APDS Delivers Breakthrough Innovation to America’s Incarcerated Population

American Prison Data Systems (APDS) is on a mission to make corrections cheaper, safer, and—most importantly—more effective at reducing recidivism. Through a turnkey technology suite that includes hardware, software, network connectivity, and security solutions, the company delivers education, legal, job training, mental health, and other rehabilitative content and resources to incarcerated individuals.

Historically, access to these types of resources in correctional settings has been severely limited by paper-based and antiquated desktop computer systems. Delivering digital content to inmates through a connected solution comes with a very unique set of logistical and security challenges. APDS employs rigorous security procedures to prevent access to all digital communication channels, secure the physical devices, and ensure inmate users have access only to appropriate and approved content. And, with more than two million inmates across the U.S. and 5,000+ jails and prisons, APDS has also made scalability a top priority.

Stratix does away with complicated procurement processes with our simple-to-use ordering portal where users browse options, select what they need, and check out. It’s a customizable experience that empowers you to automate and streamline procurement—saving time and resources while ensuring accuracy.

The M-Gap – all things that stand in the way of delivering innovative mobility solutions.

With 2+ million inmates and sky-high recidivism, inmate rehabilitation has reached a crisis point in America.

APDS is on a mission to change this trend. Using mobile innovation, the company is transforming the way prisons rehabilitate inmates.

The M-Gap challenge? Being secure, agile and scalable enough to meet overwhelming market demand.

Mobility is at the heart of APDS’s custom solution to deliver educational, vocational, and rehabilitation resources. The company delivers this programming mainly through partnerships with third-party content providers, whose content is made available via APDS’ private wireless network infrastructure. Critical to content delivery are also the APDS proprietary learning management platform, mobile tablets, and 24/7 device monitoring. Mobility is also what sets the APDS solution apart. Unlike traditional desktop- or kiosk-based offerings, APDS provides a one-to-one model that allows it to monitor and control each inmate’s access to content. Mobility also allows APDS to deliver these services economically with a much smaller IT footprint.

Stratix (formerly Vox) Takes On Critical Delivery and Scalability Challenges

Delivery and scalability of the APDS offering have presented significant challenges to the business. APDS must be able to deliver its solutions to a growing market in a way that’s secure and profitable in order to achieve its mission. APDS turned to Stratix’s enterprise mobility management solutions to help architect and deliver its mobile offerings – from configuration, delivery, and monitoring of devices to selection of the right Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) solution.

“After 40 years of unprecedented growth, America’s correctional system now incarcerates about 1 in 30 adults. With this fact comes an extraordinary need for digital education, rehabilitation, and many other resources,” explained Chris Grewe, Founder and CEO of APDS. “One of our biggest challenges has been finding a way to scale our business to meet this demand. [Stratix’s] managed services solve this problem so we can focus on bringing hope and positive change to the lives of inmates and their families.”

—Chris Grewe
Founder and CEO, APDS

In addition, APDS outsourced several critical functions to Stratix, including:

• Device configuration – Stratix configures, provisions, and delivers all tablets based on each institution’s specifications and user’s access privileges.
• Client support – Through its state-of-the-art support center, Stratix provides front-line phone and email IT support for all APDS clients.
• Administration services – Through its Encompass Platform, Stratix provides vital administrative support and 24/7 monitoring for APDS servers and devices to ensure immediate detection of any access breaches or service outages. Vox also provisions and administers additional mobile technologies, such as the company’s EMM solution.

Insight at the Point-of-Action for Better Security and Responsiveness

Utilizing Stratix’s mobility management services, APDS is now able to deliver more services to America’s growing incarcerated population. Thanks to Stratix’s deep expertise in everything mobile and its world-class facilities, APDS has the ability to provision, deliver, and support large numbers of mobile devices. Stratix has also helped APDS improve the security of its offerings. Through the Stratix Encompass platform, APDS knows how devices are being used and what information is being accessed at any given time – a critical requirement when serving an incarcerated population.

Stratix is also helping APDS foresee and overcome new challenges as they serve a growing number of inmates. Through real-time visibility into APDS’s mobility operations, Stratix provides insight at the point of action and helps ensure the highest standards of physical and digital security across all APDS tablet deployments. The Stratix Mobile Encompass Platform also allows APDS to control and change content access in real time according to each inmate’s profile.

Equipped with Stratix’s mobility expertise and management services, APDS is quickly expanding its business in a market with huge demand. Most importantly, the company is better able to fulfill its mission to reduce inmate recidivism. “At APDS, giving inmates a path to positive change is why we show up every day. It’s a pleasure to work with [Stratix] to tap into their mobility expertise and achieve the scalability we need in order to make that change possible,” said Grewe.