Case Study: Georgetown Sleep Center

• Aging IT infrastructure, hardware and software
• Insufficient storage and backup for lengthy videos
• Need to protect data and mitigate risk
• Desire to improve productivity, streamline patient service

Like many small- to mid-sized businesses a decade ago, Georgetown Sleep Center had a modest network infrastructure managed by a smaller, local IT provider. They faced the typical technology issues — aging computers and servers along with operating system and software application support. In addition, the center had no formal backup/disaster recovery plan and insufficient data storage for videos that recorded eight hours of sleep footage in a dozen patient rooms. On any given night, the center recorded up to 80 hours of footage that needed to be retained for at least a year.

As the business continued to thrive and gain more patients, the center needed an IT partner to modernize its entire IT capabilities. There was increased data to protect and growing risk — especially given patient privacy regulations. In addition, the center would benefit from more advanced technology that could improve staff productivity and streamline patient services.

• Continually up and running IT network
• Uninterrupted employee productivity, seamless patient service
• High data storage for sleep study videos
• Modern workstations ready for Office 365

Since the partnership between the center and the Ricoh IT Services team began a decade ago, the center’s network has never experienced an outage. Ricoh’s proactive approach to the center’s network health keeps it continually up and running — giving the center the peace of mind they need to focus on employee productivity and seamless patient service. For example, Ricoh raised the issue of a potential ransomware attack — something the center hadn’t thoroughly considered — and implemented solutions to prevent it from happening.

Furthermore, the center now has high data storage for its voluminous videos and backup protocols to retain the files for one year. To enhance email capabilities and network security, modern new workstations with the Windows® 10 operating system are in place and the center is ready for their upcoming migration to Microsoft® Office 365.

• Ricoh’s Managed IT Services
• Upgrades to email, servers, storage and backup
• Advanced anti-virus software and patches
• On-site weekly technical support, quarterly and bi-annual reviews

We proactively worked with the center to identify key initiatives for secured data and improved processes. Together, with our deep bench of Managed IT Services experts and the center’s operations team, we jointly decided to gradually modernize their network systems and infrastructure — rather than a costly simultaneous overhaul.

In the decade-long partnership, we upgraded their antiquated email system to a Ricoh-hosted cloud email platform and implemented email encryption — with plans to next migrate to Microsoft® Office 365 for even more functionality and security. To prepare, we recently installed new workstations with the Windows® 10 platform and upgraded server capabilities to support Office 365. In addition, a SharePoint® collaborative platform was implemented to give the center’s employees remote access to documents in the cloud.

We also updated the center’s servers to increase storage capacity for the large videos filmed during overnight sleep studies. In addition, we worked with the center to develop a weekly backup protocol for the videos on an external USB drive. Our team also assumed responsibility for the health of the center’s network by implementing anti-virus software and patches. Next, Ricoh and the center are planning to install a fax server to enable employees to send and receive faxes without leaving their workstations along with advanced email authentication for secured email communications.

We assigned a dedicated technical specialist to visit the center every week who ensures everything is running smoothly — PCs, applications, drive space, Wi-Fi, etc. Quarterly reviews are held to address any issues the center is experiencing. Every six months, our technical consultant talks to the center and makes recommendations for additional solutions that could further advance the center’s network.