Many healthcare providers have begun to transition to a highly connected, patient-driven, real-time healthcare system (RTHS). Such systems typically combine digital and cloud technologies allowing healthcare professionals and patients to communicate, collaborate and streamline their workflows more effectively.

But as providers roll-out new data-intensive applications capable of connecting multiple sites and devices, more strain is placed on already congested networks. If left unchecked this can lead to many challenges which can undermine the reliability and effectiveness of real-time healthcare systems.

What challenges do today’s healthcare providers face?

Network reliability – Healthcare professionals need to access Electronic Health Records (EHRs) and critical real-time data wherever they are on site. Many legacy systems are simply not capable of providing reliable access to the volume of data today’s real-time healthcare systems demand.

Quality of Service (QoS) – Healthcare providers have unique requirements when it comes to implementing QoS. Different applications, data and services must be prioritised according to their importance. To do this effectively organisations need the ability to differentiate and prioritise data in real-time.

Security – The confidentiality and security of patient data is paramount, but with the accelerated adoption of public and private cloud technologies come increased network and data security risks. Healthcare providers need the ability to monitor users if they are to manage the risks effectively.

Scalability – As more medical devices and applications are connected to the network, the more data needs to be transmitted between them. This creates issues for legacy network equipment which is already struggling to cope with the volume of data being transmitted.

If the efficiency and productivity benefits of RTHS are to be realised, healthcare organisations need to ensure the above challenges are met without compromising patient confidentiality and the ability to effectively monitor healthcare systems.

Solving today’s healthcare system challenges

There are several measures healthcare providers can take to help overcome these challenges. The most important thing is to make sure the network is designed properly from the ground up. Secure private WANs should be created to connect major healthcare sites and hospitals, with smaller sites.

Larger sites should also look at implementing private/hybrid services leveraging the existing network infrastructure with new cloud networking technologies. This can help create a more agile and cost-effective solutions without compromising the control or security of the network.

Intelligent network management software

But network infrastructure is only part of the solution. Organisations should also look at implementing robust and integrated network management software to manage and monitor the network in real-time. Such systems should be capable of monitoring infrastructure at scale and providing active data management to prevent outages, reduce bottlenecks and maintain QoS.

By implementing a solution such as FirstWave’s Network Management Information System (NMIS), network admins get real-time information about the current state of the network infrastructure and the data transmitted on it. Information about the health of specific devices can then be relayed to engineers allowing them to see precisely what impact a single device failure is having on the wider network.

But NMIS goes much further than basic monitoring. With automated health live baselining, the software can monitor the availability and response time of devices and compare that with a previous baseline period. This gives network admins early warning of impending failures allowing them to fix issues before they impact network performance.

Distributed poling for easy scalability

As with the underlying network infrastructure, any network monitoring solution deployed should also be capable of scaling to meet the demands of an ever-expanding number of devices. With more on-demand services and internet of medical things, (IoMT) devices and the number of nodes on the network is  increasing. So, any network monitoring solution deployed must be capable of seamless scalability.

To prevent such issues FirstWave’s opHA with NMIS uses distributed polling, this allows for infinite scaling while also adhering to stricter security policies that may be in place. Using distributed polling allows network admins to move from monitoring single devices to gaining a full picture of the entire network infrastructure on a single pane of glass.

FirstWave software is also designed to be a plug-and-play solution, in normal networks no configuration changes are required after the initial setup. The software currently supports more than 30,000 vendors with new devices automatically identified and added to the system without the need for coding.

Harnessing network efficiency across hospitals, clinics, data-centers and offsite facilities is crucial for the healthcare system to transition into a real-time model. By leveraging network management solutions like FirstWave, your organisation gain agility and flexibility without having to glue together monitoring systems. In providing the opportunity for clinicians and healthcare administrators to gain greater visibility into their operations and resources, they will be better equipped to improve patient care quality – do more with your data.

