Closed, siloed systems create unnecessary friction and slow down daily operations. That’s the foundation of Mark43’s partner ecosystem: collaborating with industry experts and specialists, so data flows seamlessly across the public safety tech stack instead of staying locked in silos.
In our Better Together blog series, we go behind the scenes with Mark43’s core integration partners to explore why we’re building together, how our technologies connect, and the value those integrations deliver for the agencies we serve.
First up is 911Tech, a cloud-based, all-in-one operational management platform that helps agencies manage personnel, training, equipment, and more from a single system. We sat down with Greg Glickauf, President and Founder, and Mike Metrick, Director of Business Development, to talk siloed systems, AI, and why partnership matters.
- If you had to summarize the primary challenge your platform is designed to solve, what would it be?
911Tech was built to reduce the friction that slows agencies down.
“911Tech gives agencies a single place to manage everything, instead of working each individual tool separately,” said Glickauf. “Our goal is to eliminate the need to go into multiple tools throughout your shift – whether that’s through our platform or through partner systems like Mark43, where our tools can talk to each other.”
Every extra login, spreadsheet, and manual data entry takes time away from serving the public. Officers, dispatchers, supervisors, and administrators are often forced to jump between disconnected systems just to complete routine tasks.
Metrick added, “Every police department often faces the same problem of too many siloed spreadsheets and disconnected processes. 911Tech brings all of that into one place.”
- Can you share an industry story that best illustrates the value of the integration and partnership?
One of the clearest examples of where this integration is headed is currently in the works with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Police Department. Glickauf explained, “Through our personnel management workflow, 911Tech will read directly from Mark43’s CAD and RMS user database, so when someone retires or changes roles, that update carries over automatically instead of requiring changes across ten separate systems.”
Another potential use case sits between 911Tech’s House Watch feature and CAD. Glickauf explained, “Dispatch normally shows how many calls have come from an address, but with this integration, you’ll also see that an officer physically checked that house a certain number of times in the past month.” That intel can help identify patterns of repeat activity and give responding officers a clearer picture before they arrive.
- At Mark43, we believe public safety is a team sport. Why are partnerships important to your mission and product strategy?
Both Glickauf and Metrick say teamwork has guided them since their days in law enforcement.
“Smart police leaders put the right people in the right position for the right tasks because no one person can be an expert in everything,” said Metrick. “We’re very good at what we do, but not at what Mark43 does.”
Glickauf agreed, “We can’t be the experts in a scheduling tool, while also being the best CAD, which is exactly why partnering makes both platforms stronger.”
- What unique value does your partnership with Mark43 create for agencies?
Metrick and Glickauf point to three core values of the partnership: connecting specialized systems, eliminating duplicate work to give public safety personnel time back, and building in accountability that didn’t exist before.
“Through this partnership, we bring in specialists to deliver an all-in-one solution across multiple programs and teams,” said Metrick. “Instead of being mediocre at everything, you’re using partnerships and tools together to give an overall excellent solution.”
Glickauf added, “The value of the integration between 911Tech and Mark43 is eliminating the redundancy of duplicate data and making management easier across the board. This cuts down on the errors and lag that come with re-entering the same data twice.”
Agencies often have no simple way to track equipment assignments, even though a single officer may be responsible for thousands of dollars in issued gear, from body cameras and radios to firearms. Bringing that information together gives supervisors greater visibility without additional admin work.
- Looking ahead, where do you see AI having the greatest impact on public safety? Are there emerging use cases or trends you believe agencies should be preparing for?
Glickauf put it plainly: “AI is still in its infancy, and it’s worth welcoming, but public safety agencies hold especially sensitive data, so any AI tool has to be built properly before agencies trust it with information. Vendors and tech platforms need to be deliberate and thoughtful about how it’s being used, given the delicate and highly sensitive data public safety agencies handle every day.”
That same caution runs through Metrick’s thinking: “AI is a support tool for us, not a replacement. Its proliferation is inevitable, but nothing will ever completely eliminate the need for a human backstop.”
Their perspective aligns closely with Mark43’s approach to responsible AI: human-first by design, with security, privacy, compliance, and ethics built in.
- If there’s one takeaway or piece of advice for agencies when they are assessing new vendors or tools, what would it be?
For Metrick, the question was always the same: Will the technology actually deliver what it promises? That means talking with the people who use the platform every day, not just the people selling it. Officers, dispatchers, supervisors and records personnel often experience technology differently, and their perspectives provide the full picture of how a solution performs.
When evaluating integrations, get under the hood and understand exactly how they’re built, what they’ll deliver, and what they’ll cost. “Salespeople will often say another vendor’s system can talk to their CAD, but what they leave out is that it will be require extra work with hidden costs,” said Glickauf.
That’s why partnerships like Mark43 and 911Tech prioritize integration from the outset, giving agencies clarity into capabilities, implementation, and cost upfront rather than treating interoperability as an afterthought.
Another tip: Check whether a vendor is still actively building. A live change log is a good sign the product keeps evolving.
- 911Tech is built by law enforcement for law enforcement. How does that background help in this space?
“We speak the language and understand the realities agencies face because we’ve lived it,” said Metrick. “One agency calls it a beat, another calls it a zone; one calls it a car, another calls it a squad.” Glickauf added, “911Tech builds technology that adapts to an agency’s workflows, not the other way around.”
It’s a philosophy Mark43 shares. Over 55% of customer-supporting employees are former law enforcement, fire, EMS, or veterans. This creates a shared and strong foundation for the partnership, with both organizations focused on listening to customers, evolving alongside their needs, and building solutions that solve real challenges.
Closing Thoughts
The future of public safety technology isn’t about one platform trying to do everything. It’s about purpose-built solutions working together to eliminate friction, simply daily operations, and give professionals more time to focus on their communities.
That’s exactly what Mark43’s best-of-breed partner ecosystem is built to do, and what we’ll continue to explore throughout the Better Together Series.
