The U.S. Army announced early in January their decision to select seven cloud computing firms that will compete on a task order basis, providing cloud computing services that support the US Army Program Executive Office Enterprise Information Systems. Project completion is estimated December 16, 2016.

Last December the White House announced a major cloud computing initiative designed to spur wider agency adoption of cloud computing. The government recognizes that cloud computing could be a reduce $80 billion in federal information-technology spending. The initiative was also designed to “ease concerns among technology officials at U.S. agencies that the cloud is less secure.” The goal is to see a major roll out over the next six months.

Cloud Computing Has Become Routine for Many Computer Users
As Gartner says, 2012 appears to be a year of major year of investment in cloud computing. Many small to medium businesses are still just beginning to learn about cloud computing. Most likely we’ve all begun participating in the cloud in one way or another. From streaming movies to purchasing and downloading software online, we changing our habit media access and delivery from physical objects like CDs and DVDs to accessing media online via the Internet.

Cloud Computing Delivers Media, Applications and Backups
In the popular space it’s become easier to download and upload media such as music, film, personal documents and such. At the same time, popular sites like Facebook and Gmail have trained us to use applications or software instead of on our computers. Cloud computing has simplified access to media and applications as well as automated online backups that upload our music, documents and other assets in the background.

Cloud Computing Can Safe Businesses Money and Increase Performance
While cloud computing delivers popular services like YouTube and Facebook, it can also reduce costs for businesses, increase the speed of implementation, support new levels of mobility, open access to a wide range of custom applications and much more. Small to medium businesses have cost-effective access to technological support that previously was only available to enterprise level organizations.

Cloud Computing Comes with Security and Dependability Challenges
In spite of the wide range of reasons that business can and should take advantage of cloud computing, there are still inherent challenges in utilizing the potential of cloud computing. Last summer, several major cloud providers had a problem that delayed access to cloud services for a period of time. Many major businesses were impacted. As I wrote last summer, “Human error and technological failure resulted in service outage, blocking users out of their control panels.” Problems like this can spook businesses away from the obvious benefits in cloud computing.

Cloud Computing Implementation Needs a Robust Security and Redundancy Strategy
The challenge is planning a proper strategy that addresses challenges instead of abandoning a valuable tool. Businesses considering utilizing cloud services for some of their business applications and data storage, must consider how they want to utilize the cloud, the risk tolerance for certain types of data, how data will be delivered/accessed users and what type of users need access. Regardless of cloud initiatives, businesses also need a robust redundancy plan in place.

If your business has been consider cloud computing from afar, the experts at Integracon can help you develop a strategy for that includes your goals, your vulnerabilities, your challenges, and your opportunities. We can help you scope an implementation that addresses your concerns and expectations in a cost-effective way. For more information on how Integracon can help you, please call us 865-330-2323, or chat via the Integracon Contact page.

Unfortunately, engaging with patients faces some obstacles since many facilities need to adapt their tools to make them more patient friendly. “You have medical forms and medical jargon built for the provider benefit and not the patient,” Lanier said. “It’s confusing, tedious, and full of acronyms – it’s an alphabet soup. Patients feel lost. We want to make healthcare work for patients, and the closer we can get to a more accurate view of patient data, we’re better set up to change the way the model works and how people think about the model.” Here are five key ideas Lanier offers to help facilities designing/implementing EHR systems think more about patient engagement.

1. Facilities have not typically focused on patient engagement.
Lanier emphasizes that healthcare system fails to start with patient services and works its way out, instead it starts with billing and reimbursement. If other businesses were run that way, they would go out of business. Lanier says that he see a shift happening in the medical field now from outward-in to an inward-out model focused on the patient. Healthcare is gradually becoming more concerned about delivering a quality consumer product.

2. Simpler design is a step toward greater patient engagement.
Doctors engagement patients for about 10 minutes in an hour-long visit. Technology offers a possibility for greater engagement while the patient is at the facility and after they leave the facility. The challenge is designing tools in tablets, smartphones and website in a simple design that connects with patients and can communicate effectively with lower-income and non-English speaking patients.

