Webinar Recap: Cloud Benefits From Fairbanks, AK

Cloud adoption is accelerating across the public sector. Agencies are moving away from aging on-premise systems to more resilient and secure cloud environments. In a joint AWS and CentralSquare research study, 91% of agencies said they’ve already started or are actively migrating to the cloud.

For Fairbanks Emergency Communication Center (ECC) in Alaska, moving to the cloud became a necessity. Dispatch Manager Kristi Meredith shared their story in a recent webinar. When a windstorm resulted in a four-hour outage in the middle of an emergency situation, she knew it was time for an upgrade. Shortly after, Fairbanks migrated to the cloud to guarantee their center stays operational, even when disaster strikes or local infrastructure fails.

The Fairbanks story demonstrates the importance of cloud technology—especially for critical community services like 911. Keep reading to discover five benefits of moving to the cloud, and why the transition was nonnegotiable for Fairbanks ECC.

5 Benefits of Moving to the Cloud

Predictable Costs

On-premise systems often force agencies into a cycle of large, upfront hardware purchases. To stay operational for five or more years, IT teams either over-provision (buying servers far bigger than they need) or under-provision (stretching aging equipment beyond its limits). Both approaches drain budgets and introduce risk.

The cloud changes that model entirely. Instead of major capital expenditures every few years, costs shift to predictable operating expenses. Agencies pay for the resources they need, when they need them. No guessing. No oversized purchases. And no scrambling to replace failing hardware.

For public agencies managing tight budgets, predictable cloud costs mean more control, fewer surprises, and the ability to plan years ahead with confidence.

Scalability Without Supply Chain

Scaling an on-prem system is rarely simple. Agencies often have to rely on third-party vendors, wait for hardware shipments, schedule installation windows, and navigate supply chain disruption (like those seen during COVID). Even when equipment arrives on time, upgrading servers or storage can take weeks.

Cloud solutions eliminate that bottleneck. Thanks to CentralSquare’s partnership with AWS, agencies gain near-instant scalability. Need more processing power? More storage? Higher performance during peak demand? It’s as simple as adjusting resources in the cloud. No hardware to order. No installation crews. No downtime.

CentralSquare promises performance and flexibility throughout your contract. As your agency grows, our system scales to meet your needs. You get the power you need, when you need it, without ever waiting on a supply chain.

Improved IT Efficiency

A common worry during cloud migration is that IT staff will lose their jobs. In practice, agencies see the opposite. Once infrastructure maintenance, server patching, and hardware issues shift to CentralSquare, IT staff finally gain the bandwidth to focus on strategic, high-impact work.

Instead of troubleshooting aging servers, teams can strengthen networks, improve internal systems, support new initiatives, and plan for long-term technology needs. Jobs are rarely eliminated. Cloud adoption simply removes the repetitive, reactive tasks that drain time and energy. The result is an efficient IT team that can better support your agency.

Operational Excellence

On-prem systems demand constant attention: scheduled maintenance, late-night patching, and planned downtime that never aligns with the realities of public safety. Emergencies don’t wait for downtime windows, and every update introduces risk.

Cloud hosting changes that. CentralSquare and AWS continuously monitor system health, apply fixes proactively, and address issues before they reach your users. Updates happen with minimal disruption, and built-in redundancy keeps your systems available even during local power loss, hardware failure, or natural disasters.

The result is fewer interruptions and a system your team can rely on 24/7.

Enhanced Security

Many agencies don’t have the funding or staffing to maintain a full security team. That leaves gaps such as outdated patches, missed vulnerabilities, and reactive fixes that arrive too late. As cyberattacks increase in number and sophistication, so does your risk of liability.

By moving to the CentralSquare cloud, agencies get a dedicated security operation that most could never staff on their own. Our team includes site reliability engineers, security specialists, and database administrators who monitor systems, apply updates, and respond to threats around the clock. You get continuous protection and far fewer vulnerabilities left unattended.

Customer Spotlight: Fairbanks Emergency Communication Center

When a windstorm swept through Fairbanks, Alaska, it exposed the limits of on-prem infrastructure in the harshest way possible.

The storm knocked out power, cell towers, and the center’s on-prem servers—leaving Fairbanks offline for hours during an active fire emergency. For Dispatch Manager Kristi Meredith, it was a turning point. The question wasn’t whether to modernize. It was how to ensure her center would never be cut off again.

Moving to the cloud solved the core problem: dependence on a single physical location. With ONESolution in the cloud, her team can work from anywhere—Alaska, Idaho, even from a conference hotel room. If the building goes dark, operations continue without missing a beat. That flexibility has fundamentally changed how Fairbanks protects its community.

Kristi also described the implementation as the smoothest she has experienced in her 20+ year career. The transition required only minutes of downtime, and most day-to-day workflows stayed the same for dispatchers.

Since going live, the benefits have been tangible. IT no longer spends its days troubleshooting server issues. They’re proactive, planning ahead instead of reacting to outages. Kristi’s team faces fewer disruptions, less stress, and greater confidence that their systems will stay online—even when Alaska weather has other plans.

“If I continue to be on-prem and the same thing happens again, what kind of liability am I opening my agency up to by not changing anything? At some point, everything’s going to be in the cloud…just step in and do it. I love it.”

– Kristi Meredith, Dispatch Manager at Fairbanks ECC, AK

What Makes CentralSquare Cloud Different

Today, more than 1,000 CentralSquare customers have moved to the cloud—and the momentum is building. Each migration improves our process, because we use customer feedback and real-world lessons to refine every step. The result is a proven, reliable path to cloud adoption that’s faster and smoother than anything competitors can offer.

Our implementation team knows the software better than anyone, which means agencies get up and running quickly, without the disruption or delays that often come with large-scale technology changes. And once you’re live, our dedicated cloud team takes over. We monitor performance, address vulnerabilities, and ensure your systems stay available 24/7.

Through our partnership with AWS, we continue to improve scalability, resilience, and security for public safety and public administration agencies nationwide. If your organization is considering the cloud, now is the time to explore what’s possible. Schedule a discovery call today to see how CentralSquare can support your journey.