Enterprises across the globe have needed to adjust their business models to fit the virtual environment caused by COVID-19. While it may seem obvious to make moves to the cloud, based on how much more digital businesses have already become, not all businesses have easy or reliable access to high-speed, sustainable, and enhanced network connections in order to take full advantage of today’s technologies.
For Aspire Indiana, the jump to full virtual operation during the early stages of COVID-19 was an easy step because the organization had already transitioned to a mainly digital format with the help of IFN. Aspire’s switch to our Dedicated Internet Access (DIA) service allowed them to continue to serve their patients safely and efficiently during the pandemic, while further simplifying their internal processes.
Aspire Indiana is a fully integrated health system that addresses behavioral health, primary care, and substance use disorders, as well as social determinants of health, which include housing and employment. IFN has worked with Aspire for many years now, first helping the organization design a point-to-point network for its locations across the state of Indiana. Since the beginning of Aspire’s partnership with IFN, the organization has saved more than $100,000 while increasing reliability.
Last year, Aspire wanted to further leverage technology, specifically cloud-based services, to better serve its patients and enhance its operational efficiency. Before COVID-19, cloud technology was already a highly utilized aspect of their business. In fact, 93% of enterprises use a multi-cloud strategy to best store and transfer data, among other processes, across multiple systems.
Aspire’s Chief Technology Officer, David Speicher, noticed the huge potential cloud technology could bring to Aspire Indiana and set a goal for the organization to be 100% on the cloud in three years. He knew IFN would be the perfect partner for this endeavor. “IFN has been such a great partner to work with,” said Speicher. “We always want to simplify our processes as much as possible, and IFN is able to help us do that along with enhancing our capabilities. They’re always our first call when we’re looking for connectivity/glass/fiber.”
While Aspire was well on its way toward full in-the-cloud operations by the spring of 2020, COVID-19 hit the U.S. and forced businesses around the world to go virtual. Healthcare organizations like Aspire faced an incredibly tall order: Continue business operations while having to ramp up telehealth capabilities to serve their patients and staff at home.
In the first two weeks of the pandemic alone, Aspire saw a 100-time increase in telehealth visits per day – from roughly 7 to 725 – all while nearly 75% of their employees worked remotely. Aspire was prepared, though. Their switch to IFN’s DIA allowed them to conduct each telehealth visit effectively through their cloud systems without a hitch. Managing this spike in calls per day was certainly a success, but how would Aspire’s patients feel about all of this change? The good news is, 60% of surveyed patients were satisfied with the virtual services they received from Aspire, showing each of the organization’s pivots – before and during COVID-19 – were a success.
“This massive increase in virtual visits meant we needed to have a strong network in place to utilize our cloud platforms, allowing us to operate at the best of our abilities with employees working remotely and our patients getting treatment from their homes,” Speicher said. “What we already had in place helped us face these challenges head-on.”
Cloud technology is continuing to become a powerful asset for businesses no matter the industry, especially with the ramifications of COVID-19. 40% of companies are now planning to accelerate their move to the cloud with employees expected to shift between in-office and remote work for the foreseeable future. Aspire already completed its acceleration to the cloud, reaching its goal of being an all-cloud operation in July 2020. Through this, the organization has moved from more than 100 physical servers and networks across their locations, down to nine cloud-based servers, proving their big bet on the cloud and a continued partnership with IFN were both well worth the investment.
Curious how IFN’s solutions can help your business take advantage of the cloud and more? Contact us today and learn what we can do for you today.