When we first met with the Orthopedic Institute of WI (OIW) for an IT consultation, the team was aware that their technology performance wasn’t as healthy as it could be. In the past, connectivity issues and a lack of a dedicated technical provider had led to communication mishaps between their multi-site teams and in-house IT admins that were over capacity and in need of support for day-to-day operations, let alone bigger projects. 

When the OIW made a major switch to a new network, hardware, and support software system, they decided it was time to call in reinforcements from a dedicated technology partner — one who could integrate with their own teams as well as their software and hardware network providers.

Our team at CTaccess was determined to not only restore the health of the OIW’s IT operations but to revitalize the entire organization by implementing a comprehensive, attentive, and proactive approach to their long-term IT care.

Improving the Prognosis

Regardless of an organization’s size, capabilities, or industry focus, getting to the root of its IT issues always starts the same way: a conversation with the actual people who depend on that technology to not only do their work but to do it well.

End-user insights and feedback are invaluable for identifying the types of problems and inefficiencies that hinder an organization’s growth, productivity, and success. More importantly, these insights allow us to make informed decisions about changes and optimizations that will alleviate a team’s day-to-day frustrations as quickly as possible.

After conducting end-user interviews with over 20 key stakeholders on the OIW team, we uncovered two major pain points that were detrimental to the entire team’s daily workflows and overall performance:

1. Device speed and reliability
   
2. Connectivity
   

As a multi-site organization, dependable and accelerated connectivity was absolutely crucial for critical site-to-site communication and essential operations. But, unpredictable connectivity was only part of the challenges the OIW team had been working to solve. We also learned that the end users’ individual devices were not functioning at their peak, so even when there were no site connectivity issues, team members often had to worry about dropping anyway due to individual device failure and configuration problems.

Both concerns needed to be thoroughly addressed, as they played an equal role in causing the array of frustrations and complications the team had brought to light. By optimizing their multi-site network connection setup and upgrading the speed and functionality of end-user devices, we were able to work directly with the team and their practice admins to resolve the issue from all sides.

These interventions quickly enhanced the quality, consistency, and performance of the OIW’s essential operations — elevating user experience and work satisfaction for the entire team and enhancing the quality of care, attention, and efficiency they could now provide for patients.

“CTaccess helped us navigate our immediate technology concerns while creating a clear, concise, and actionable plan for ongoing maintenance and support. They provided our internal admins with the accessible and responsive support they needed to tackle day-to-day support items while guiding our entire organization forward with strategic operational insights, upgraded cybersecurity practices, and the reassurance of actionable crisis response and data recovery plans that we created together.”

– Cheryl Leissring, Practice Administrator at OIW

Proactivity and Prevention

While improving the quality of the OIW team’s day-to-day user experience was a top priority, there was another critical aspect of the organization’s overall IT health that required immediate intervention: cybersecurity.

During our initial assessments and technology audits, we discovered that the OIW’s previous IT setup had unknowingly left them vulnerable to some severe cybersecurity risks. Working closely with their in-house IT admins, we created a remediation plan that not only eliminated the existing threats to their security but also mitigated future risks. Ongoing cybersecurity training and routine security drills were also implemented to ensure that the entire team would stay informed and protected now and in the future.

By updating remote access and site connectivity protocols, the organization’s sensitive data was protected and overall security was reinforced. Immediate protections are only part of the equation, so we also applied several proactive defenses, including a throughly-revamped backup suite.

Once these changes were in place, the OIW team was left with renewed reassurance and peace of mind knowing that even in the unlikely event of a security breach, rapid response and recovery were now a possibility. As an added benefit, these innovations and updates also helped the OIW improve their eligibility for advanced cybersecurity insurance, making renewal a much simpler process.

A Roadmap for Routine Care

Our combined efforts empowered the OIW team to focus on amplifying the business and work toward their process automation goals without hesitation or interruption. And now that the OIW’s IT operations had been restored and revitalized, we were even more determined to keep their technology, workflows, and systems healthy moving forward.

“In many ways, CTaccess is our CIO; they are an instrumental and invaluable partner to our organization.”

– Cheryl Leissring, Practice Administrator at OIW

Together our teams created an actionable roadmap for ongoing care, which included:

• Creating a responsive ticketing system for end-user support and regular technology maintenance
• Routine cybersecurity scans and reporting
• Quarterly performance updates
• Annual planning meetings to outline future projects, goals, and innovations

As a Technology Performance Partner, the “last” step in the CTaccess process is ensuring that our clients’ progress, productivity, and performance never lose momentum after initial optimizations and upgrades have been applied.

Because technology and business processes are constantly evolving, we strive to build long-term relationships with our clients so that we can continue to optimize, adapt, and improve their IT performance — both now and in the future — as part of the team.

CTaccess SERVICE AND SUPPORT SUMMARY:

• TECHNOLOGY PERFORMANCE
  • IT Performance Assessment
  • User Interviews and Experience Surveys
  • Equipment Inventory
  • Optimization Strategy and Planning
  • Workstation Upgrades and Deployment
  • Multi-Site Connectivity Enhancements
  • Software Upgrades and Implementation
  • Back-up and Recovery Suite Creation
  • Process and Workflow Automation
  • Ticket and Tracking System Implementation
• CYBERSECURITY
  • Security Risk Assessment
  • Remediation Planning and Implementation
  • Incident Response Services
  • Managed Security Services
  • Email Encryption and Messaging Security
  • Compliance Alignment
  • Cybersecurity Insurance Renewal
  • Ongoing Internal/External Vulnerability Scans
• PARTNERSHIP
  • Collaborative Technology and User Support Services
  • Routine Process and Performance Reviews
  • Quarterly/Annual Planning, Insights, and Reporting
  • Strategy, Technology, and Business Innovations Consulting

Our specialized IT team strives to deliver laser-focused care and attention to our clients and their businesses every single day. Are you looking to improve your IT experience, optimize your workflows or automate your business processes? We’d love to talk to you about what our team can do for yours.