Series
Vendor Evaluation
Choosing, vetting and holding public safety software vendors accountable — RFPs, build-vs-buy, security and data ownership, and reading past the sales pitch.
Insights
All insights →
AI Is Creating a New Generation of Public Safety Entrepreneurs. Ask the Hard Questions.
AI is opening the door to a new generation of public safety entrepreneurs. Before agencies depend on what they build, they should ask hard questions about the company, infrastructure and people behind the product.
The Demo Trap
The best demo and the best software are not the same thing. One is built to impress a room. The other has to survive your worst Tuesday.
Why Public Safety Software Fails After the Sale
A signed contract and successful demonstration do not guarantee a successful implementation. The work after the sale determines whether software becomes useful or ignored.
The AI Feature Is Not the Product
Every vendor says AI-powered now. Almost none of them will tell you what that actually means until you make them.
Your Data Has an Exit Door, or It Doesn't
Every system your department will ever use has an exit door somewhere. Find it before you sign, because you will not find it once you need it.
Total Cost of Ownership Is the Price Nobody Quotes You
The quote tells you what the software costs the vendor to sell you. It does not tell you what it costs your department to run.
Public Safety Vendors Need to Spend More Time in the Station
A few industry hires and customer calls cannot replace watching public safety personnel use a product in the environment where the work actually happens.
Featured tools
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Guides
All guides →Choosing
a vendor
a vendor
Guide to Selecting a Public Safety SaaS Vendor
Features and price are only part of a software decision. This guide helps public safety agencies evaluate the complete service, infrastructure and company behind a SaaS platform.
Who owns your
data
data
Guide to Public Safety Software Security and Data Ownership
Public safety agencies should know where their information lives, who can access it, how it is recovered and what happens to every record when the vendor relationship ends.
Writing
an RFP
an RFP
Guide to Creating a Public Safety Technology RFP
A strong RFP defines operational outcomes, security expectations and realistic workflows without copying one vendor's feature list or prescribing unnecessary design details.
Build vs.
buy
buy
Guide to Evaluating or Building Public Safety Software In-House
An internal application may fit the department perfectly, but it still needs production security, support, documentation, ownership and a plan for the day its creator leaves.
Not sure where to start?
Tell me what you’re working on and I’ll point you at the right guide, tool or conversation.