Published on 17 Jul 2007
Validated on 01 Oct 2009
"The BladeCenter fits our needs. It's powerful, and there's hardly any maintenance. We just monitor it and let it go." - Ron Uno, manager of information management, Kuakini Health System
Customer:
Kuakini Health System
Industry:
Healthcare
Deployment country:
United States
IBM Business Partner:
Sirius Computer Solutions
Overview
Kuakini Health System has provided health care services to the people of Hawaii since 1900. The nonprofit organization now operates a 250-bed acute care hospital and other facilities in Honolulu.
Business need:
Kuakini recently launched a series of technology projects designed to meet increasing IT security challenges and expand data center capacity. Kuakini's primary focus was on the implementation of Oracle Enterprise Single Sign-On Suite, a component of Oracle Identity Management.
Solution:
To maximize data center space, Kuakini deployed the Oracle solution on an IBM BladeCenter with five Intel-based blades. A redundant system was installed as backup. The Oracle 10g database runs on redundant IBM System x366 servers. IBM N5200 System Storage provides network attached storage.
Benefits:
The solution has provided improved IT systems access security, enabled a new identity management program, expanded data center capacity and enabled IT disaster recovery.
Case Study
For more than 100 years, Kuakini Health System has provided comprehensive health care services to the people of Hawaii. The nonprofit organization was founded in 1900 and has been evolving ever since to keep pace with health care developments and the growing needs of the community. Located in the capital city of Honolulu, Kuakini has a staff of approximately 1,200 and operates a 250-bed acute care hospital, a 190-bed long-term care facility and a 34-bed residential care home.
Ron Uno has been part of that caring tradition for the last 25 years. As manager of information management at Kuakini, Uno has witnessed the ever-changing regulations that govern the health care industry, including the advent of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). Uno strives to leverage new technologies to help the organization achieve its mission in the community.
Keeping up with compliance
"Health care is definitely getting more of the IT spotlight," Uno observes. "With HIPAA and other regulations, hospitals must use new technologies in order to keep up." In addition to meeting the compliance needs of a modern health care organization, Uno says part of his job is to help Kuakini move toward its goal of going paperless.
With these needs in mind, Kuakini recently launched a series of technology projects designed to meet increasing IT security challenges while expanding data center capacity. For hardware, software and implementation services, Kuakini turned to IBM Premier Business Partner Sirius Computer Solutions, a company Kuakini has worked with for several years.
Kuakini's primary focus was on the implementation of Oracle Enterprise Single Sign-On Suite, a component of Oracle Identity Management that provides access control and password management for virtually any application. "With so many applications in-house, people were having a hard time remembering all their passwords--some people have five or six different passwords," Uno explains. "With the Oracle application, we're able to track user access and strengthen access requirements for different levels of users. Eventually we will be able to incorporate biometrics and other authentication technologies."
A strong infrastructure
Facing a serious shortage of space in the data center, Kuakini chose to implement the Oracle solution on IBM BladeCenter, with a redundant system installed in the organization's backup data center. Says Uno, "The BladeCenter fits our needs. It's powerful, and there's hardly any maintenance. We just monitor it and let it go." The BladeCenter was a natural choice for Kuakini, who desired an architecture that could pack maximum IT power in a small footprint, yet be flexible enough to easily adapt to unforeseen IT challenges.
Kuakini runs IBM Director for BladeCenter systems management. The Oracle 10g database is running on redundant IBM System x3850 (formerly xSeries 366) servers using Oracle Real Application Clusters (RAC). IBM N5200 System Storage provides network attached storage. Other technology projects Kuakini has undertaken include the consolidation of storage on the N5200, including backups for Microsoft Exchange. So far the organization has consolidated 10 multi-GB file servers.
Uno says these investments have given Kuakini a strong infrastructure that will not only meet their current needs but also position them for expansion as new demands arise in the future.
For more information
Contact your IBM sales representative or IBM Business Partner. Visit us at: ibm.com/systems/bladecenter
For more information about Sirius Computer Solutions, visit: www.siriuscom.com
For more information about Kuakini Health System, visit: www.kuakini.org
Components
IBM products and services that were used in this case study.
Hardware:
BladeCenter, Storage: N5000, System x: System x3850
Legal Information
Copyright IBM Corporation 2007 IBM Systems and Technology Group Route 100 Somers, New York 10589 U.S.A. Produced in the United States of America July 2007 All Rights Reserved IBM, the IBM logo, BladeCenter, System Storage, System x and xSeries are trademarks or registered trademarks of International Business Machines Corporation in the United States, other countries or both. For a complete list of IBM trademarks, see ibm.com/legal/copytrade.shtml. Intel is a registered trademark of Intel Corporation in the United States and other countries. Microsoft is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the United States, other countries or both. Other company, product and service names may be trademarks or service marks of others. References in this publication to IBM products, programs or services do not imply that IBM intends to make these available in all countries in which IBM operates. Any reference to an IBM product, program or service is not intended to imply that only IBM’s product, program or service may be used. Any functionally equivalent product, program or service may be used instead. Offerings are subject to change, extension or withdrawal without notice. All client examples cited represent how some clients have used IBM products and the results they may have achieved. Performance data for IBM and non-IBM products and services contained in this document was derived under specific operating and environmental conditions. The actual results obtained by any party implementing such products or services will depend on a large number of factors specific to such party’s operating environment and may vary significantly. IBM makes no representation that these results can be expected or obtained in any implementation of any such products or services. THE INFORMATION IN THIS DOCUMENT IS PROVIDED "AS-IS" WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY, EITHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED.
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