CASE STUDY:
TEXAS ONCOLOGY

THE PROBLEM

Physicians required ongoing access to information housed in electronic healthcare records (EHRs), laboratory systems, outside diagnostic services and more. Data access was critical for finding analytical insights into healthcare trends that would shape new cancer treatments and patient eligibility for clinical trials. As such, it’s paramount that all components of Texas Oncology’s IT systems coordinate to keep all health-care providers informed.

To address their substantial IT needs, Texas Oncology worked with wholly-owned subsidiaries to help manage information infrastructure. However, within this framework, Texas Oncology experienced several problems with data storage and ownership. They determined the best path forward was to implement a Texas Oncology–owned private cloud environment to provide more granular control over patient healthcare data.

THE SOLUTION

In 2019, after a lengthy evaluation process, Texas Oncology made contact with Global IP Networks to handle their cloud virtualization project. Texas Oncology had three primary goals for their IT transformation:

• GOAL 1: Increase control over information and data ownership
• GOAL 2: Maintain a scalable IT system that could grow alongside the enterprise
• GOAL 3: Establish a HIPAA-compliant environment for data storage

Global IP’s flexibility and experience with HIPAA were key factors in its selection. Global IP’s history of IT projects in healthcare assured Texas Oncology that their solutions would be thoroughly evaluated for compliance, security and reliability. Additionally, Texas Oncology compared Global IP’s pricing against leading industry competitors, such as Amazon Web Services, and found it more competitive with better features than those of similar providers. These benefits, combined with Global IP’s client-centric approach, made them the perfect fit.

THE RESULTS

Global IP took a hands-on approach to Texas Oncology’s private cloud project that went above and beyond the client’s expectations.

“Working with Texas Oncology has been a total pleasure. This project satisfies our purpose and mission, which is to transform, manage and support our client’s IT operations into a cohesively robust technology that delivers real economic value,” said Jonathan Pike, VP of Managed Services.

While the initial private cloud project had a proposed timeframe of six months, internal changes at Texas Oncology necessitated a faster turnaround. Global IP Networks was able to complete the private cloud implementation in half the time, allowing Texas Oncology to resume work ahead of schedule.

The benefits were immediate:

• 10x network speed and compute performance with a better security package
• Elastic, redundant and scalable NVMe flash cloud storage
• Fully-managed end-to-end secure private network
• Robust disaster recovery plan with 24/7/365 IT support

These benefits were made possible by Global IP’s in-depth approach to IT planning and collaboration with Texas Oncology. It involved strategic insights and a high-touch process that helped Texas Oncology find its ideal solution, launched on-time and on-budget. More than just a third-party IT service provider, Global IP was a direct extension of the client’s team as a comprehensive engineering solutions firm.

“I’m confident in Global IP and their team’s ability to meet our needs, meet our requirements, and keep the environment safe and secure,” said James Lindsey, Director of IT at Texas Oncology.

The implementation was so successful that Texas Oncology has engaged Global IP to architect additional business unit migrations, preparing the healthcare organization for future growth.