| | June 201719CIOReviewBe Prudent, Not FearfulBy Dave Hennessy, VP of IT, Metrocare ServicesTraditionally, IT departments wanted to wrap their arms around hardware assets and software platforms that they were responsible for. There had to be a sufficient level of trust to be placed in an outside vendor to move their data and applications from in-house storage facilities to the cloud. Three years back, when I arrived at Metrocare Services, there were two aging Microsoft Exchange Servers on-site and nobody could access Microsoft Outlook from outside of the network, because nobody really understood security enough to be able to loosen up some of the control. The underlying principle behind this was that it was better to lock it down than to take the chance where something could go wrong. Eventually, we took the leap of faith. Being among the first healthcare organizations in Texas that adopted Microsoft Office 365 to improve operations, service delivery, collaboration and communication, and maintain compliance, Metrocare Services was facing a "risk versus reward" scenario.Put in a situation where we would have had to explore four or five different applications for different requirements from four to five different vendors, Office 365 was the Holy Grail-turnkey solution we were looking for. They were HIPAA compliant, and we did our due diligence to make sure we weren't placing any critical patient information or confidential data assets in a situation we didn't trust. Microsoft recognizes the importance of what we stand for, and the services that we provide to the public daily; they know that non-profit organizations will normally struggle financially. As an organization that falls under the 501(c)(3) non-profit organizations category, we have experienced tremendous pricing benefits from the Microsoft partnership. The cost-effective ability to take advantage of all the new technologies that Microsoft is continuing to pump out is a huge reason for the jump to the Office 365 wagon.With 1300 employees spread over 13 locations in Dallas city, Instant Messaging--Skype for Business--platform was the immediate attention magnet at the onset. We can now conduct meetings online through video-conferencing, audio-conferencing, and whiteboard demos through Skype, as opposed to having our staff navigate traffic between our different locations. The ability to retain key employees by having a remote working model has also been a critical benefit from Skype for Business. We have literally placed our whole telemedicine process on Office 365. Another key tool that encouraged employee collaboration was the ability to remote into people's desktops using Desktop Sharing, which made IT operations much more accessible to the workforce. While the desktop sharing feature has helped improve their productivity by giving them technology that they are familiar with, one of the major challenges that remains is training and educating the people regarding the do's and don'ts with any technological platform.The Metrocare Services IT staff has attended several conferences both in person as well as through webinars, followed by exams that can certify them as skilled users. We have also provided our users with two-hour ransomware training followed by an online exam. While one can place multiple security perimeters, when there is procreation of risk by the single click of a button by a gullible user, there isn't much one can do except educating the users about what they need to do, or more appropriately, what they need to avoid doing. In that light, the free classes we have gained from the Microsoft Partnership have been amazingly beneficial.Educating users is just the tip of the iceberg of challenges for a CIO and the IT team. Learning the business itself has become a primary focus for the IT staff, who used to be responsible just for the administration of the proprietary hardware assets and software platforms. It is pertinent for IT leaders to align their own goals with those of the organization, making sure that each of their activities are synchronized with what brings value to the business. Nevertheless, Future innovation in Office 365 is definitely going to revolve around mobility and interoperabilityCXO Insights
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