Public Sector IT Services
Managed IT and Cybersecurity for Public Entities
AdvancedBITS provides managed IT, cybersecurity, and technology planning for cities, counties, housing authorities, fire districts, and other public entities, so services stay available and public information stays protected.
We run your technology or work alongside your in-house IT staff, and we report on it in plain language. Start with a Complimentary Public Sector Technology Assessment.
What Does AdvancedBITS Do for Public Entities?
Five areas, one goal: keep public services running and public information protected.
- Managed and co-managed IT. Help desk, monitoring, and end-user support for staff across departments, sites, and remote work, run for you or alongside your IT team.
- Cybersecurity. Multifactor authentication, endpoint protection, security monitoring, vulnerability management, security awareness training, and incident response planning.
- Backup and recovery. Backup monitoring, recovery testing, and continuity planning, so records and essential services can be restored.
- Microsoft 365 and infrastructure. Exchange Online, Teams, SharePoint, OneDrive, and Entra ID administration, plus networks, servers, and lifecycle management.
- Planning and reporting. Technology roadmaps, budgets, asset management, and monthly, quarterly, and annual reports, including evaluation of AI and other emerging technology.
Why Do Public Entities Need to Act Now?
Attacks on local governments are frequent, recovery can take weeks, and some begin at a vendor.
- Comparitech logged 187 ransomware attacks on government organizations worldwide in the first half of 2026, about one a day and up 13% from the second half of 2025. The U.S. accounted for 58 of them, which is 23% fewer than in the previous six months. 89 of the 187 were confirmed by the entities themselves.
- In July 2026, HUD Notice PIH 2026-17 instructed public housing agencies to notify HUD's Cyber Incident Response Team and their field office within 36 hours of becoming aware of a cyber incident.
Three recent cases show what these attacks look like:
- A cyberattack on U.S.NEXT, a Jackson hosting company that serves more than 600 clients in 23 states, disrupted email and websites it hosts, including Madison County and 68 other Mississippi government websites. As of October 20, more than six dozen county websites had been inaccessible for over a week. The Neshoba County sheriff said his office lost email, could not receive national crime database hit messages, and lost contact with the Department of Corrections about moving inmates. Ransomware and who was responsible remained unconfirmed.
- The county reported ransomware attacks in January and again in April, and says they were separate. The Minnesota National Guard assisted after the second, and a local state of emergency was declared for both. In its own notice, the county says the attackers accessed its network between March 13 and April 7 and copied data that included Social Security numbers and medical information.
- A housing authority offline for about three weeks (District of Columbia Housing Authority, June to July 2026).
These are reported facts, not predictions about any one entity, and no provider can promise an incident will never happen. What the cases share is dependence on systems, vendors, and recovery plans that leadership could not easily see around. Those are the areas where we start: vendor and third-party access, tested backups and recovery, identity and patching, and an incident plan.
Why Do Public Entities Need Layered Cybersecurity?
Because attackers get in through systems, accounts, and vendors, so protection has to cover all three.
In Verizon’s 2026 Data Breach Investigations Report, software vulnerabilities now beat stolen passwords as the top way attackers get in. The report covers all industries, and Verizon publishes a Public Sector snapshot. Layered security means multifactor authentication, endpoint protection, monitoring, vulnerability management, awareness training, tested backups, and incident response working together, plus a current list of the vendors that can reach your systems or host your services.
How Does Managed IT Support Compliance and Public Accountability?
By documenting how your systems are secure and run, and by reporting on them on a regular schedule.
Public entities answer to boards, auditors, insurers, and residents. We keep the documentation and reports that make those conversations easier, and we work from recognized guidance:
- NIST offers the Cybersecurity Framework 2.0 as guidance for industry, government, and organizations to reduce cybersecurity risk.
- CISA publishes secure configuration baselines for Microsoft 365 and a no-cost assessment tool, ScubaGear. CISA built them first for federal agencies and makes them available to all organizations.
- The MS-ISAC serves U.S. state, local, tribal, and territorial governments with threat intelligence and incident response support, and we encourage entities to use it alongside us.
