Providence Care transforms security infrastructure with Microsoft 365 E5

Providence Care faced a fragmented, aging security environment with disconnected tools, scattered data, and limited visibility. These gaps caused slower threat response, raising the risk of a security breach.

For consolidated visibility and policy enforcement, the organization is modernizing on Microsoft 365 with security capabilities, including Microsoft Defender and Microsoft Purview.

The unified view saves the IT team hundreds of hours annually by significantly reducing the volume of manual patching. Major system upgrades are 15 times faster, taking a few weeks rather than a year.

Healthcare is one of the most frequently targeted industries for cyberattacks. The growing value of personal health information has intensified both the frequency and sophistication of these threats.

Every day, Providence Care personnel step into situations where a person’s wellness, safety, and dignity depend on having the right information at the right moment. Yet behind the scenes, the systems meant to protect that information had become fragmented, outdated, and difficult to defend.

Seeing risk clearly

Serving more than 15,000 patients across 14-plus sites, Providence Care faced this reality with an IT environment held together by multiple disconnected security tools, scattered data, and limited visibility. This patchwork approach created visibility gaps that made it harder to detect issues early, slowed the ability to respond to threats, and added operational strain across a small IT team responsible for supporting thousands of accounts and devices.

“We were starting to hit the limits of what our existing infrastructure could support,” says Jonathon Bingeman, VP of Finance & Digital Transformation at Providence Care. “We needed to modernize, create agility, and set a foundation for the future.”

Providence Care needed a path that would not only strengthen security but also protect those it serves, empower personnel, and create a foundation for the next generation of healthcare innovation. If the organization failed to modernize, it risked a security breach, which could compromise client data, care continuity, and public confidence.

“Microsoft 365 E5 gave us the foundation to modernize our service delivery model.”

Michael McEachern, Director, Information Technology, Providence Care

Securing care with a unified platform

Providence Care streamlined and secured its digital environment through Microsoft 365 E5 and the unified capabilities of Microsoft security, including Microsoft Defender and Microsoft Purview. This established the backbone of a modern, cloud-native security posture.

“Microsoft 365 E5 gave us the foundation to modernize our service delivery model,” says Michael McEachern, Director of Information Technology at Providence Care. He noted that moving to a single identity and security framework created immediate clarity across the environment.

Identity protection, least privilege access, and unified endpoint management brought more than 1,400 devices under consistent policy enforcement. Centralized telemetry replaced scattered tools, allowing the team to see and act on emerging issues with greater speed and confidence.

“Once we unified under Microsoft security, we could finally manage the whole environment instead of chasing individual systems.”

Craig Daigle, Manager, Information Technology, Providence Care

Turning security into momentum

For the small IT team, consolidation was transformative. “Once we unified under Microsoft security, we could finally manage the whole environment instead of chasing individual systems,” says Craig Daigle, Manager of Information Technology at Providence Care. His team gained time back, shifting from reactive to strategic work that enhances value for personnel across the organization.

At the executive level, the impact aligned directly with Providence Care’s strategic priorities. “Choosing Microsoft positioned us for what comes next, especially AI,” says Bingeman. “Budgets are tight in healthcare. By moving to the Microsoft cloud, it keeps a core piece of our business infrastructure evergreen.” The move strengthened compliance and unlocked the ability to innovate rapidly in a sector where speed had once been a barrier.

Providence Care now operates on a single, cloud-native platform that ties identity, data, devices, and security into one integrated ecosystem.

“Budgets are tight in healthcare. By moving to the Microsoft cloud, it keeps a core piece of our business infrastructure evergreen.”

Jonathon Bingeman, VP, Finance & Digital Transformation, Providence Care

Sharing the playbook

Providence Care’s progress offers a practical model for other healthcare organizations facing the same pressures: reduce tool sprawl, standardize identity and device management, automate the routine, and reinvest the reclaimed time into analytics, automation, and AI enablement.

At Providence Care, the results are apparent.

System upgrades that once consumed a year, such as the move from Windows 7 to Windows 10, now take a few weeks when transitioning to Windows 11—15 times faster.

New technology rollout is 10 times faster, from a six-month process to about two weeks.

Routine IT tasks that were previously multi-person, multi-day projects are now easily mastered. Scripting tasks that once took several days now take minutes, accelerated by Microsoft 365 Copilot.

Hundreds of IT hours are now saved annually simply by the move to cloud-based infrastructure. This eliminates manual patching and device imaging and upgrades while automating onboarding and offboarding for accounts and reporting cycles.

Looking ahead, ensuring personnel have the right information at the right moment is now supported by a highly secure, resilient digital ecosystem that is AI-ready. With security and governance embedded into daily operations, Providence Care can keep protecting patient trust while moving faster on the innovations that improve care delivery.

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