3. Facilities can drive efficiency through patient engagement.
As facilities begin to support patient engagement, more possibilities emerge. Digital patient intake forms, Lanier suggests are just “the tip of the iceberg.” The goal is to “make sure the right people have the right care at the right time.” If patients have access to helpful information and can submit input including their own outcomes, Lanier believes this can drive efficiency, and have a positive impact on clinical outcomes and reimbursements.

4. Developing system-wide engagement.
Lanier’s discussion of patient engagement introduces the possibility for expanding to thing about engagement across all stakeholders. By focusing on simplifying the input and interactive process possibilities for engagement and adoption can expand throughout the organization. Expanding the breadth and depth of data sources opens possibilities for improving process, customer service, overall care, management and more.

5. Integrating with workflow increases engagement.
Developing and implementing a plan that integrates with physician workflows simplifies adoption, increasing the likelihood of system wide support. For Lanier this includes paying attention to both the needs of the physician and the patient. In the long run, organizations that shifting from an inside out organization to an outward in, can drive efficiency while improving patient support.

While this study is focused on enterprise usage, it might be helpful to ask about the impact upon that data center planning for small to medium businesses. One, it is likely that colocation services will respond to the growing demand and be prepared to meet the increased demands by 2015. As far as SMBs go, the bigger challenge is developing a long-term data center strategy that includes growth, resource utilization, as well as redundancy and disaster planning. A good plan will be prepared to respond to market conditions as needed to guarantee data backup and security.

Integracon engineers can your business as you walk through the process of strategic planning, design, and implementation. To learn about how we can help you prepare for your company’s needs, contact Integracon at 865-330-2323, or chat via our contact page at Integracon.com.

Immediate Impact on SMBs

4G Is Here – At CES last week, Verizon announced that all the smartphones they introduce this year will be 4G. After a year of talk, 4G is emerging as a significant protocol that will impact every business. Verizon, Sprint, AT&T, and MetroPCs all offer some form of 4G. The networks are currently expanding, and Verizon promises to offer 4G coverage across its 3G footprint by the end of 2013. While the full impact of 4G may not fully hit until sometime between 2013 and 2015, 4G is here and was in big showing at CES. The long-term significance for business is quite extensive but the immediate impact is much faster upload and download wireless speeds. 4G brings broadband speeds to wireless computing, opening the door for increased reliance upon tablets, smartphones and cloud computing.

Tablets – While 2011 was originally touted as “the year of the tablet,” 2012 is shaping up to actually be the “year of the tablet.” Small business have actually budgeted tablet purchases for this year (see NPD Group). At CES, vendors unveiled over 100 new tablets. While iPad is still the premium and untouchable tablet, other tablets are emerging as worthy contenders including the light and thin Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7, the Asus Transformer Prime, and Blackberry’s Playbook (see all the new tablets at BGR).

Ultrabooks – Even as tablets are thriving, notebooks have become thinner, and lighter. In an attempt to answer the MacBook Air, PC makers have introduced ultrabooks. Two standouts include the Dell XPS 13 Ultrabook (its entry-level unit comes with a Core i5 CPU, 128GB SSD, 4GB RAM and a backlit keyboard) and Lenovo’s IdeaPad Yoga.

Smartphones – The big news here is not specific smartphone models, but the ubiquity of smartphones. With 4G speeds on most smartphones (including the iPhone 5) and the explosion of applications, smartphones are becoming an essential utility for many SMBs. Smartphone security is and will continue to be an important issue that businesses must watch. At the same time, a variety of robust applications are being developed that take advantage of the 4G speeds and low-latency, and that interact directly with other 4G devices.

Invoxia NVX 610

VOIP Teleconference – The Invoxia NVX 610 captured the interest of a variety of attendees as a sleek, intelligent and intuitive VoIP phone. Integrating your iPhone, iPad or iPod with the desktop phone unit, the NVX 610 delivers high sound quality for hands-free calls and even large conference calls.

