2 page Case Study - Posted 7/8/2008

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Miwayawin

First-Nation Health Service Improves Service, Helps Secure Data with Server Solution

Miwayawin Health Services needed to provide better file sharing and remote connectivity for employees and to strengthen data protection. By deploying Windows® Small Business Server 2008 Standard, Miwayawin has improved healthcare delivery by simplifying remote access to patient information and backing up critical files. Medical staff can now more easily share files, set up meetings, and locate data, and network security is much tighter.

Business Needs

The Canadian government established Miwayawin Health Services in 1992 to provide a range of health programs to seven First Nation bands in Saskatchewan. Miwayawin provides home healthcare, dental care, Headstart, youth outreach, addiction prevention, and other services. The organization employs 110 people (85 users), most of them in North Battleford, Saskatchewan, and serves a reserve population of approximately 4,800 people.

As Miwayawin’s services expanded, so did the number of computers needed for storing patient records and program data files. As the desktop computer count rose from 15 to 50, Candace Greyeyes emerged as the organization’s de facto technology go-to person. “People kept coming to me for help, until I was spending about 30 percent of my time on technology issues,” says Greyeyes, who is Health Center Clerk for Miwayawin Health Services. The organization’s computer holdings grew organically and chaotically. Each department purchased what it needed, when it needed it, and Miwayawin ended up with a grab bag of computers running many different operating systems and applications. Only the accounting department was backing up files (to CDs), with uneven success.

About 40 of Miwayawin’s 110 employees work on the seven reserves, cut off from the rest of the organization’s technology. To access or transfer files, they used CDs. “It was like the Stone Age,” Greyeyes says. “We were constantly phoning and faxing documents, reports, and notices to our reserve workers, which often held up patient care and dragged down productivity.”

Network security was another problem: there was no control over Internet activity, what users installed on their systems, or spam that flooded the e-mail system. “Management suspected that our computer use policies were abused, which affected network safety and productivity,” Greyeyes says.

Solution

Greyeyes turned to Microsoft® Small Business Specialist Bralin Technology Solutions, also of North Battleford, to help put Miwayawin’s technology house in order. Bralin recommended that Miwayawin deploy Windows® Small Business Server 2008 beta software to integrate e-mail, remote access, Internet monitoring, file and printer sharing, and data backup in one easy-to-manage package. “At first, management wasn’t convinced that it was worth the investment, but Bralin helped build a case that productivity and data security would increase with a server-based network,” Greyeyes says.

I have much greater peace of mind now. The server-level protection and anti-spam and antivirus filters provide stronger defense for our entire network. Candace Greyeyes Health Center Clerk, Miwayawin Health Services

Miwayawin deployed Windows Small Business Server 2008 Standard on a Dell PowerEdge 2900 server containing an Intel Xeon processor. “The Dell server was very easy to set up, and the performance was outstanding,” Kowerchuk says. “The system looks to be easy to service and highly expandable, so it should serve Miwayawin’s needs for some time to come.”

With the new software, Bralin created an internal company Web site that Miwayawin employees use to share documents, calendars, and contacts. Reserve-based staff can now access documents and even business applications from the shared site, eliminating the need to phone colleagues for information. Anti-spam and antivirus protection provide stronger defense against malicious software, and integrated backup provides regular, automatic backup of Miwayawin data.

Benefits

Miwayawin’s server investment is paying off with improved healthcare service, less wasted time, enhanced data protection, and lower technology management costs.

• Improved healthcare service. Because staff can access needed information faster, Miwayawin employees are better able to deliver prompt services to constituents. “Our remote healthcare teams can access information instantly rather than phoning in requests,” Greyeyes says. “Conversely, departments can send out time-sensitive health notices immediately by putting them on the internal Web site, greatly improving our services.”
  
  
• Enhanced data protection. All of Miwayawin’s patient documents are now stored on a reliable server, and backed up every 30 minutes at the end of the workday. Backup drives are then taken offsite, “so if our building burns down, we’ll have a copy of everything from payroll to calendars,” Greyeyes says. “I have much greater peace of mind now. The server-level protection and anti-spam and antivirus filters provide stronger defense for our entire network.”
  
  
• Higher productivity. Employees have increased their productivity by at least 15 percent in everything from accessing documents to setting up meetings. Instead of faxing a notice to seven different reserves, they post it once to the internal Web site. “We’re not laying paper trails anymore,” Greyeyes says. Miwayawin is also better able to share information with federal-agency partners. “All the agencies we work with have the latest technology, and we can now better exchange information and get real-time resources from our partners,” Greyeyes says.
  
  
• More time for future planning. Concurrent with the move to Windows Small Business Server 2008, Miwayawin is upgrading all desktop and notebook computers to the Windows Vista® operating system and Microsoft Office Professional 2007. “I foresee my technology babysitting time shrinking by 20 percent when all our systems are consistent, better protected, and easier to use,” Greyeyes says. “I’ll have more time to complete our disaster-recovery plan, support new services, and train users. We’re really ready for the future now.”

Windows Essential Server Solutions
Windows Small Business Server 2008 is part of the Windows Essential Server Solutions family, designed to help small and midsize businesses boost productivity and growth. Based on the latest innovations, Windows Essential Server Solutions dramatically simplify the deployment, ongoing management, and use of server technology. For more information about other Microsoft customer successes, please visit:
www.microsoft.com/sbs08