Enhancing IT Access and Control for Corrections Agencies

State and local corrections departments face a delicate balancing act. On one hand, they have to give offenders and parolees access to legal, educational and training resources. On the other hand, they have to prevent unauthorized activity and acquire the funding and staff to carry out these functions.

On top of that they have to equip field and remote employees with prison management applications and manage issues with legacy IT systems.

Dealing with each issue individually can be time-consuming and inefficient. Instead of addressing issues as they arise, corrections departments should consider a unified strategy: a secure digital workspace. This option provides an integrated way to deliver and manage apps, content and devices that inmates and employees need, while making the most of a limited budget.

Let’s look at an example scenario to see some of the concrete benefits of a secure digital workspace for corrections departments.

An ongoing challenge for corrections is giving offenders access to GED courses, career training and online law libraries, while preventing theft and vandalization of equipment, unauthorized website access and protecting IT staff who have to visit individual devices to install or patch applications.

With a secure digital workspace, IT administrators can support the entire state-wide learning lab environment from a centralized management point without having to visit potentially dangerous environments. They can track where offenders go while using the system, receive alerts of unusual activity and lock down commonly used operating systems if necessary. By separating the application from the endpoint, they also have the flexibility to deliver applications via any device they choose.

Additionally, a secure digital workspace provides a better end user experience. Offenders will see improved performance with applications running in a datacenter instead of remote facilities with limited bandwidth and aging hardware.

To learn more about how to simplify access to legal resources, classes and job search assistance for offenders and parolees, register for Citrix’s online training, “Get in the Know – Digital Workspaces for Corrections and Rehabilitation,” at 2 p.m. on April 24.

For more information, or to register for the event, click here.