SD-WAN: cornerstone of digital transformation at care company Armonea
Published on 02/06/2021 in Customer Stories
Armonea is going digital. To make this happen, the group of care homes, assisted living housing and residences has chosen Software Defined-WAN (SD-WAN). That new network paves the way for better and more secure services, and thus for better care.
“We are in the middle of a digital transformation”, says CSO Frank Verschueren. Replacing our connectivity was on the agenda even before the Corona crisis. Circumstances have simply reinforced this course of action. And it turns out to be absolutely essential.”
Frank describes the trajectory as a catch-up movement. “To give you an example: we still had a telephone switchboard in all our centers, even though our residents were all making calls on their own mobile phones. We have embraced videoconferencing so that we can offer our residents that option too. It uses extra data and so we need more bandwidth.”
In addition to a solution with more bandwidth, Armonea also wanted a reliable network. “The electronic care file, for example, which contains information on the medication the residents are taking, has to be permanently available to our caregivers.” Armonea therefore wanted network redundancy, via two different carriers: copper and coax. This ensures the availability of the network even when one of the two connections is down.
Monitoring network traffic
“We were primarily looking for a solution which enabled central management of all applications on our network: the applications for personnel, for residents and visitors, but also our phone solution, the monitoring of buildings, etc.” Moreover, Frank wanted a clear and permanent overview of network traffic. “That’s the only way to really manage the digital transformation”, he said.
Outsourcing security
Last but not least, security was also an important issue. “The management of our own firewall park required a great deal of work and specific expertise. We preferred to outsource the entire area of security to an external partner with high-end expertise. We can do the monitoring in-house. That way we know what’s happening on our network and we can exercise some control over it. Blind trust is not an option.”
SD-WAN enables us to to roll out new applications and to include new sites on the network.
Frank Verschueren, CSO at Armonea
Armonea requested quotes from various different providers. “At the time, Proximus was the only provider who could offer us a Software-Defined Wide Area Network (SD-WAN)”, said Frank. “But it wasn’t easy. It took a lot of discussion to come up with a proposal that was a good fit with our requirements.”
SD-WAN builds a software layer on top of the network so that data traffic between sites, personnel and residents can be easily managed. “It’s a fairly new concept. But as a result of the good dialogue with Proximus we came up with a solution to meet our needs.”
Complete make-over
Initially, Armonea came up with an inventory of all the phone numbers and telephone & internet lines that were in use on the 86 sites. The care company terminated all those separate contracts, so that they could switch to digital telephony and internet connectivity, controlled and managed via SD-WAN. “At the same time, we had to update all our servers. We’d already housed them in an external data center earlier.”
The final part of the complete makeover of the Armonea network is the new approach to security, with the implementation of two-step verification, single sign-on and Identity & Access Management. “The roll-out of SD-WAN on the 86 sites went really smoothly, thanks to our Proximus project manager. By working together with our internal team, he was able to act quickly”, he said. “Even the 700 thin clients were replaced during the roll-out of the connectivity.” Armonea was really grateful for that. “You don’t always expect that kind of flexibility from a big provider.”
SD-WAN is essential in the context of our ongoing digital transformation.
Frank Verschueren, CSO at Armonea
Rapid switch
Both residents and personnel are enjoying the extra bandwidth, but naturally there is more to it than that. “As I said: SD-WAN is essential in the context of our ongoing digital transformation. Among other things, we will roll out a Building Management System, which will enable us to react very quickly to potential incidents. Tools to make videocalling easier for the residents will also be added to the network. In addition, every employee gets their own login, to facilitate direct communication via the network.”
Finally, SD-WAN enables Armonea to switch rapidly: not only to roll out new applications, but also to include new sites on the network. “The network security is now being managed by a professional partner. They have the expertise that we didn’t have internally. At the same time, we get a clear overview about what’s happening on the network, enabling us to check and give guidance on the role of the partner if necessary.”
On the IT level, Armonea wants to offer as good and secure an environment as possible, both for personnel and residents. “That will help us to offer the best care possible. And that’s really what it’s all about.”
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Frank Verschueren has been CSO at Armonea since 2019. He is responsible for IT, facility, greenfields, and renovations. Armonea is a group of 86 care centers, assisted living houses and residences. Approx. 6,500 staff members are responsible for the care and service provided to 9,000 residents.
The benefits of SD-WAN for Armonea
A custom solution for every site
“Companies often opt for a single solution that can be rolled out across all of their sites,” explains Alexis Schewebach, Proximus Product Manager. “SD-WAN gives Armonea the option to roll out the right tools with pinpoint accuracy – customized to an assisted living center or a retirement community, for example. An ordinary internet connection is all it takes for a small site, while Proximus Explore is recommended for larger sites. At the same time, the entire network is managed via SD-WAN to optimize network costs.”
Network segmentation
Alexis Schewebach: “SD-WAN allows for network segmentation, which makes it easy to split data streams and assign priorities. Simultaneously, there’s a clear overview of what’s happening on the network, enabling Armonea to manage traffic more efficiently.”
Managed service
Alexis Schewebach: “We offer SD-WAN as a turnkey solution, a managed service. The keyword here is flexibility. Armonea can modify the SD-WAN according to the network’s evolving needs.”
Sigrid De Jonghe, Proximus Key Account Manager: “Security is a top priority at Armonea. The company has a small IT team to support a network of 86 residential care facilities. And that’s why they opted for a managed service that covers every aspect of the network’s security in one go. SD-WAN provides Armonea with a flexible, secure, and future-proof network solution.”
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