IT for Montana towns and counties. One contract, from town hall to the pump station.
Town hall, the clerk’s office, public works, and the utility side under one contract. We’ve secured control systems at pump stations and remote utility sites for Montana towns, so a town of four thousand doesn’t end up managing five vendors.
The first assessment is free, and the findings are yours either way.
Fiscally responsible IT, in writing.
Every dollar you spend is public money. For certified towns on an eligible plan, we do the response work ourselves, and a separate written warranty backs our services.
Containment, forensics, eradication, recovery, and rebuilding if needed, at no additional cost, within defined service limits.
The Big Sky Guarantee is not an insurance policy. It’s our commitment to do the response work ourselves.
Eligible payments made directly to the organization, up to $500,000 per covered incident, depending on plan.
The Big Sky Service Warranty is not an insurance policy and does not replace cyber insurance.
For certified clients on Professional, Enterprise, or co-managed plans, with required controls in place. Eligibility requirements, service limits, and exclusions apply. Full terms are provided for your review before you sign. See which plans qualify
Three ways towns work with us
Some towns have nobody whose whole job is IT. Some have an IT director buried in tickets. Some just need an assessment their pool or auditor will accept. We do all three.
Nobody on staff has IT as their whole job
Hand us the whole estate: every department, every site, and a desk your clerk can call.
Your IT director is buried in tickets
Keep your IT director. We take the day to day off their plate, and they keep the roadmap and the department relationships.
Your pool or auditor is asking for evidence
Penetration testing, the cyber portion of your AWIA assessment, and your pool’s questionnaire, answered with evidence.
Running a hospital or health district instead? See IT for hospitals and health systems
The part most proposals leave out
On many of the systems we walk into, the water plant is reachable from the clerk’s office. We separate the two first, then secure what’s on each side.
Finance, records, and everyday workstations.
The machines that can reach the plant, locked down and logged.
The operator screens at the plant.
Pump stations, lift stations, wells, and towers.
Cellular and radio links at unstaffed sites.
Chlorine, turbidity, and the 2am autodialers.
AMR and AMI, handheld and vehicle mounted.
Generators, automation, and signals you own.
We don’t touch your integrator’s process logic. If they need to be in the room, we’ll coordinate that.
“They take the time to understand how a town operates and recommend security measures that are practical, effective, and make sense for a small municipality.”
Find out whether the water plant is reachable from the clerk’s office before your pool renewal asks.
The assessment is free. 30 to 45 minutes onsite, at a time you pick, and the findings are yours either way.
Two ways to run it, written down before we start.
Fully managed when nobody on staff has IT as their whole job. Co-managed when your IT director needs the day to day taken off their plate.
Hand us the whole estate
For towns without a dedicated IT team, or whose IT director is buried in tickets, we can run all of it under one contract.
Town hall, the clerk’s office, public works, and the utility authority.
Out to the water plant, the DPW garage, and the transfer station.
Backups restored on a schedule, with the results written down.
To the standard your insurance pool now asks for.
Agreed windows that avoid council meetings and tax deadlines.
No portal to log into first. Someone in Montana picks up.
Keep your IT director. Take the day to day off their plate.
Your team keeps the roadmap and the department relationships. We take the work that keeps them from the five year roadmap and strategy, mapped in a RACI chart in the first two weeks.
The departments with their own rules
If you're departments IT is run internally or by the county we can work with their team to ensure it's segmented appropriately. Where the town’s network meets it, and in the clerk’s office, here’s how we work.
A clean line with police IT
We keep the town network separate from police systems and coordinate for any management.
Background checked engineers
Every engineer has a background check run through the DOJ, for work in shared buildings and on shared connections.
Records retention
Email, file storage, and backup configured around retention law, so your clerk isn’t cleaning up later.
What your pool and your auditor now require
Three requirements that now land on small towns as well as cities.
Penetration testing
Operational systems tested passively unless agreed in writing, with a named person on your side who can stop us.
AWIA assessments
Serve more than 3,300 people? The cyber portion of your five year risk assessment is usually thin. We take it on, or work alongside the firm completing the rest.
Your pool’s questionnaire
MFA, EDR, offline backups, and segmentation are increasingly conditions of cyber insurance. We answer with evidence, before renewal.
Our documentation is written to outlive us. If you ever change providers, the record of what was done and why goes with you.
Three times you should call someone else
We’d rather tell you before putting a proposal in front of you.
You need your SCADA reprogrammed
PLC logic and HMI screens are your integrator’s work. We secure the network around them, but we won’t reprogram the system.
Your pool mandates a vendor
Some risk pools and state programs require a specific provider. Check before spending time with us.
You need someone onsite daily
Contract clients get same day onsite across Great Falls, Helena, and Billings. If you need a desk filled, hire one.
We came out of forensics, which changes how things get configured
For a town, that background matters in three ways.
So we secure your systems the way attackers probe them.
Frequently asked questions
What clerks, public works directors, and councils ask before a proposal goes on the agenda.
Do you manage the police department’s IT?
Usually not. Police IT is typically run internally or by the county. We keep the town network separate, coordinate with whoever manages it, and every engineer has a DOJ background check for work in shared buildings.
Do you really support the water system?
Yes. SCADA workstations, PLCs, remote telemetry, and alarms sit in the same contract. We secure the network around them and leave process logic to your integrator.
We serve more than 3,300 people. Can you help with AWIA?
Yes. We take the cybersecurity portion of your Risk and Resilience Assessment, or work alongside the firm completing the rest.
We have an IT director. Do you replace them?
No. We map responsibilities with a RACI chart in the first two weeks. They keep the roadmap and the department relationships.
What if something happens?
Call us. Contract clients get same day onsite, we preserve evidence before anything is wiped or rebuilt, and incident work carries no emergency surcharge. For certified clients, the response comes under The Big Sky Guarantee, within defined service limits.
Our pool’s renewal questionnaire keeps getting longer. Can you help?
Yes. We answer the technical sections with evidence, and flag gaps before renewal rather than after.
Can we still use ARPA money?
Only for work your town obligated by December 31, 2024. Obligated funds must be spent by December 31, 2026. If that’s your situation, raise it on the first call so we can scope around the deadline.
Is federal cyber grant money available?
Federal cyber grant funding is uncertain right now, so we scope to your general fund unless you tell us otherwise.
How does our town buy from you?
Open RFP, a quote, or a cooperative purchasing route. Tell us your preference and we’ll work within it.
What does it cost?
Managed IT runs $75 to $95 per device per month, plus a per user charge. Remote utility sites and compliance work are scoped to your estate. The pricing page has the full breakdown.
Tell us what you run and who audits you.
Twenty minutes, a straight answer, and nothing to sign. We ask which departments and sites are in scope, who audits you, and when your pool renews.