Your network support staff in your Network Operations Centre (NOC) are the unsung heroes of your business. They support your business by keeping your network running smoothly and help resolve issues quickly. But to operate efficiently, these people need to have the right tools to help diagnose the problem, solve it themselves or direct it to the right team for a quick resolution.

In the early days of tech, this wasn’t much of a problem. Server and network issues were easily identified, the edge of the network was clearly defined and desktops were fixed assets which could be easily identified and secured.

But today’s network is a different beast. These staff have to contend with BYOD, guest networks, software-defined networking, WiFi and Internet of Things devices. And then there are evolving threats which need to be addressed. See my blog on Shadow IT.

If network support staff are to keep doing its job effectively in this environment, they need access to the right information at the right time. With the network evolving so quickly, many legacy applications simply can’t provide the data and insight needed to keep on top of the situation. They need a consolidated view.

If you are still using legacy software to manage and monitor your network, the following three scenarios will be familiar to you.

1. Poor situational awareness

In a fluid and constantly changing environment, your people need realtime information about the devices currently active on the network. Legacy software simply can’t provide this information quickly enough. This causes people to guess where the problem might be.

The solution is to implement a network management tool which offers real-time insight into the state of the network, maps dynamic changes automatically and highlights issues as they occur. To do this effectively it must provide a consolidated view of the infrastructure under management.

2. Poor escalations

The traditional method for escalating tickets in the NOC is to troubleshoot the issue until all possible solutions have been exhausted and then pass it on to another IT department or supplier. This is known as a functional escalation in ITIL and it is often the primary source of complaints from IT users and helpdesk employees alike.

Using the functional escalation method, key information is often missing, troubleshooting is not carried out effectively and the importance of the device in the network hierarchy is not considered. A better solution is to implement the Quality Assurance method which not only identifies the device and its user, it creates a clear path for resolution and escalation for helpdesk analysts to follow.

3. Unreliable data

Early iterations of network management software were very good at generating reams of data from every monitored device. But that data wasn’t displayed in context, deduplicated or linked to any single device or event. As a result, hundreds of alerts would be generated from a single point of failure which made it almost impossible to identify and solve the issue.

Our network management software works to solve the issue of information-overload by automatically triaging events and classifying them based on their impact on the business, not their technical nature. This rules-based approach makes it easy to identify issues which need to be fixed quickly, regardless of the size of the network.

Here at Opmantek, our next-generation network management software is designed to take the stress out of managing your network. Our software provides a real-time 360º view of your network, helps you identify issues quickly and creates a clear path for escalation, thereby lowering response times.

If you would like more information about how Opmantek can help you solve network issues more efficiently, get in touch with us today. Opmantek specialists are technically led and not sales-based, so you can be sure of knowledgeable answers to any questions you have about our products with no hard-sell.

Over the last few years, the Internet of Things (IoT) has made a substantial progression into our everyday lives. With this comes an opportunity for Australia to grow exponentially in a variety of sectors; this is crucial as, if we truly do embrace the full extent of IoT and IT auditing, then as a country our companies will be some of the earliest beneficiaries of this new ICT and industry renaissance. At present, Australia is placed 11th in Accenture’s model of countries that are ready to embrace IoT potential; if we take full measures now, however, then we may well find ourselves in the top 10.

In the assessment “The Internet of Things: Mapping the Value Beyond the Hype” published by the McKinsey Global Institute (MGI), predictions suggest that harnessing the potential of IoT could result in an additional impact of up to $116 billion by 2025 – that’s a mere six years away. As Australian industries have undoubtedly plateaued in recent years in terms of economic growth, we’re at risk of a country-wide retrogression if something isn’t done soon. IoT auditing and data management is the perfect gateway to avoid such stagnation. http://bit.ly/2ZbnQMv

So how do we go about such measures?

Firstly, one has to step back and view the sheer scope of IoT versatility. By 2020 there will be tens of billions of new devices to be interconnected via the internet, and the potential of where these can each be located is limitless. Whether it’s a smart meter in your home or a distant weather sensor on a remote station, anything can be accessed. Thus, a stronger method of network management needs to be implemented. In order to fully comprehend what Australia’s next steps should be, a clear set of data should be gathered; this is where IoT auditing comes in.

