A technology
supervisor at Sabine Parish School District, LA got an alert on his phone
around 4:00 a.m. on a Sunday morning letting him know there had been a surge in
bandwidth on the school’s server. In addition to the odd day and time, it was also
summer break. Something was wrong.

After a
quick investigation, the staff discovered a ransomware attack on their servers. An anonymous
hacker now held years’ worth of data—important documents, test schedules, and
more—and was demanding money in exchange for its release. A similar scenario
played out in multiple Louisiana school districts this past summer, forcing
Governor Edwards to declare a state of emergency. Louisiana’s emergency
response was modeled after one Colorado took in 2018, and that ransomware cost
the state $1.5 million to clean up. In 2019 alone, 500 schools across the country have been the
target of similar incidents.

If you
search the internet, you’ll find all the typical advice for protecting yourself
from such an attack: use strong passwords, make database backups, buy
anti-virus software, avoid suspicious emails. However, one of the best ways to
prevent a cyberattack on your school’s server is remarkably simple: don’t put
your data there.

Cloud-based software has become the norm for every industry across the world, and it’s not by coincidence. The biggest reason is data security, but there are several other key advantages that explain why school bus transportation offices in particular have a lot to gain from Software as a Service (SaaS), and adapting to this new norm.

If you want to learn more about how Tyler transportation solutions help keep you ahead of the curve, you can also watch this on demand webinar: Transforming Transportation.

1. Mobility – There are 3.3 billion smartphones
   in use today. There’s probably one in your pocket right now, or in your purse,
   or sitting faceup on your desk waiting for the next alert. Why shouldn’t
   your routing information be there too? Imagine looking up the location of a bus
   while you’re out of the office, or notifying a driver of a route change from
   your iPad. If you have cloud-based, touch-enabled routing software, it’s all
   possible.
2. Communication – Think of all the phone calls you
   field from district staff each day. What bus does Suzie ride? Where is bus 110
   right now? Can you print me a list of bus assignments for dismissal?
   Cloud-based software should come with unlimited users, all with customizable
   rights so, for example, school staff can have read-only access. Imagine how
   happy your principals would be to pull up routing information on their
   smartphones at release time.
3. Security – Cloud storage providers offer
   baseline protections like redundancies, scheduled backups, and two-way encryption,
   so you can rest easy knowing that your data is protected by professionals. This
   kind of IT overhead at the local level is not only difficult to achieve, but
   can be very expensive to do right. Cloud-based software takes it out of your
   hands.
4. Cost – With SaaS, you don’t have to
   invest in expensive IT overhead such as hardware, facilities, utilities, and staff.
   Monthly subscriptions to something like Netflix make a lot more sense than
   buying every DVD for every show you want to watch. Rather than individual
   licenses for each user in the program, SaaS gives you unlimited access included
   with annual support. Cloud-based software is one more way you can be fiscally
   responsible the public.
5. Data Recovery – In the event something does go
   awry—even if it’s something you changed in the database—using cloud-based recovery
   methods could mean the difference between being offline for a few hours versus
   a few weeks.
6. Uptime – Since downtime is rare in cloud
   systems, you don’t have to spend time and money fixing issues related to losing
   access to your data. Think about what would happen if your school’s servers
   crashed in the middle of the morning rush. If you subscribed to a SaaS program,
   you wouldn’t even notice, since your data should back up to the next redundant
   server.
7. Automatic Updates –Maybe it’s a new feature
   you’ve been waiting for. Maybe it’s an additional map layer that wasn’t there
   before. Maybe it’s functionality you hadn’t even thought of, but now that it’s
   here, you wonder how you ever lived without it. Whatever it is, you don’t have
   to run overnight processes or tediously update every computer yourself. With a
   SaaS model, you have the latest and greatest version of the software every
   time you log in.
8. All-in-One Database – Because the cloud offers infinite
   scalability, the days of separate databases are over. The best routing systems on the market today are built with multiple areas (field
   trips, fleet maintenance, GPS location, etc.) all inside one database without
   purchasing additional licenses. And you’re not forced to make database copies
   just to be able to plan for next year or run what-if scenarios.

These are just some of the key benefits to having a software subscription instead of the outdated license model. Cyberattacks are a problem that, unfortunately, will not be going away, and by most accounts are only getting worse. SaaS can help you avoid them, and that starts with educating yourself on its value, including what exactly “Software as a Service” means. It’s not paying a vendor to handle your routing operation remotely. That’s a consulting service—worth paying for when you need it, but different than SaaS. And it shouldn’t just be a web-interface for your existing licensed program. That will give you mobile access, yes, but it’s a far cry from all the other advantages of SaaS explained above. If any of this is important or interesting to you, you can learn more in our on-demand webinar, or you can contact Tyler Technologies and we’d be happy to consult with you about your individual needs.