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Canadian public safety agencies relied on on-premise infrastructure for decades, with server rooms and IT teams responsible for maintaining the hardware behind critical systems. At the time, this was the practical choice. Requirements around security, data residency and procurement made moving sensitive workloads to the cloud more complicated than keeping them locally hosted. 

That landscape has changed. Canadian government requirements and guidance around cloud services have evolved, giving agencies more options for securely hosting mission-critical data in approved cloud environments. 

This creates an opportunity for public agencies across Canada to take a more deliberate approach to modernization, determining which workloads make sense to move, when to move them and how to make the transition responsibly. 

Why On-Premise Was the Default

Federal, provincial and municipal organizations in Canada operate under strict requirements for data security classification. For years, those requirements made on-premise infrastructure the most straightforward option for public safety data because there was no clear, government-sanctioned path for hosting it in the cloud. 

That changed in 2016 with Canada’s Cloud Adoption Strategy, followed in 2017 by the Direction on the Secure Use of Commercial Cloud Services and the Direction for Electronic Data Residency.  Together, these policies established the framework for cloud adoption in government, initially focused on unclassified information. That foundation opened the door to a broader shift: bringing increasingly protected data and workloads into the cloud. 

The Real Unlock: Protected Information in the Cloud

A large amount of government information falls under Protected B, a Canadian designation for material that could cause harm to an individual, organization or government if improperly disclosed. This includes personal details, certain law enforcement records and other government material subject to heightened security, privacy and access controls. 

The Canadian government has established security agreements that now give departments a defined path to use approved, independent cloud services for Protected B workloads. Shared Services Canada has expanded that framework through agreements with eight major cloud providers, providing established options for procuring cloud infrastructure that meets federal security requirements. 

For agencies, this removes a major barrier to moving these systems to the cloud. Approved cloud environments can provide the safeguards needed for Protected B workloads while giving organizations greater scalability, flexibility and access to the operational benefits of cloud infrastructure. 

Cloud Adoption Is Maturing Across Canada

Canada’s approach to cloud adoption has also become more nuanced, with implications for public safety agencies managing systems that support critical operations. The updated GC Cloud Adoption Strategy, published in January 2023, shifted the focus from “cloud first” to “cloud smart,” building on principles approved by Deputy Ministers in 2022. 

Federal plans for 2025–26 and 2026–27 reinforce this direction, with Shared Services Canada continuing to upgrade networks, modernize core services and optimize hosting across government-owned data centers and public cloud environments. For public safety agencies, this continued investment supports greater access to secure cloud infrastructure for systems such as computer-aided dispatch, records management and other operational platforms. 

Together, these developments reflect a broader shift in how Canadian public safety organizations can approach cloud technology. Cloud is becoming an established part of the public-sector technology landscape, giving agencies more opportunities to adopt scalable infrastructure, strengthen operational capabilities and support the systems their personnel rely on every day. 

What Agencies Actually Gain by Moving

For public safety agencies, cloud adoption creates greater flexibility in how technology is managed, maintained and scaled. It can help agencies respond to changing operational demands and build a stronger foundation for new capabilities. 

Infrastructure That Scales With Demand
On-premises data centers must be sized for peak demand, leaving expensive infrastructure underused much of the year. Cloud environments can scale with actual demand, giving agencies the capacity they need when call volumes increase; major incidents occur or other operational demands spike without requiring them to maintain that scale year-round. 

Security Investments Built for Scale
Leading cloud providers make substantial investments in physical security, encryption, monitoring and threat detection across their infrastructure. For public safety agencies, that means access to capabilities and expertise that can be difficult and costly to build and maintain independently. 

Faster Delivery of Critical Services
Cloud-based systems can help agencies deploy updates, address vulnerabilities and introduce new capabilities without waiting for lengthy hardware refresh cycles. That gives public safety teams more flexibility to respond to changing operational needs while keeping critical systems current. 

Resilience for Mission-Critical Operations
Geographic redundancy and cloud-based disaster recovery can help agencies maintain access to critical systems and data when a facility or local infrastructure is unavailable. For public safety, this level of reliability is particularly important when CAD, RMS, communications and other core systems need to remain available during disruptions. 

A Foundation for Smarter Public Safety
Analytics, automation and AI-assisted capabilities depend on connected data and modern infrastructure. Moving away from isolated, legacy systems makes it easier for agencies to connect information across operations and introduce new capabilities without added complexity.  

For public safety agencies, the value of cloud extends beyond infrastructure. It creates a more scalable, resilient and connected foundation for the systems personnel depend on today and the capabilities agencies will need tomorrow. 

Take the Next Step

The technology public safety agencies rely on is deeply embedded in daily operations. Moving critical systems to the cloud requires careful consideration of security, integrations, workflows and continuity of operations. 

The opportunity goes beyond where systems are hosted. It is about creating an infrastructure that can adapt as agency needs change, support new capabilities and keep critical operations moving forward. That is the direction Versaterm is taking with its connected platform. By bringing critical public safety technologies together on a cloud foundation, Versaterm gives agencies a path to evolve their technology over time while maintaining the systems and workflows their personnel depend on today. 

Whether you are a current Versaterm customer planning your next step or an agency evaluating Versaterm for the first time, the path to cloud can be shaped around your operational priorities. 

Explore what cloud can mean for your agency. Schedule a personalized conversation with Versaterm to discuss your technology, your priorities and the path forward.