Your counsel and procurement office decide which laws and standards apply to you. We do not give legal advice.
How Does Managed IT Help With Budgets and Fiscal Stewardship?
By replacing emergency spending with a plan your board can see.
We build a technology roadmap, track assets and lifecycles, and forecast budgets, so upgrades are planned instead of urgent. We set a baseline at the start and re-measure at 90 days, so value is shown with your own numbers, not promised in advance.
Why Do Public Entities Choose AdvancedBITS?
We pair managed IT experience with reporting you can read, and we are plain about our limits.
- 11+ years of managed services experience.
- Independently audited to the SOC 2 Type II standard.
- Managed or co-managed, so your in-house staff keeps control if you want it.
- Documented. Network diagrams, inventories, and recovery procedures are kept current, so knowledge does not depend on one person.
- Plain limits. We do not guarantee outcomes, we do not give legal or compliance advice, and we do not replace your leadership or procurement office.
We build a technology roadmap, track assets and lifecycles, and forecast budgets, so upgrades are planned instead of urgent. We set a baseline at the start and re-measure at 90 days, so value is shown with your own numbers, not promised in advance.
Go Deeper: Guides and a Case Study for Public Entities
Three pages cover the questions public entities ask most.
- Why Should Public Entities Consider Hiring a Managed Services Provider? The signs, the benefits, and the limits.
- Building an Effective Managed IT Services RFP for Public Entities. Scope, service levels, evaluation criteria, and vendor questions.
- Public Sector IT Case Study: Employee Onboarding and Security at a Public Agency. A composite example.
SUPPORTING THE MISSION. PROTECTING THE PUBLIC TRUST.
Find out where your entity stands on cybersecurity, resilience, and budget planning. A specialist will review your technology and show you where to improve. No cost, no obligation.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a managed services provider for a public entity?
A managed services provider (MSP) runs, secures, backs up, and documents a public entity’s technology under a written agreement, either fully or alongside in-house staff, and reports on it regularly. It gives a city, county, housing authority, or district a team and documented procedures instead of dependence on one person.
What IT services does a public entity need?
A public entity needs help desk and end-user support, cybersecurity, Microsoft 365 administration, infrastructure management, backup and recovery, and technology planning with regular reporting. AdvancedBITS provides these as a fully managed service or alongside a public entity’s in-house IT staff.
Why do public entities hire an MSP?
Common reasons are that technology depends on one person, important projects stay unfinished, cybersecurity needs outgrow internal staff, or technology costs are unpredictable. An MSP adds a team, documentation, security monitoring, and reporting. It does not replace leadership oversight. Our guide to deciding whether to hire one covers the signs in detail.
What is the difference between managed and co-managed IT?
With fully managed IT, a provider runs the entity’s technology day to day. With co-managed IT, the provider works alongside in-house staff and takes on defined work, such as security monitoring, patching, backup testing, or reporting, while the internal team keeps control. Entities choose the model that fits their staff and risk.
How does an MSP help a public entity with cybersecurity?
An MSP adds layered protection: multifactor authentication, endpoint protection, security monitoring, vulnerability management, awareness training, tested backups, and an incident response plan. It also documents the controls and reports on them, which helps leadership answer questions from boards, auditors, and insurers. No provider can promise that an incident will never occur.
How should a public entity choose an MSP?
Define outcomes, scope, service levels, reporting, and evaluation criteria in the RFP, and weigh qualifications and approach alongside price. Ask each vendor how backups are tested, how incidents are handled, and what reports you will receive. Our RFP guide covers the scope, service levels, and vendor questions in detail.
Does AdvancedBITS provide legal advice?
No. AdvancedBITS provides technology, security, and planning services. Your counsel and procurement office decide which laws, standards, and contract terms apply to your entity, including privacy, public records, and procurement requirements.
What does a Complimentary Public Sector Technology Assessment involve?
A specialist reviews your technology, security, backups, Microsoft 365 environment, and reporting, and identifies opportunities to strengthen cybersecurity, improve resilience, and plan budgets. There is no cost and no obligation, and you decide what happens next.