IT supplier of electronic record systems
HPE infrastructure helps ensures availability, security, and compliance for electronic health records. With increased security and compliance requirements, the IT supplier in this case moved to a Mentor IT hosted environment built on HPE servers and storage to increase availability and ensure protection of electronic health records.
Focus on the business
- We are originally thought about building our own data center, but when I discussed the requirements with HPE, they recommended that we use Mentor IT. They already had all the facilities and infrastructure in place, says the Chief Operating Officer of this IT supplier, which is a leading software developer for electronic health records in Denmark.
- It’s been a very good solution for us, allowing us to focus on the development of our software and ensuring compliance, rather than on IT.
This company is a family run IT supplier with over 50 employees and more than 25 years’ experience in the healthcare industry. Over 530 medical clinics and hospitals in Denmark maintain their electronic health records using this company’s software, which in turn integrates with the centralized healthcare records database run by the Danish Ministry of Health. This allows doctors, hospitals, and pharmacies across Denmark to access an individual’s health records—irrespective of where in the country the service is required—to ensure the best possible patient care.
- There are two trends affecting the industry today, continues the COO.
- Firstly, clinicians don’t want to have to worry about their IT systems. They’re looking for a total solution. Secondly, compliance requirements are evolving and becoming more complex. Access to medical data has also become a key issue in Denmark, with privacy requirements driving the need for increased security.
Choose the right partners
- Originally, each clinic ran our company’s software on their own local, in-house server, explains the Chief Operating Officer.
- We supplied the HPE server and software, but they were responsible for ensuring security, running their own backups, and replacing the hardware every three to four years. However, there was always the risk of health records and confidential patient information falling into the wrong hands simply by someone breaking into a clinic and stealing the server.
In view of evolving trends and increasing security and compliance requirements, our company decided to move to a centralized solution that would provide increased protection for their clients. That’s when the company’s HPE account manager put them in touch with Mentor IT, a full-service IT provider with two data centers and over 15 years’ experience in delivering IT, hosting, and managed services solutions to over 1000 customers across Denmark.
- We looked at three or four different service providers but liked Mentor’s approach, says the COO.
- They focused on us as the customer and how they could meet our needs, offering the services we needed at a fair price. The fact that they were running HPE infrastructure was also important to us. We had already standardized on HPE hardware at all the clinics and enjoy an excellent, 15-year relationship with HPE. The system reliability and support that we’ve received from HPE is critical to our business. We wanted to continue that relationship.
Deliver the right capabilities
- We provide services to some of Denmark’s largest offshore production companies with business-critical systems requiring high-availability, says Søren Frandsen, Chief Executive Officer at Mentor IT.
- We have a simple philosophy: If you build the system right in the first place, you don’t need a lot in the way of support afterwards. That means using the right components to build robust systems that are stable and reliable. That’s what appeals to our customers and reduces costs. It’s also why we’ve been a loyal HPE customer since Mentor IT began in 1999.
Mentor IT’s environment consists of HPE BladeSystem c7000 Enclosures populated with HPE ProLiant BL460c Gen9 Server Blades, and HPE 3PAR and MSA storage. On average, HPE BladeSystem users deploy new services in 64 percent less time, which can mean shrinking 20-hour deployments to less than one hour. HPE BladeSystem users also experience an average of 91.3 percent less downtime after deployment, increasing productivity and enabling innovation.
Keep it up-to-date
- The fact that Mentor IT regularly refreshes their infrastructure means that I don’t have to worry about it, says the Chief Operating Officer from the IT supplier in this case.
- They replace their HPE servers and storage according to a predetermined schedule so we’re always running on the latest hardware. That means that I have a stable environment that I don’t have to worry about. I have full access to the environment and can manage the software for each clinic which is important to me. We can start new VMs and have full control over the provisioning of development and test environments without having to involve Mentor IT’s administrators. That saves us time and money.
