Virtualizing Beyond the Data Center

In any discussion about Virtualization, the focus is often on the data center rather than the desktop. There is no doubt that big gains in productivity, manageability, cost efficiency and security can be made with data center server and storage modernization.

When the topic moves to the desktop, many IT administrators are content to implement a thin client strategy without a deep dive investigation. When it comes to the possibility of adding "zero clients" to that mix, many in IT may not go the extra mile to investigate this ultra-secure, easy-to-manage alternative. This can be doubly confusing as many vendors mix together under the label "thin client solutions", both thin and zero client technology! So the labels can get muddied up. But it's safe to say many administrators start out thinking about thin clients as the way to go.

In case you missed the live webinar, I highly recommend viewing "Learn how world-class El Camino Hospital improved end-user experience with VDI". This informative webinar shows how a VDI improves productivity in a very complex environment, the hectic metropolitan hospital. The webinar can be found on Teradici's website at http://goo.gl/yYhgTV  

You may also visit www.teradici.com and click on the tab "Resource Center". Webinars is a dropdown menu choice.

Mike Turicchi of NCS, Teradici's Mirela Cunjalo and James Brummett, the hospital Director of Technical Services, are the presenters. Discussing the hows and whys that VDI was fully implemented, James walks you through the "before and after" of life in a sophisticated Silicon Valley hospital where staff, patients and visitors are knowledgeable and demand the latest technology and productivity tools.

I recommend viewing a brief webinar that I informally call "real world desktop virtualization". It was offered recently via BrightTALK and can also be found and replayed on the Teradici website at http://goo.gl/OX5tFp. The webinar is entitled "Learn how world class El Camino Hospital improved end user experience with VDI." 

Mike Turicchi of NCS joined Teradici's Mirela Cunjalo for a super-informative discussion packed with "news you can use" information. In addition, the hospital Director of Technical Services, James Brummett, is an articulate ambassador for "Best IT Practices". James walks you through the "before and after" of life in a highly sophisticated Silicon Valley hospital where staff, patients and visitors are ulta-knowledgeable and demanding concerning technology capabilities.

We're back from HIMSS 2016, and what a week we had! Many new visitors to the booth brought lots of interest and feedback. The time spent in the booth also offered plenty of opportunity to learn about our customers. 

Virtualizing a Desktop and How Zero Clients Fit In

The annual HIMSS healthcare IT conference is finished. Tens of thousands of attendees in Las Vegas joined celebrity speakers and medical leaders to evaluate better ways to use IT to improve healthcare delivery. Mike Turicchi, the NCS Chief Product Strategy Officer, will soon follow this blog with his thoughts on the IT trends in healthcare that he identified from the four-day event.

One issue that we continue to see - and this was a frequent topic of discussion at the show - is that IT experts can be familiar with some parts of virtualization and VDI, but not others. For instance, an IT administrator can speak knowledgeably about the benefits of server and storage virtualization, but be relatively inexperienced with desktop or endpoint virutalization strategies.

So we heard at HIMSS16, what is a zero client? How is it different from a thin client?

IT folks know something about the concept of virtualizing an existing PC or installing a new thin client, but can be fuzzy about how a zero client fits in.

Make Sure IT is Easy to Install, Easy to Use

The HIMSS16 conference is in full swing this week in Las Vegas and the NCS Booth #11118 is seeing a lot of visitor traffic. NCS Technologies is showcasing our portfolio of endpoint virtualization (VDI) solutions, plus the Ergotron medical cart, the Getac RX10H full rugged healthcare tablet and the versatile Microsoft Surface Book and Surface Pro 4.

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Virtualization Solutions for Every IT Endpoint Scenario

More than 40,000 people are at the HIMSS conference this week exploring all things healthcare IT related. NCS Technologies is showcasing our innovative endpoint virtualization (VDI) solutions at Booth #11118.

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As we are fond of saying, Cirrus Zero Client technology from NCS fits in just about everywhere in the healthcare IT environment. Please stop by the booth or call Joe Guest at 703-595-3442 to set up an appointment for the show. Cirrus virtualization solutions are proven to be easy to install, easy to manage, highly secure and deliver low cost of ownership.

Where Does Cirrus Technology Fit In?

Cirrus LT & Cirrus LT Plus notebooks fit in at nurses' stations, welcome kiosks, on medical carts, in meeting rooms, in labs, in offices and just moving around - wherever work needs to be done securely and efficiently and on the move.

