Global Healthcare Services Provider Utilizes Siemon Global Project Services to Help Ensure Global Network Reliability

Delivering a high level of service and technology to customers continually places significant demands on a healthcare service provider's IT infrastructure. Data security, network-based service availability and performance reliability are paramount both as an institutional goal and through regulatory mandates. Managing to high these standards over an often expansive and widespread network of remote sites and IT assets requires IT personnel to maintain extremely robust process efficiencies.

This efficiency-centric approach to managing multi-site IT infrastructure presents the most significant challenge in healthcare providers that are expanding their presence outside of their home markets, where corporate-based IT personnel often manage remote site upgrades and installation projects all over a growing global footprint. While the corporate IT-driven approach can successfully bring remote networks up to strict corporate guidelines, the process faces some basic inefficiency, particularly in the installation of physical layer network infrastructure.

Chief among the areas cited by healthcare service providers as a potential issue is the resource-intensive process of developing and maintaining relationships with local installers across multiple countries and regions. Finding qualified and professional installer companies and managing their efforts remotely takes corporate IT staff from their core duties. Ensuring that work orders are clearly communicated, understood and fulfilled as required can become extremely time-consuming.

Healthcare service providers are sometimes able to bridge some of these gaps working with outsourced realty and facility management companies. However, these companies typically lack physical infrastructure-specific expertise. Design, installation and post-installation support for structured cabling and related systems are largely outside of their scope.

To solve this inefficiency, one leading company set out to establish a relationship with a partner that had physical layer expertise, a global support structure and a network of local installers. Their search led them to Siemon's Global Project Services (GPS).

The Siemon GPS program was specifically developed to support enterprises with multi-site, global network infrastructure projects. GPS offers a single point of contact for all project resource coordination and management services including bid specification; design and engineering; material logistics; labor selection and logistics; implementation and accounting.

To illustrate the basic process, an IT staffer or project manager from the company contacts a GPS project manager to outline basic project goals and parameters through a customer needs briefing. If required, GPS then coordinates a site survey/IT audit assessing the project site and providing an actionable recommendation report on areas such as access, cable pathways, cabling media, site access times, cabinet requirements, outlet placement, active equipment considerations, etc.

Based on the customer needs briefing and site assessment, GPS offers both pre-sales design services and bill of material generation before moving into the selection and coordination local labor. This is the heart of the GPS program: the ability to ensure a consistently high quality installation, anywhere in the world. To achieve this, GPS leverages Siemon's worldwide network of Certified Installers (CI). CIs are Pre-screened for capability, highly trained on the design, installation and administration of Siemon cabling systems and continually tracked and rated by in a global database. To become a CI, installers must successfully complete an intensive multi-day ISO-certified training program and undergo re-certification bi-yearly.

Installations are supported by GPS management of material delivery via an extensive global network of stocking distributors and monitored through close project oversight, including full progress reporting to the client. This progress reporting is facilitated through GPS webTRAC, an innovative online tool allows the client to follow the project the entire process the entire process, from project initiation through final billing.

Upon completion, a final project sign off ensures that the client received a quality installation that was completed to their satisfaction. It verifies the scope of work completed at the site, and rates the independent GPS contractor on their workmanship and professionalism. This process also includes an operations and maintenance handover document covering test results, summary scope of work equipment specifications, contact details of CI and any manufacturers used, photographs and as-built drawings.

All of these services fall under a single invoice processed through GPS accounting services, dramatically simplifying billing.

The GPS model proved to be an ideal fit for this global healthcare leader's remote infrastructure projects. Since launching their partnership GPS has managed approximately 200 projects a year throughout their globally expanding network of facilities. Beyond simplifying the management of widespread network assets, ensuring high-quality, high-performance cabling and freeing critical IT personnel resources for core network duties, GPS has provided a considerable cost benefit. According to the customer, GPS managed remote projects typically cost three times less than self-managed equivalents.