New Innovations That Could Impact SMBs in the Near Future

OLED – Samsung and LG debuted OLED televisions that wowed reviewers. At only 4mm wide, these ultra thin displays deliver brilliant images. Researchers are currently developing bendable OLED displays, which could open the door for all kinds of display possibilities from wearable computers to display panels that cover walls and other surfaces. Look for OLED technology to continue growing and making an impact in the consumer and business markets.

Near Field Communication – One display that received little coverage was the Near Field Communications (NFC). Since most smartphones did not come equipped for NFC it is still not catching on. As you may remember, NFC made a splash last spring with the Google Wallet announcement. Art Wittmann at Information Week suggests that we must not limit the possibilities of NFC to monetary exchange, it has possibilities for exchanging all sorts of information from business cards to information about products on display, agencies and so on. While the time hasn’t fully bloomed for NFC, it could be important in the near future.

1. Is your network standards-based, allowing you to adapt and scale with equipment from multiple manufacturers? (Open and Interoperable)
2. How fast is your data center? Is it prepared to meet the performance demands of big data, cloud computing, and virtualization? You should have at least 10 GB Ethernet on the server and in the access and aggregation layers. (High Speed)
3. Are you using ultra-low latency switches that support the same connection speeds across all port combinations? (Low Latency)
4. Have you implemented equipment that support Data Center Bridging to eliminate packet loss? (Loss-less)
5. How flat is your network? Are you implementing designs for a shortest path network fabrics to support virtualization and cloud computing?(Flat)
6. Are your network policies migrating dynamically from server to server within the virtualized data center or private cloud? (Virtualization Aware)
7. Does your network have linear scalability so that network capacity can grow incrementally as new switches added? (Scalable)
8. Can the network administrator easily configure and manage virtual networks, controlling traffic on a per-flow basis? (User Control)
9. Can network devices be managed, configured, provisioned and tracked like a single logical device? (Unified Management)
10. Is your network designed to minimize lifecycle costs? (Low Lifecycle Costs)

Whether you’re planning a new data center or update the current architecture, Integracon can help you think through the challenges of data center networking. Integracon partners with companies like IBM to deliver the best solutions for your situation. To discuss your challenges with Integracon, contact us at 865-330-2323 or live chat via our Integracon Contact page.

Easy Access
Desktop virtualization simplifies access and authentication for clinicians. Clinicians can easily sign in to access their applications and data. As medical personnel move from patient to patient to workstation, they maintain the same personalized experience, by signing in regardless of which thin client they are accessing. Virtualization also makes it easier to accommodate the growing preference of physicians for smartphones and other mobile devices. They can easily access the applications they use most often.

IT Maintenance and Support
Desktop virtualization simplifies IT management of PCs and devices through the system. They can easily install, backup and manage updates, installations, and more.

Data Security
Desktop virtualization keeps the vital patient data in the data center adhering to HIPPA compliance. When the clinician authenticates at a thin client, he or she can access information and enter information, but when he or she steps away, facial recognition technology can be used to automatically log off, instantly securing data.

Integracon partners with VMWare, Ciscos and other vendors to provide infrastructure installation. To learn more about how desktop virtualization can play a key role in your EMR implementation, call Integracon at 865-330-2323 or chat via Integracon.com.

According to a poll Healthcare IT News conducted with its readers, Meaningful Use was the overwhelming IT Health issue from 2011.[1] In 2011, EHR implementations began to pick up with Meaningful Use as a prime driver. Shahid, the Healthcare IT Guy, suggests that Meaningful Use is all about data. Improving healthcare on the government level, the medical level and the patient level depends on usable data. Shahid explains that “the government needs data for cost comparisons, healthcare professionals need it for treatment research and chart management, and patients need it for choosing the right provider and treatment.”

