Client Bio
AbsoluteCare is a leading healthcare provider that focuses on providing comprehensive and preventative care to the most vulnerable populations in the United States. Since 2000, AbsoluteCare has enabled the treatment of thousands of chronically ill patients by using innovative health management tools.
Challenge
To deliver quality patient-facing programs and associated technologies, data is needed to provide a solid return on investment (ROI). AbsoluteCare analyzes Protected Health Information (PHI) for the insurance providers they work with and needed the right partner to safely store data and properly process information. AbsoluteCare’s previous vendors did not have the database management and database architecture expertise that was needed to manage the large amount of information that the healthcare provider was responsible for.
Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) is critical for AbsoluteCare because they have several applications that require desktops to be on the same Local Area Network (LAN) as their servers, which are in the data centers, but they struggled with performance issues.
Cybersecurity was handled by multiple partners, increasing cost, risk, and complexity. AbsoluteCare needed transparency when it came to managed security functions, including logging, monitoring, and alerting.
Chris Becker, AbsoluteCare’s National Director of Information Technology and CISO, and his team had already achieved HITRUST certification. As they looked ahead, they anticipated the need to scale faster and level up on security to address expanding requirements due to their rapid business growth- increased staff, increased PHI data, and growing compliance requirements.
Solution
AbsoluteCare turned to ARG to help them find the best match for their infrastructure and security needs. Becker had worked with ARG for years, relying on them to vet providers and complete the due diligence on technical requirements and financials and saving his time by only bringing providers to the table who could meet requirements. Becker had identified the gap and translated the business needs to technical specifications with a vision of their ideal solution. ARG Senior Technology Advisor, Cassie Diehl, and her team surveyed the marketplace to find a provider that met AbsoluteCare’s qualifications for a comprehensive, multi-faceted, secure solution. Working with the ARG team, Becker created a list of requirements that would align the IT organization to better meet the business’s needs. In early 2020, AbsoluteCare signed the contract with Ntirety after a comprehensive selection process led by ARG.
Ntirety’s database offering and ability to manage AbsoluteCare’s data warehouse while handling security in a comprehensive manner clearly separated Ntirety from the competition. Ntirety was able to provide a complete and transparent security solution that gave AbsoluteCare confidence and peace of mind in their chosen provider.
Ntirety’s VDI fulfilled AbsoluteCare’s needs to properly execute business tasks. Ntirety’s Endpoint Detection Response (XDR) provided detection and protection for the business from malware. Through Ntirety’s Disaster Recovery services, AbsoluteCare was safeguarded against attacks and downtime.
Ntirety provides the AbsoluteCare team with a clear-run book, which offers actionable documentation that the team can follow and has enough details to help new people understand the process. Ntirety’s Security Operations Center as a Service (SOCaaS) and Compliance as a Service (CaaS) help to keep them secure and compliant.
Ntirety’s Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) keeps AbsoluteCare reliably connected to high-performing servers, systems, and virtual desktops. Ntirety’s Network Operations Center (NOCaaS) provides AbsoluteCare with enterprise backend network and system support, plus updates and upgrades. Finally, DBAaaS enables AbsoluteCare to access database expertise with a simple email or phone call.
“Our data is extremely important to us and our partners, and we cannot afford for it to get in the wrong hands,” Becker said. “We are grateful for our partnership with Ntirety, who keeps our data safe and protected from unknown threats.”
Results
Thanks to Diehl and Becker’s hard work, AbsoluteCare was able to get connected with the Ntirety team. Ntirety was able to meet all AbsoluteCare’s requirements from primary infrastructure to robust backup and Disaster Recovery (DR). Ntirety aided the business in maintaining a strong security posture and providing deep domain expertise that allowed them to manage everything down to onsite assets.
With the growing amount of PHI and servers managed by the business, a reliable provider was a must. Through Ntirety, AbsoluteCare gained full access to activity in their security infrastructure, including full access to reporting from the SIEM, what the criticality levels were so the business could properly adjust them, and send alerts. The information Ntirety provided met the exact needs of AbsoluteCare.
“Ntirety’s comprehensive security suite has been an impressive security shield for our business,” said Becker. “Additionally, we don’t have the budget to stand up our own internal infrastructure or internally hire the expertise required to protect against today’s criminals.”
AbsoluteCare could continue to comply with HITRUST requirements with Ntirety’s help in securing data. The healthcare provider could reliably use VDI through Ntirety and could trust that operations would run smoothly.
In addition to the HITRUST requirements, some customers wanted additional justification to entrust AbsoluteCare with their personal data, and Ntirety was able to stand as proof that their data was safe.
Having clear documentation from comprehensive Ntirety “run books” that included all the details needed to understand the AbsoluteCare infrastructure gave Becker and his team additional confidence in working with Ntirety as a partner.
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