Success Stories
Modernizing Municipal IT to Serve a Growing Community
How A Rural Environment Built a More Resilient IT Environment
As the IT supervisor for a municipal government in northern Alberta serving a rural population of about 26,000, Erin had a lot on her plate.
The organization supports essential community services—everything from fire and law enforcement to planning, permitting, finance, and taxation. As part of that process, Erin's service desk and networking teams manage the technical behind-the-scenes details: end-user support, physical and cloud-based infrastructure, and cybersecurity.
While her team excelled at resolving day-to-day technical issues, the organization’s network, servers and applications faced frequent outages that undermined trust in IT.
By 2020, it was clear a major infrastructure upgrade was needed.
When it came time to look for help, Kaco quickly stood out. Other municipalities spoke highly of our work, and the team was impressed by how Kaco positioned themselves not just as a service provider, but as a long-term partner.
That relationship-first mindset made all the difference, leading to improved network performance.
"My team can focus on other things instead of fixing and putting out fires. The organization has a lot more faith in our department, and it has built more trust and credibility between them and IT.”
Erin Hogan, IT supervisor at Grand Prairie County
Boosted IT Reliability for Critical County Services
Each department in the municipality depends on its own specialized software and needs it to function well to support its day-to-day operations.
Unfortunately, in the past, they often faced outages that disrupted their work. If an application went offline for half a day (especially if it was customer-facing), that negatively impacted their ability to do their jobs well and support the community.
How Kaco Fixed It:
- Conducted a Wi-Fi audit to identify the best placement for access points
- Replaced the organization's switches, storage array, several servers, and other critical infrastructure
- Implemented a significant database upgrade for several in-house applications and created a sequel cluster environment to support that project.
The Result:
The municipality now benefits from a more stable network, with applications that perform seamlessly. Unplanned outages have become a rare occurrence, with a reliable failover system and always-online backup server. Most users never even detect an issue if one happens.
The broader team has also noticed improved productivity. The impact has been clear:
- Fewer interruptions to daily workflows
- No need to revert to manual systems and paper processes during unexpected downtime while IT resolves issues
- A noticeable drop in complaints to IT and a quieter help desk. For them, no news is good news!
Small IT Team Supplemented with Specialized Expertise
Before, the IT supervisor and her staff were fairly busy, overseeing technology for an organization of 500 employees located across multiple buildings. They were constantly fielding support requests to put out fires, while also trying to manage infrastructure and keep operations running smoothly.
The Issue:
As a small IT team, they don’t have the luxury of dedicated specialists. Each member needs to be a generalist, ready to handle a bit of everything.
Before partnering with Kaco, only one person had the expertise to manage the network. This created a significant bottleneck and a single point of failure. If that individual wasn’t available and something went wrong, the entire organization would be left vulnerable.
After Kaco:
Since day one, the municipality’s IT team has felt empowered to succeed with our Kaco team's support. During the network upgrade, we collaborated closely with the organization's staff to design a solution that’s easy to manage and simple to learn. At least three of the municipality's team members are now equipped to manage the hardware, which eliminating the risk of relying on just one person.
When internal resources aren’t available, Kaco’s specialists are ready to step in. With a deep understanding of the environment, we can provide seamless support whenever it’s needed.
Custom Network Solutions Designed by a Knowledgeable Partner
Opting for an outside consultant with a cookie-cutter solution wasn't an option. The municipality's IT team wanted thoughtful architectural recommendations and guidance from someone who understood them. Working with a consistent partner would mean faster implementation and less time spent onboarding new vendors who would otherwise need to be brought up to speed every time.
Kaco's Impact:
From the start, the municipality felt they were in good hands with Kaco because we went far beyond a surface-level engagement.
Here’s what Erin says set our approach apart:
- Meeting with staff one-on-one and in group settings to get a complete picture of day-to-day challenges
- Asking thoughtful, informed questions to understand not just how things were done, but why
- Conducting an in-person site visit to assess the environment firsthand. No shortcuts, no assumptions!
- Applying insights and best practices from working with similar organizations, helping to inform practical, proven solutions
Based on these efforts, our Kaco team delivered tailored recommendations that aligned with how the municipality actually works.
Keeping the Network Strong with Ongoing Collaboration
Even though the formal three-year project wrapped up more than a year ago, the relationship between the municipality and Kaco continues to thrive.
The IT supervisor still holds monthly check-ins with our team members. These casual, collaborative conversations provide space to discuss ongoing projects, emerging challenges, and opportunities for support. We don't bill these meetings, but they often lead to helpful insights or new small-scale initiatives for the municipality.
“It’s really nice to have that kind of check-in and just bounce some ideas off them every month,” she says.
And when procurement needs arise, the IT team knows they can count on Kaco for fast, responsive service that makes the purchasing process smooth and straightforward.
The result is a more stable, resilient network—one that’s easier for the internal team to manage, more resistant to downtime, and better positioned to support staff and community needs well into the future.
“They are very knowledgeable and great for a long-term partnership with someone who can assist you and guide you through your implementation and ongoing support afterward"”
Erin Hogan, IT supervisor at Grand Prairie County
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