In the long run, the challenge is collecting the right kinds of data, which means EHR implementations should focus on collecting “real-time data” collected “from connected medical devices and labs/diagnostic equipment.” According the Shahid, software developers should focus on supporting medical devices and mobile apps that can collect and send data. Better collection means better data and greater integration.[2]

This focus on developing support for mobile devices and medical devices, coincides with Shahid’s challenge to facilities that are implementing EHRs. Typically, the focus starts with physicians and increases their workload, but effective implementation should reduce the physician workload.

EHR implementations should make sure the supporting staff have the tools they need to reduce physician workload. They should be fully trained and prepared to support the physician transition. If the implementation focuses on delivering and optimizing systems for the physician’s “supporting resources that “help manage patient records and support patient care,” then the implementation will lose less money and be more profitable. Thus Shahid recommends, focusing on “system integration, medical device connectivity, and other simple technologies like worklist management to reduce the workload.”[3]

The end result is more cost effective implementation and more support to collect the vital data necessary to make Meaningful Use worthwhile.

[1] Thompson, Janie. “Survey analysis: MU biggest health IT issue in 2011.” Healthcare IT News, January 06, 2012 <http://healthcareitnews.com/survey-analysis-mu-biggest-health-it-issue-2011>
[2] McNickle, Michelle. “5 reasons medical device data is vital to the success of EHRs.” Healthcare IT News, January 5, 2012, <http://healthcareitnews.com/news/5-reasons-medical-device-data-vital-success-ehrs>
[3] Shahid. “To make physicians more productive, focus on IT and tools for their supporting staff first.” The Healthcare IT Guy, December 21, 2011, <http://www.healthcareguy.com/2011/12/21/to-make-physicians-more-productive-focus-on-it-and-tools-for-their-supporting-staff-first/>

According to a recent study by the Ponemon Institute, Digital breaches in healthcare rose by 23 percent last year and cost 6.5 billion dollars.[4] While EMR offers great potential for reducing costs while improving patient service, it also comes with challenges and risks that must be addressed. A key challenge for all facilities is developing policies and processes that assure personal health information is properly secured.

At Healthcare It News, Eric Darbe recently listed six essentials for working with sensitive data.[5]  His list includes,

1. Governance Board – The entire organization must realize and support the effort to protect sensitive information. By developing a cross-functional and cross-departmental governance board, you can increase systemwide awareness of the challenge while bringing a diverse insights to help insure policies that address all aspects of the organization.
2. Policy Implementation – Some form of automated monitoring of policy adherence is essential to make sure that policies are not simply on paper alone.
3. Organization Review – Don’t assume everything is secure. Data security is both an IT challenge (with end-point security, firewalls and varying levels of risk) and a personnel challenge. It is essential to understand how employees are using information and regularly identify potential internal risks.
4. Secured Sharing – There are situations where doctors or other medical professionals will need to share information. Make sure secure tools are provided for sharing.
5. Incentives – Developing policies and monitoring processes can all work to support Meaningful Use and HIPPA incentives.
6. Defensible Strategy – Be prepared to defend the systems in place while reporting any breaches to demonstrate your facilities commitment to securing information.

[1] Abram, Susan. “Hospital employee allegedly makes fun of patient’s medical condition on Facebook; officials investigating.” Daily News Los Angeles, December 29, 2011. <http://www.dailynews.com/news/ci_19641249?source=rss#.Tv9W3NhXOPd.twitter>
[2] Rainey, Sarah. “Nurses discuss ill patients on Facebook, study finds.” The Telegraph, October 28, 2011 <http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/8854658/Nurses-discuss-ill-patients-on-Facebook-study-finds.html>
[3] Perlroth, Nicole. “Digital Data on Patients Raises Risk of Breaches.” New York Times, December 18, 2011 <http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/19/technology/as-patient-records-are-digitized-data-breaches-are-on-the-rise.html>
[4] “Study on Patient Privacy and Data Security.” Ponemon Institute, December 2011 <http://www2.idexpertscorp.com/ponemon-study-2011/>
[5] McNickle, Michelle. “6 tips for handling personal health information.” Healthcare IT News, December 19, 2011 <http://healthcareitnews.com/news/6-tips-handling-personal-health-information?page=0,0>

Recently, Gartner published research that reiterates the power of information analysis and application by considering how the “information age” is shifting from simply acquiring technology to exploiting technology to gain competitive dominance through vital information. In “Strategic Information Management for Competitive Advantage,”Mark Raskino, Gartner Fellow, explains, “In the second half of the age, as technology becomes ubiquitous, consumerized, cheaper and more equally available to all, the focus for differentiation moves to exploitation of the technology and to the information it processes.”