- HPE Financial Services makes it easier and more affordable for us to keep up-to-date with the latest technology, adds Frandsen.
- We refresh the equipment for business-critical applications every 18 months and reallocate the older equipment to less critical applications. That’s a differentiating factor when it comes to our customers. If they buy their own equipment they’re married to it for 3-5 years, but if they use Mentor IT’s infrastructure, they get brand new infrastructure every 18 months.
Create a better customer experience
- Our relationship with Mentor IT and HPE means that we get a reliable environment, good service, and support for our technicians to guide us through what we can do in a hosted environment which is still new to us, says the COO.
- If we have any questions or issues, Mentor IT’s technicians are always on hand to address them. We’ve been using Mentor IT’s services for 18 months and they’ve always been able to resolve any problems we’ve had.
- Our customers also benefit since they can now focus on their business - taking care of their patients, and not worrying about IT, continues the Chief Operating Officer from the company in question.
- They don’t have to think about the server, software, or security. They also save on the cost of having to replace their server every three to four years. In the future they’ll also see additional cost benefits as we optimize our software to run in a hosted environment.
And how does partnering with HPE make a difference?
- We’ve always believed that HPE infrastructure can meet our needs, says Frandsen from Mentor IT.
- It’s always been robust, and the backward compatibility is important. We purchased our C7000 enclosures seven years ago, but they still work with the latest HPE servers. They’re excellent building blocks for a service provider like us. It allows us to make an investment and then build on it, without having to scrap everything and start over when new servers come out. It’s very flexible and extremely high quality.
Realize the vision
- Safeguarding our customer’s patient’s health records has been the main benefit, says the COO of the IT supplier in question.
- When you think about it, health records are their business. If they lose their records, they don’t have a business. So, moving to a hosted environment protects their business. They don’t have to worry about the server being stolen or making sure that backups are run regularly. The environment is secure, and we take care of all services including backup and restores as required.
And the benefits for the IT supplier?
- The benefit to our business is that we now have increased data security compared to what we had before, and that protects our name and reputation, states the COO.
- If one of our clients loses data, the government will investigate the breach, and that could mean that we’re out of business. By moving to Mentor IT, we’re protecting our customers’ business. That means that I’m protecting my business.
- We’ve also enjoyed an excellent relationship with HPE which makes a difference to both us and customers like this particular company, adds Frandsen from Mentor IT.
- Our relationship with HPE is even more important than price. Other vendors offer us extremely aggressive prices, but they don’t offer the same relationship that HPE does. You may call us a bit old-fashioned in that regard, but it works for us and benefits our customers.
The Chief Operating Officer sums it up:
- Our relationship with Mentor IT and HPE means that we no longer have to worry about the infrastructure. We have the security and availability we need to support our end-users—the clinicians. They focus on the patient, we focus on our software, and Mentor IT keeps it up and running. Each party plays their part, and in the end the patient is the one who benefits. It gives us peace of mind.
Facts:
Objective
Ensure security, compliance, and availability of electronic health records
Approach
Leverage Mentor IT hosting environment built on HPE BladeSystem technology for a robust, highly-available infrastructure and secure environment ensuring healthcare compliance
IT Matters
• Ensured availability and backward compatibility with robust infrastructure
• Provided scheduled technology refresh to ensure reliability
• Optimized costs with industry-standard, high-density, energy efficient platforms
Business Matters
• Delivered secure platform to enable data availability and protection
• Protected reputation and customer base
• Ensured healthcare compliance with superior patient care
Application
• With increased security and compliance requirements, the IT supplier in question moved to a Mentor IT hosted environment built on HPE servers and storage to increase availability and ensure protection of clinician’s electronic health records.
Hardware
• HPE BladeSystem c7000 Enclosures
• HPE ProLiant BL460c Gen9 Server Blades
• HPE 3PAR Storage
• HPE MSA Storage
HPE Services
• HPE Financial Services
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