But why should we?

The auditing of IoT information can allow companies to develop a coherent data strategy in order to maximise their usage of the rise of the Internet of Things. Not only will this allow businesses to boom and expand into new industrial and commercial horizons, but it also creates room for the fixing of potential problems that may arise with IoT, such as implementation time and asset control. As our own Opmantek CTO Keith Sinclair says, “business processes are dependent on the transient. You simply can’t fix what you can’t see.” So as you can see, IoT auditing is essential if you wish to receive accurate data location of your assets and more in seconds.

And how do we go about it?

Luckily, Opmantek’s Open-AudI allows users to gain unparalleled visibility and clarity of your assets with the IoT space, giving the chance for enterprise growth on a global level. While most organisations struggle with a day-to-day capturing and analysis of data, Open-AudIT makes it simple and effective. Open-AudIT has the ability to intelligently scan an organization and collect significant amounts of data from large and varying networks, that is catalogued and configured into meaningful reports. If your business is missing something as incredibly unequivocal as the Open-AudIT, then contact us today to get a quote and a demo.

As most IT managers and network professionals will be well aware, business leaders and employees have come to expect 24/7 network availability at work. Unfortunately, achieving this can be very difficult and many businesses lose countless hours to troubleshooting every year. This is where network monitoring comes in.

What is network monitoring?

Network monitoring ensures the smooth running of regular operations via the help of trained technicians, network management software and network support. The idea behind network monitoring is that it helps avoid productivity losses and, by extension, the cost of downtime. Indeed, businesses that calculate how much money network monitoring services could save them every year will discover that they offer a fantastic return on investment (ROI). Here are a few reasons why:

Overtime is reduced

If your staff regularly rack up overtime due to network outages, a monitoring service will save you a great deal of money in the long run. It may also lessen the need for extra staff on night shifts for certain sectors, again saving the company money.

Damage control

Network monitoring services are able to address IT issues before they turn into public relations disasters. Indeed, they can detect issues early on by analysing factors such as round trip times, network utilisation rates and error percentages. If there are any problems with the smooth running of the network, businesses can take action early on before operations slow down or servers cut out altogether.

Support calls are reduced

Investing in network monitoring can help keep end users productive and online, thereby lowering the pressure on network technicians to answer calls and deal with troubleshooting questions. Monitoring services do this by alerting companies to potential problems such as excessive bandwidth consumption early on and eliminating the need for end-user support. This lowers the number of calls to IT teams and, by extension, the number of team members needed to occupy the support desk. Businesses, therefore, save money on support team salaries.

Repair times are lowered

Finding the source of a network problem can be difficult even for the most skilled technicians. This is particularly true for networks that are spread across sites that are very far apart and can end up costing huge amounts of time and money thanks to the need for technicians to travel. Network monitoring can prevent such losses by offering live diagnostic data and maps that can tell technicians where problems lie.

Businesses can meet service level agreements

Service level agreements (SLAs) are drawn up to keep clients and end users happy and to let them know what to expect of their network providers. If SLAs are unmet, then, companies can end up in very hot water. Network monitoring is one of the best ways to ensure SLAs are met.

Downtime is reduced

Downtime is a major factor when it comes to company losses. This is because it can hugely impact employee productivity. As well as the time spent unable to undertake their everyday tasks, employees may become frustrated or angered by slow IT systems, which can impact their ability to get on with tasks. Network monitoring is a great way to reduce downtime.

Choosing the right software for you

Once you have made the decision to opt for network monitoring software, you will need to find a package that suits your needs. You may, for example, want to think about:

– Installation costs
– The cost of initial licenses and product options
– Whether the product offers affordable upgrades and support
– How many of your staff will need training, and how much this will cost
– Costs associated with setting up the system
– Whether you will need to hire anyone new to help manage the new system

Here at Opmantek, we’ve helped our customers use our products to design the solution they need. Our staff are knowledgeable and friendly and there’s no hard sell.