Asking the right questions now about how you collect, analyze and act on information, will impact how your business develops and grows in the years to come. Gartner lists the following four types of information as vital for differentiation and competitive advantage:

1. Location information – From social media to GPS navigation, our ability to pinpoint location has been dramatically fine-tuned over the past decade. The challenge for businesses is to tap this maturing source to help improve business operations from logistics to marketing to quality improvement and even customer service issues.

2. Sustainable information – Green computing, green manufacturing and even green marketing are not simply a temporary trend, but represent a shift in how companies think about acquiring, developing and distributing resources. Companies who become effective at tracking sustainability in operations and making process changes, will be able to shift sustainability into an asset and even a efficiency-based profit center.

3. DNA information – Access to this opportunity data is increasing, making it possible for a range of businesses and healthcare facilities to capitalize through innovation and productivity.

4. Social graph information – Social media immersed the culture into collecting a range of seemingly unrelated information that ended up providing a grid for graphing social structures. Applying social graph information in external markets, internal organization structures as well as external organization engagements can help companies discover valuable insight for improving connections as wells as leveraging existing network connection points.

Understanding and exploiting the wide range of information will only continue to grow over the next few years. Integracon is helping our clients position their businesses for tapping the wide possibilities ahead. As your business considers, investing in technology, upgrading technology or even managing current systems, Integracon offers the expertise to help you navigate the emerging landscape of information technology. To learn how we can help you, please call Integracon today at 865-330-2323 or chat via our contact page at Integracon.com.

If a company can effectively utilize just some of that untapped 95% over and above their competitors, they have the potential to optimize certain aspects of their business and increase the likelihood of capturing their market. Forrester has suggested that 2012 will be a time for exploring the possibilities of tapping the other 95%. Recently, the New York Times explored this burgeoning field of big data, and has suggested that it may open the door for new players in the data analysis field.

While companies like Oracle and I.B.M. have dominated the data analysis field, new players like Splunk are emerging who offer promises of affordable solutions for beginning to tap the mountain of big data. Servicing explosive companies like Salesforce.com and LinkedIn, Splunk offers a new approach to thinking about machine data and operational intelligence.

Forrester suggests three trends toward exploring the other 95% in the coming year:

1. The Growth of Hadoop
Originally developed by Google as a means of indexing the varied types of information they collected to help them offer meaningful and useful results to users. Hadoop spun off as an open source project for yielding meaningful data from large clusters of complex and structured information. Forrester suggests that many companies are ready to move forward with enterprise-level Hadoop initiatives in the coming year. So expect the number of Hadoop deployments to rise.

2. Dramatic Growth of Analytics
Expect a wide range of vendors to emerge with a primary focus on intelligence and analysis centered on large data sets. Due to the nature of big data, this will require new ways of thinking about how analysis and intelligence works. Steve Lohr at NYT has suggested that the real challenge is not in software but in people. This means the rise of data scientists who can look for patterns in the “noise of vast unstructured data sets.”

3. Graphing Databases
Big data reveals the need to visualize relationships, influence and behavioral propensities.  “Social graph analysis” will become a prestigious and highly skill set that addresses the need for mining the rich textural data available.

This emerging field of big data sorting and analysis will impact how IT dollars are spent as companies continue to look for ways of moving IT from cost center to profit center. As this field emerges, Integracon will continue to discuss and work with our clients who are seeking to learn more about how to adapt the rich possibilities of this emerging science in their business.