Why Choose Mission Communications
Utilities choose Mission because managed SCADA delivers better monitoring at lower total cost — without the IT complexity of traditional systems. Here’s what sets us apart.
Zero IT Overhead
No servers to purchase or maintain. No software to install or patch. No radio towers to lease. No network engineers to hire. Mission manages every layer of the stack so your team can focus on operating the water system — not the SCADA system. Security updates and new features ship automatically at no extra cost.
24/7 Skilled Technical Support
Talk directly with Mission technicians or use the ticket section of the web portal. Mission maintains a team of technicians for live telephone technical support from 8 A.M. to 5 P.M. Eastern time. After-hours support is always available on a responsive callback basis for emergencies at no additional charge.
Lower Lifecycle Cost
Mission delivers SCADA as a managed service with a single, predictable annual fee per RTU. Over 10 years, cumulative cost is substantially lower than client/server SCADA — and the gap widens because Mission’s fees increase at or below inflation.
30+ Compatible Reports
Access sophisticated data honed into intuitive reports and graphs to provide visibility across the entire water/wastewater landscape.
Three Guarantees, In Writing
Price Stability
Annual fee won’t increase faster than CPI-U, for the life of your service.
Technology
If your cellular radio technology becomes unavailable, we replace the module at no charge.
Obsolescence
Trade in existing hardware at a published trade-in value (100% of MSRP in year one, declining to 20% after year four).
Support and Service You Can Count On
Call Mission and you talk to people who designed, built, and support the system — not a call center reading a script. U.S.-based team available by phone, email, or ticket from 8 AM to 7 PM Eastern, with after-hours emergency callback at no extra charge. Free weekly training webinars for new and existing users.
Purpose-Built for Water and Wastewater
Mission doesn’t repurpose generic industrial automation equipment. Every component — RTU, 123SCADA, alarm system — is designed for the specific demands of water and wastewater operations:
- Lift station monitoring with intrinsically safe float circuits for hazardous environments
- SSO/CSO compliance reporting with automatic event documentation
- Tank and Well automated control without PLCs or private radio networks
- Rainfall monitoring with tipping bucket integration and I&I correlation
- Pump runtime tracking with variance analysis and maintenance alerting
- Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) and chlorine residual reporting
Proven at Scale
Mission isn’t a startup or a side project. 25+ years of singular focus on water and wastewater. The numbers:
Enterprise-Grade Security Without Enterprise Complexity
Defense-in-depth security at every layer — encrypted cellular transmission, carrier-grade data centers, TLS web access, mandatory two-factor authentication. Mission’s team handles firmware updates, vulnerability monitoring, and access control. Enterprise-grade protection — without hiring a cybersecurity specialist.
Easy to Deploy, Easy to Scale
A Mission RTU installs in a single morning — self-enrolling, no programming required. Multicarrier cellular connects automatically; no radio licenses or contracts to negotiate. Adding a monitoring point is as simple as ordering another RTU. Same platform, same interface, same support team — whether you have one RTU or one thousand.
Managed SCADA vs. Traditional SCADA
For utilities evaluating their options, here is a summary of what changes when you choose the managed approach:
| Category | Traditional SCADA | Mission Managed SCADA |
|---|---|---|
| Upfront Cost | High (servers, software, radio network, engineering) | Low (RTU hardware purchase only) |
| Ongoing Cost | Variable (licenses, maintenance, IT staff, radio leases) | Predictable annual fee per RTU |
| Software Updates | Manual installs; often requires downtime | Automatic; delivered over the web at no cost |
| Cellular/Network | Customer builds and maintains radio network | Mission manages multi-carrier cellular |
| Security | Customer responsible for patching, monitoring, auditing | Mission manages end-to-end security |
| Support | Vendor support contracts (often extra cost) | Included 24/7/365; U.S.-based team |
| Scalability | Requires capacity planning and new infrastructure | Add another RTU — no infrastructure needed |
| Time to Deploy | Months (design, bid, build, commission) | One morning per RTU |
Ready to see what managed SCADA can do for your utility?
Join 6,100+ utilities that trust Mission Communications for managed SCADA. Request a personalized demo and see 123SCADA in action — with your data, your sites, and your specific monitoring needs.