Health Center

Successfully delivered a secure primary internet connection within 36 hours

Case_Study-BillionM100-M2M_IoT-health_center

Executive Summary
Cherry Health, an independent, non-profit Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) in Grand Rapids, Michigan is rapidly expanding its services around the state. One location required the relocation of their service operations within seven days; however, installation of the private network was a minimum of 6-weeks out. Trivalent Group delivered a secure primary internet connection within 36 hours with the BILLION M100 LTE WWAN Failover Manager and data connectivity over AT&T’s LTE network.
The Customer
Established in 1988, Cherry Health is the largest FQHC in Michigan, serving Barry, Eaton, Kent, Montcalm, Muskegon and Wayne counties with more than 22 locations, 14 of which are primary care FQHC sites. Cherry Health employs 800 employees and has a network of more than 60 physicians and mid-level providers specializing in primary care/family medicine, paediatrics, internal medicine, obstetrics/gynaecology, optometry, oral health, behavioural health and substance use disorders.
Trivalent Group is Michigan’s leading provider of Managed Services, Cloud, IT Services, Cyber Security, Managed Networks and Business Continuity. Trivalent has been a trusted partner supporting Cherry Health’s technology infrastructure for more than 25 years.
Challenges
Cherry Health called Trivalent Group on Thursday, June 29, 2017, at noon with an emergency. One of their service operations in the city of Detroit was forced to relocate to a new facility within seven days. With every location requiring secure interconnectivity, it was impossible to move the existing carrier private network connection to the new site within that time frame. Initial estimates based on an expedited schedule were a minimum of four to six weeks to complete the implementation. Given the underlying architecture’s complexity, the amount of effort and planning required for a private network is understandable.
Trivalent confirmed they could deliver an alternative solution providing reliable primary internet connectivity while Cherry Health awaited the private network installation. The fully managed solution would consist of the BILLION M100 4G/LTE WWAN Failover Manager, a data plan, and connectivity on AT&T’s LTE network.

How Billion Solution Helped 

The BILLION M100 was configured Thursday afternoon and delivered to Cherry Health on Friday morning. Data service over a VPN connection to their data center at Trivalent Group in Grandville was established and operational late Friday evening, June 30, 2017, within 36 hours after the first call from Cherry Health. In addition to the M100, Trivalent utilized BILLIONcentral®, BILLION’s  Cloud Based Remote Management Platform to extend network visibility. The platform provides a comprehensive suite of services for real-time device monitoring, troubleshooting and maintenance from a single centralized location.

Results

AT&T’s 4G LTE network delivered a reliable 10- 15Mbps connection up and down allowing Cherry Health to operate workstations and phone services over a secure VPN connection. The BILLION M100 operated successfully as the primary internet connection for more than 4 weeks while awaiting the private network service to be installed by the local carrier. Cherry Health intends to implement this backup solution across its network, and in the event of any service disruption, it will automatically switch over to LTE ensuring always-on connectivity.
Billion M100
Advanced Industrial 4G/LTE Router
  • Offers LTE broadband connectivity (3G Fallback is optional)
  • Multi-WAN interfaces: LTE and Gigabit Ethernet WAN for
  • network resilience and reliable connectivity
  • RS-232/RS-485 Serial data connectivity
  •  (M100: RS-232, M150: RS-232/RS-485)
  • GPS option for real-time asset tracking and location
  • data-based applications
  • Secured VPNs (IPSec, GRE, LT2P, PPTP, OpenVPN)
  • Dynamic Routing Protocols (BGP, OSPF)
  • Small form factor, fits in the palm on your hand
  • Simplified deployments, quickly mounted discretely anywhere.
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