Health IT leader helps clients implement the latest software innovations with fast, secure downloads
Headquartered in North Kansas City, Missouri, Cerner Corporation has worked at the intersection of healthcare and information technology to connect people and systems around the world for 40+ years. Their mission is to relentlessly seek breakthrough innovation that will shape the healthcare of tomorrow.
Transferring Software Updates Was Slow Going
Cerner develops and installs a wide range of innovative software and technology solutions for hospitals and healthcare networks around the globe. It’s critical for these organizations to have access to the latest software upgrades and enhancements to keep their trusted systems secure and running the latest feature sets that support all aspects of patient care.
To make this happen, the Cerner IT team manages downloads for a variety of solutions that client can select from the client distributions web portal. The latest Healthcare content and terminologies are a popular option as are new feature packages for various software systems, some containing evolving procedures related to COVID-19.
The catch? These downloads typically involve some large file sizes, many exceeding 1GB in size. This was making them cumbersome not only for the Cerner IT team to upload to the client web portal, but also for clients to download without excessive wait times and frustration.
Streamlining the Process with Secure File Acceleration
The team selected FileCatalyst TransferAgent to accelerate the transfer of these large files. The files are secured with the latest encryption standards in transit and at rest. “Now the level of security we have within transfers ensures clients feel comfortable there are no bad actors coming into the plan because data is encrypted,” said Alan Shelley, Software Development Manager, Cerner.
Preventing Download Restarts
One important feature of FileCatalyst is it can retry the network connection without restarting the transfer from square one if it loses a packet during transmission. Without this feature the network could time out and the file transfer would start over, causing an aggravating—and potentially lengthy—cycle for all involved. “Life before FileCatalyst ended up being a lot of client complaints due to hiccups in transferring packages. It was frustrating for end users,” Shelley said.
Achieving Flexibility in Transfer Protocols
Although there are many line speed variables affecting client-side downloads, FileCatalyst can run seamlessly using multiple transfer protocols to give clients flexibility “We have clients with ultra-secure networks that can’t use our first level protocol,” said Matt Hudgins, Scrum Master, Cerner. “The great thing about FileCatalyst is if the first level doesn’t work, it will automatically fail over to second and third protocols.” This automatic adjustment helps prevent transfer errors and delays.
Supporting Patient Care with Efficient System Updates
The metrics for 2020 are impressive: Clients used the portal to download 98,000 software bundles using FileCatalyst. This means healthcare leaders around the world are enhancing their Cerner solutions rapidly with new capabilities that will help them deliver top-notch patient care.
