Accessibility is the best medicine
The Thieme Group is future-proofing itself with intelligent communication solutions
Hippocrates, regarded as the father of medicine, knew that effective medical care was based on comprehensive knowledge and sound training. Nowadays, digitalisation has greatly increased the possibilities of creating modern, interactive learning formats for prospective doctors in line with the latest research.
Thieme Group is committed to enabling accessible medicine and healthier lifestyles. The digital healthcare provider aims to design medicine and healthcare processes that continue to develop and improve people’s lives. It offers information portals and training, further education programmes for healthcare and nursing professions; and digital solutions for the treatment process, including automated care, treatment documentation and telecare.
The company has over 1,000 employees in 13 locations across Germany, the USA, India and Brazil, ensuring that employees in the healthcare sector have access to the right information, at the right time and in the right place.
Healthy data and communications need a healthy network
Since 2016, Thieme Group has relied on the expertise, products and services of Colt and its partner CONVEND, knowing how important a modern network is to its internal and external communication. Thanks to CONVEND’s reliable support, the cooperation with Colt has grown steadily.
To provide content and services flexibly and optimise collaboration between the locations, the publishing house decided to rebuild its communications infrastructure.
“The signs are pointing towards digitalisation, particularly in the publishing and healthcare sectors”, explains Jörg Hess, Director of Enterprise IT at the Thieme Group. “In terms of our products and services, we set out early on to utilise the latest technologies for the benefit of users. It was clear to us that we needed to focus even more on the cloud. We have always found Colt to be a highly competent partner who understands our business and needs, so we believe that the technological reorganisation of our communications network is in the best hands”.
SD WAN: the antidote for flexible connections to the cloud
Colt’s SD WAN turned out to be the ideal solution. It is regarded as the leading technology for site networking, establishing itself as a pioneer into the cloud. Thanks to a software-based network controller, the entire network can be flexibly managed. Data traffic can be routed to the cloud more efficiently and independently, from the public internet via dedicated connections, from any of the connected sites.
In contrast to previous systems, like its ethernet private network (EPN), an internet breakout was set up for the Thieme Group at each branch. There was no need for a diversion via the central data centre, meaning employees now benefit from uninterrupted access to vital collaboration tools. Connecting to the Colt fibre optic network offers the Thieme Group the advantages of high-performance connectivity with the highest possible reliability, which is also reflected in the end-to-end SLAs. The basis for this are four highly redundant IP access points with 1 Gbit/s.
In addition, the DDoS protection set up in 2019 ensures flexibility without risks and side effects. This is implemented directly in the network in the form of Colt’s IP Guardian service and blocks attacks before they reach the company network.
CCaaS: intelligent and user-friendly telephony from a single source
A hybrid working environment also means that voice and data services are increasingly merging. With the switch to UCC (Unified Communications & Collaboration) tools from the cloud such as Microsoft Teams, telephony also became a new focus for the company, especially as Intelligent Communications was already playing an important role at the company’s New York site.
With its Intelligent Communication Solutions, Colt combines public telephony and productivity applications from MS 365 in a standardised infrastructure in the cloud.
The successful implementation in its New York office and the ability to combine various functions into one solution prompted the company to reorganise its telephony in Germany as well:
“Until then, a fixed component of our communications infrastructure was our own telephony system; as part of our cloud strategy, we needed a more flexible solution. With Colt Intelligent Communications, we were able to harmonise our communications infrastructure and significantly increase user-friendliness at the same time: our employees can manage all their communications via a single application and a device of their choice. Like our infrastructure, we have also combined all of our services into one agreement”, emphasises Jörg Hess.
The result is a fully integrated communications infrastructure, supplemented by the Contact Centre as a Service (CCaaS) solution Nimbus from Luware, which includes Advanced Routing and Attendant Console: a call distribution system (ACD) for 100 hotline agents.
All applications appear clearly bundled on an intuitive user interface in the Microsoft Teams client of the customer service team. This ensures that customer queries reach the right contact person quickly and easily.
24/7 service and availability
Such a comprehensive reorganisation of the IT infrastructure requires a great deal of trust. Like open heart surgery, every procedure has to be precise; business must continue in the meantime. During ongoing operations, Thieme Group can rely on end-to-end SLAs for telephony services. And if there is a need for any ‘aftercare’, a customised team of network engineers from Colt is ready to assist, including Colt Service Management and access to the Premium Network Support Team for technical challenges.
At a glance advantages for the Thieme Group:
- Provision and operation of a best-of-breed communication solution
- All services from a single source – with a central contact person
- Consistent end-to-end SLAs
“With Colt and CONVEND, we have 100 per cent reliable partners with outstanding service readiness. We really appreciate the fact that we have contact persons for all enquiries who can be reached personally and who support us quickly and competently in collaboration with other experts,” confirms Jörg Hess.
COMPANY NAME
Thieme Group
INDUSTRY
Publishing and healthcare
CHALLENGE
Consolidation of various isolated systems into an integrated, digitalised communication solution and modernisation of its infrastructure, adapted to current and future requirements
COLT SOLUTION
SD WAN, Dedicated Internet Access, DDoS Mitigation. Cloud-based, fully managed, Multichannel Contact Centre Solution, completely integrated into Microsoft Teams with PSTN-connectivity via Colt SIP Trunking enhanced with ACD and Cloud Fax
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