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AWS GovCloud & SES Case Study: Modernizing Public Safety with Active Response & Amazon SES

AWS

At a Glance

Client: APBNet
Industry: Public Safety / Law Enforcement
Challenge: Legacy infrastructure and poor email deliverability risking critical alert visibility.
Solution: Migration to AWS GovCloud and high-reputation email architecture using Amazon SES.
Services Used: AWS GovCloud, Amazon SES, Amazon Aurora, AWS PrivateLink
Outcome: A CJIS-compliant platform with near-100% deliverability for critical safety bulletins.
Key Impact: Successfully migrated 500 GB of critical data and achieved reliable delivery for 18,000 connected agencies.

About APBNet

APBNet is a critical communication platform serving law enforcement and public safety professionals. It connects over 5,700 dispatch centers and 18,000 agencies across the United States, providing the essential infrastructure for sharing bulletins, alerts, and critical data to keep communities safe.

The Challenge: When “Spam” Means Danger

Despite its massive reach, APBNet operated on legacy infrastructure that struggled with two critical failures: scalability and deliverability.

  • The Deliverability Crisis: APBNet sends millions of critical alerts (BOLOs, Missing Persons, Active Shooter warnings). In the legacy environment, poor IP reputation and misconfigured headers caused many of these life-saving emails to land in spam folders or bounce entirely.
  • Infrastructure Bottlenecks: The core 500 GB database resided in a co-location facility, making high availability difficult.
  • Compliance Pressure: Maintaining CJIS compliance in a legacy environment was becoming cost-prohibitive and complex.

The Solution

APBNet partnered with AllCode to execute a comprehensive modernization. The solution required not just a cloud migration, but a complete re-architecture of their communication layer using Amazon Simple Email Service (SES).

  1. Strategic Email Architecture (Amazon SES)
    To ensure that critical bulletins never missed an inbox, AllCode designed a high-availability email solution:

    • Dedicated IP Pools: AllCode implemented Amazon SES with Dedicated IPs to isolate APBNet’s reputation from other senders, ensuring high trust with receiving ISPs.
    • Authentication Alignment: We executed a strict alignment of SPF, DKIM, and DMARC protocols. This cryptographic signing proves to receiving servers (like Gmail or Gov/City domains) that the emails are legitimate police communications.
    • Feedback Loops: The system was integrated with Amazon SNS to handle bounce and complaint tracking automatically, maintaining a pristine sender reputation over time.
  2. Secure Migration to GovCloudAllCode migrated the backend to AWS GovCloud, ensuring all data meets federal security standards.
    • Database Modernization: The 500 GB MariaDB dataset was migrated to an Amazon Aurora cluster, utilizing custom delta-sync scripts to ensure zero data loss during the cutover.
    • Network Security: AWS PrivateLink and site-to-site VPNs were deployed to secure traffic between law enforcement agencies and the cloud, meeting strict CJIS encryption mandates.

Why AllCode?

APBNet needed a partner with a rare dual-competency: Federal Compliance and Email Deliverability. AllCode’s ability to navigate the strict security controls of AWS GovCloud while simultaneously tuning the nuances of Amazon SES deliverability ensured that APBNet didn’t just move to the cloud—they became more effective at saving lives.

The Results

The modernization initiative has future-proofed APBNet’s platform, ensuring that when an officer hits “Send” on an emergency alert, it arrives instantly.

Key Metrics

  • Scale Supported: Successfully onboarded 6,325 active desktop installations to the new environment.
  • Data Integrity: Migrated 500 GB of mission-critical database records with full fidelity.
  • Engineering Effort: Delivered over 7,000 man-hours of specialized development and migration work.
  • Reach: Platform now robust enough to serve 18,000 law enforcement agencies nationwide.

Impact Summary

  • Inbox Placement: Optimized Amazon SES configuration ensured critical alerts bypass spam filters and reach officers immediately.
  • GovCloud Compliance: The platform now fully adheres to strict CJIS security mandates.
  • Operational Resilience: Transitioning to Amazon Aurora with multi-region snapshots significantly improved disaster recovery capabilities.