Keith County hears presentation from Applied Connective as commissioners weigh IT vendor options
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Summary
Applied Connective presented its county-focused IT, phone and security services at the Keith County Board of Commissioners meeting; commissioners and department heads described repeated service delays from the county's current provider and discussed timelines, pricing and transition concerns ahead of a June contract decision.
The Keith County Board of Commissioners heard a presentation from Applied Connective on its county IT, phone and physical-security services and discussed the county's recent experience with its current provider and what a vendor change would entail.
Applied Connective representatives described their company’s work with Nebraska counties and municipalities, its three technical divisions (IT, phone systems and physical security) and local staffing in Albion, Kearney, McCook and Mitchell. The company told commissioners it supports CJIS-compliant law-enforcement systems, remote-management tools and on-premises or cloud backup options and that it can provide near-term spare equipment from its warehouse.
County officials and department heads pressed Applied Connective on availability and transition steps. Commissioners and staff said the county has experienced long waits for on-site support and delayed ticket resolution with the current vendor (5 Nines), and they asked whether Applied Connective could provide scheduled on-site time, faster on-call response and procurement support. Applied Connective said it organizes its service teams into regional “pods,” offers tiered technical support, can perform carrier-billing audits, and typically proposes a one-year service agreement with optional multi-year pricing to waive onboarding fees for larger projects.
Discussion identified technical priorities for a potential vendor: segregating security cameras and door-access systems from the primary network to avoid IP conflicts; replacing or budgeting upgrades for equipment that will not support Windows 11; handling MIPS (county financial/treasurer) timing constraints around elections and software cutovers; and options for backing up large video/evidence files to cloud storage where bandwidth allows.
Department-level concerns included repeated printer and scanner compatibility problems after the county’s recent upgrades, and a request from one user to permit sustained use of developer tools (Visual Studio Code/Python) on a county workstation without daily escalation. Applied Connective said it can evaluate software inventories remotely (using an RMM tool) to identify compatibility issues, propose licensing changes to reduce duplicate subscription costs, and implement secure remote-access tools that let a staffer use a personal device to view a county desktop without exposing the county network.
Commissioners noted the county’s IT contract runs through June and asked Applied Connective to provide written pricing and a proposal so the board could compare options and schedule any required overlap for onboarding. Applied Connective representatives said they could assemble a proposal and suggested starting transition planning in April to enable a June takeover if the board decides to change vendors.
Why it matters: the county’s daily operations—courthouse staff, road and public-safety systems, and evidence storage—rely on dependable IT service. Commissioners framed the discussion as an operational decision about service levels, procurement and continuity rather than a technology debate.
What’s next: commissioners asked staff to collect pricing and contracts for review and signaled they will consider proposals before the current contract end date in June.