Project write-up: cloud services management for healthcare organisation

Problem

One healthcare organisation is creating innovative, cloud-based solutions to improve the use of health information for better patient care. These solutions must be secure and reliable to deliver quality frontline healthcare 24x7.

Delivering enterprise-grade, secure and robust solutions on cloud platforms requires specialist capability. But it is also an opportunity to rethink how technology is delivered and set up a framework for future growth.

Work

The healthcare organisation worked with Equinox IT for specialist cloud expertise to build their Cloud Foundations platform using Microsoft Azure. The two organisations worked together to:

Understand enterprise needs – using workshops with technical and business stakeholders to explore security, performance, reliability and operational management
Design the Microsoft Azure platform – to the architecture and security teams' exacting standards
Architect, build and deliver the cloud environment – for an integrated operational solution, providing key insights not previously available
Automate deployment using Azure DevOps – enabling rapid delivery of new features
Train team members – in cloud and DevOps practices and tools.

Equinox IT is now a key partner, supporting the 24x7 operational management of Microsoft Azure and Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud platforms. As new cloud services come online, the company provides expert advice and consultancy to ensure successful delivery. The cloud-managed services include:

24x7 operational management – for Azure and AWS
Service desk – with specialist on-call engineers and architects
Specialist cloud experts – working as part of the organisation's support team
Incident management and alert response – troubleshooting and solving problems as they arise
Pro-active maintenance – ensuring uptime, availability and cost management
Service delivery management – including knowledge management.

Outcome

Equinox IT is now a key partner, supporting the 24x7 operational management of Microsoft Azure and Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud platforms. As new cloud services come online, the company provides ongoing expert advice and consultancy to ensure successful delivery. The cloud-managed services include:

24x7 operational management – for Azure and AWS
Service desk – with specialist on-call engineers and architects
Specialist cloud experts – working as part of the organisation's support team
Incident management and alert response – troubleshooting and solving problems as they arise
Pro-active maintenance – ensuring uptime, availability and cost management
Service delivery management – including knowledge management.

The healthcare organisation now has a scalable, secure and reliable cloud platform in Microsoft Azure and AWS to support ongoing innovation. The outcomes include:

Reliable, secure and highly available cloud infrastructure – built to the organisation's standards and to best practices for both Microsoft Azure, Microsoft 365 and AWS.
Improved agility and a platform for innovation – including the rapid creation of the environment to manage key applications and facilities in response to COVID-19.
Confidence to adopt more cloud services – backed by a trusted partner providing 24x7 support while also complementing, training and coaching the support teams on new technologies
Cloud-based operational solution recognised – seen as a leading innovator by other healthcare professionals in Australasia.

With their input, we now have a standardised framework for building a secure, scalable, and fault-tolerant cloud environment. They have also provided ongoing support and maintenance for our cloud infrastructure, ensuring our systems are always up-to-date, secure, and performing at their best.
In addition to their technical expertise, Equinox has been a reliable and responsive partner, always available to answer our questions and provide guidance as we navigate the complexities of the cloud environment. They have also proactively identified opportunities for us to optimise our cloud spend and improve our overall cloud strategy.