The City of Southport modernizes IT for a growing municipality
A small coastal town had relied on a single IT contractor for over 15 years, leaving departments working in silos with security gaps and compliance risk. Katalyst centralized IT management, closed vulnerabilities, and added responsive support that scales, so staff can focus on serving the community.
About the City of Southport
The City of Southport provides essential municipal services to about 5,000 residents. As a small coastal town, it works to maintain a high level of service across multiple departments with the resources available. Modern IT requirements made that harder with fragmented, outdated systems and a single contractor carrying the entire city's technology needs.
The Challenge
Southport was outgrowing its IT capabilities. The town had relied on a single on-site contractor for over 15 years, but as demands grew, it was no longer enough to place a multi-department municipal system on one person's shoulders. Departments handled their own IT independently, creating a patchwork of systems, data silos, and miscommunication.
The lack of central management slowed productivity and posed serious security risks, with little visibility into vulnerabilities. "If I could describe it in one word, it would be disjointed. We weren't sure what each department was doing, we were all doing our separate thing when it came to software solutions," said Allayna Dail, Director of Community Relations.
The Solution
During an RFP process, Southport chose Katalyst for its personal, non-corporate approach, from meeting city aldermen in person to listening to each department's needs.
Centralized, secure IT management
Katalyst went into every computer in each department to understand what needed to happen, then unified all systems under a central management platform for seamless monitoring and maintenance. Where staff lacked proper access controls, Katalyst built workarounds to remove bottlenecks, and worked closely with department heads to ensure a smooth changeover with minimal disruption.
Security, compliance, and projects
Katalyst addressed security vulnerabilities to meet new cybersecurity regulations, deployed endpoint management across computers, laptops, and mobile devices, and handled complex projects, including upgrading AV to stream town hall meetings online and supporting a cybersecurity reimbursement grant.
"They've done a really good job bridging the gaps. There's no longer that fear of information being lost when an employee leaves."
Allayna Dail, Director of Community Relations, City of SouthportThe Results
Southport's IT moved from a fragmented system to a centralized, secure, and efficient environment.
The city can now manage devices across all departments from a single platform, and staff no longer worry about lost data or inconsistent management when employees leave. Southport has deeper technology expertise and responsive support that is not dependent on a single person's availability, with complex issues explained in plain language. The result is a proactive, managed environment that lets the city focus on community needs instead of technology headaches, and an elevated level of IT maturity, reliability, and security.
Key Takeaways
- One platform, every department. Centralized management ended the silos and patchwork of the single-contractor model.
- Security and compliance built in. Vulnerabilities were addressed to meet new cybersecurity regulations.
- Support that scales. Responsive help no longer hinges on one person's availability.
- More than a help desk. Katalyst handled AV upgrades for streamed meetings and supported a cybersecurity grant.
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