Cirrus DT WiFi is a desktop zero client that is ideal for implementations where zero clients must be cost effective yet portable and WiFi connectivity is preferred for superior manageability, security and productivity. Medical carts are a great application for this technology.

Cirrus TZ desktop zero clients fit right in on any healthcare desktop - any PC application that needs cost effectiveness and strong security. 

HIMSS16 Begins Monday, Feb. 29

The annual HIMSS conference, focusing on healthcare IT, convenes on Monday. More than 40,000 attendees will be able to attend keynotes from celebrity speakers, participate in seminars and evaluate solutions from hundreds of IT vendors. NCS Technologies will be showcasing our innovative endpoint virtualization (VDI) solutions at Booth #11118.

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In blogs over the past week I have focused on the proven security benefits of zero client endpoints. Zero clients are differentiated from thin clients in several important ways, including the use of the PCoIP network communications protocol, which compresses, encrypts and encodes the entire computing experience at the data center. PCoIP, powered by the Teradici processor, helps deliver a super secure user experience. That is very important in healthcare, where protecting patient records and personal information is mandated by federal laws.

Zero Clients: Low Costs of Ownership

But in telling the security story, it's critical not to lose sight of the other important benefits of endpoint virtualization made possible by Teradici's PCoIP, VMware software and NCS endpoints.

In addition to superior security, zero clients make IT administration much easier and less complex compared to working with thin client PC alternatives. This translates into lower cost of ownership.

Research by Teradici shows that IT administrators love the ease of deployment and configuration when installing zero client endpoints. There is no resident operating system to update, support and no worry about OS compatibility. IT folks appreciate that installing and operating zero clients helps them save time. They like that zero clients are more reliable and low power zero clients costs less to operate. In summary: zero clients are just plain easier to manage and operate. 

HIMSS16: Protecting Medical and Personal Information

HIMSS16, the healthcare IT megashow, opens on Monday. We have blogged steadily about the importance of data security in healthcare, and how showcasing data security solutions is a major focus of HIMSS. Statistics about the vulnerability of data theft in healthcare can be dry and abstract. Headlines and bulletins warning of "large data breaches" can get tiresome.

Often it helps to understand the problem better by personalizing it. So here goes:  

Every member of my family in the past year has been notified that critical personal ID information has been exposed by third parties. You or somebody you know probably has been notified, too. If you work for or with the federal government, bank with JP Morgan Chase, have health insurance through Blue Cross Blue Shield, shop at Staples, Target, Home Depot, Michaels or Albertsons, eat out at PF Changs, Jimmy John's or Dairy Queen, or if you have shipped something through a UPS Store, you may have received these warning notices recently.

In the case of my family, soon after the data breach, a serious ID theft attempt was made and we were notified. To combat this threat, we are all locking down our financial lives with serious theft-monitoring protection. We believe the personal information was gathered in one of the healthcare data breaches. So this is personal, this is serious, and this is real.

Healthcare - and all public - organizations need to redouble their efforts to protect client personal information.

It gives me great pride that my employer, NCS Technologies, is leading the efforts lock down healthcare information. NCS offers a complete portfolio of virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) hardware and software to protect data. At HIMSS, we are showcasing virtual endpoint solutions.

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Healthcare Data Theft - Getting Worse, Not Better

When it comes to protecting healthcare data - patient health records and other personal secrets like Social Security numbers - this is indeed the best of times and the worst of times. It's the best of times because strong privacy regulation is in place and great technology exists to protect patient data. It is the worst of times because, well, data theft seems to be getting worse.

You need only to read the headlines. Like a recent NBC News story that says, "Hacking of Health Care Records Skyrockets". Then there is the story about Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center actually paying ransom to free up its hacked computer systems. Finally, RedSpin just released their 2015 Breach Report which shows that health information hacks are up, up, up!

And just in time, the annual HIMSS conference, the mega healthcare IT show,  kicks off in Las Vegas next week. More than 40,000 attendees will be able to evaluate solutions from hundreds of IT vendors. The point is that powerful data security solutions exist today to protect healthcare providers and customers from breaches and theft. But these solutions must be implemented.

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When it comes to locking down data, computer virtualization is a very powerful tool. IT managers are beginning to implement virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) because it decreases IT complexity and lowers costs - while delivering strong security.