ground up. This serves as a real-world confirmation that your teams can do their jobs the same way they always have, but in the cloud.

This collaborative process exists to make sure your cloud solution is ready for daily, mission-critical use before it goes live. No surprises. No disruptions.

Step 4. Live in the Cloud!

Once testing is complete, your agency is officially live in the cloud.

Nothing changes for your team in terms of the product they use. Whether your agency runs Enterprise, ONESolution, or Pro, you’ll continue using the same Public Safety Suite you know and trust. But now it will have a stronger, more resilient foundation.

From day one, your agency gains:

• Stronger security: AWS Cloud-backed infrastructure reduces the risk of ransomware and cyberthreats.
• 24/7 access: Built-in redundancy keeps critical systems available around the clock.
• Reduced IT expenses: No hardware to maintain, no servers to refresh, and no infrastructure overhead.
• Automatic updates: Always stay current without scheduling downtime or waiting on manual installs.

The result is faster performance, greater resilience, and peace of mind for your team and the community depending on them.

Early Adopters

Many agencies across the country have already made the move to Public Safety Suite in the cloud. The results speak for themselves.

In Fairbanks, Alaska, Kristi Merideth moved ONESolution to the cloud after a major windstorm exposed the risks of on-premises infrastructure. With neighboring agencies depending on their CAD, reliability was non-negotiable. The move strengthened regional support and reduced risk across jurisdictions.

“We’re not just responsible for our own agencies, we support two other dispatch centers that rely on our CAD to protect their communities. If we go down, they go down too.”

“Moving to the cloud gives us the confidence we need to support everyone who relies on us.”

— Kristi Merideth, Dispatch Manager

Edgar County, Illinois transitioned their Pro Suite to the cloud to eliminate the burden of on-prem server maintenance. With limited IT resources, the county prioritized simplicity and affordability, and the cloud delivered on both fronts.

“We have been users of CentralSquare’s Pro Suite since 2019, and when they proposed migrating to a cloud-based platform, it was an easy decision for us.”

“We are a smaller county with limited resources, so removing the hassle of server refreshes by moving to the cloud while saving money on equipment purchases helps us better focus on our core mission of keeping the community safe.”

— Taylor Ray, 911 Director

East Baton Rouge Parish went fully cloud-based with Enterprise and Vertex NG911, building an end-to-end public safety ecosystem that connects 911 callers, dispatchers, and officers in the field. Supporting 25 agencies, the move to the cloud broke down silos and enabled faster, more coordinated response.

“Hero-grade means going beyond what’s expected. Our team gives everything they have to serve the public, and reliable technology helps responders dispatch and coordinate quickly.”

— Jim Verlander, Director

From small rural counties to large multi-agency districts, these agencies prove that moving to the cloud doesn’t have to be complicated. The process is fast, the disruption is minimal, and the results are real.

Get Started Today

Moving to the cloud has never been faster or simpler. CentralSquare Edge eliminates the biggest barriers to cloud migration: VPNs and complex networking configurations. Once started, your agency can be live in the cloud in as little as 8 hours.

Your team keeps the same Public Safety Suite they know—now backed by stronger security, better reliability, and lower IT costs. All it takes is four simple cloud migration steps.

Ready to make the move? Contact your account manager to learn how to get started, and find out which timeline applies to your suite.