40,000 devices, accounted for.
A large academic medical center had more than 40,000 medical and facilities devices on its network with no protocol to confirm they were authorized. A Digineer project manager organized and led the contractor team charged with fixing them. By the end, more than 98% of the devices were in compliance.
At a glance
- Client
- A large academic medical center
- Program
- Network access control for connected medical and facilities devices
- Scale
- 40,000+ devices across multiple regions and campuses
- Engagement
- Project management and team leadership, 16 months
- Capability
- Transformation & Value Management
The situation
Thousands of devices, no way to vouch for them
The medical center was concerned about the vulnerability of its enterprise network, especially equipment that connects to it to send data. Across its healthcare technology management and facilities operations groups, more than 40,000 devices connected with no protocol to confirm they were authorized. That put patient data and network security at risk.
The fix was to register every device in a database with the parameters it needed to authenticate. A team of contractors was brought in to find and fix non-compliant equipment. Their technical backgrounds varied widely, and they needed a technical project manager with networking knowledge to lead them.
Warning signs
- Devices on the network with no authorization check
- A risk to patient data and network security
- Too many devices for the in-house team
- Contractors with uneven device experience
- Turnover on the remediation team
What we did
Organize the team, then work the plan
The strategy was simple: get every device that uses the network into the database with the right parameters. Digineer’s project manager focused on making a mixed contractor team consistent and productive.
Daily rhythm
Daily stand-ups let team members report progress and raise problems. Less experienced members were paired with stronger ones until they were ready to work alone.
Documented, repeatable work
Training on the device database and network tools, plus documented processes for how each device was fixed. When people left, new members got up to speed quickly because everyone was cross-trained.
A plan by region
Regions and campuses were divided among team members on a remediation schedule. Progress went to management in program meetings three days a week and in a weekly status report.
The outcome
A network much harder to attack
Medical devices first
Over six months, the team cut non-compliant medical devices to less than 5% of the total.
Asked to do facilities too
That success led facilities to ask for the same team. It cut non-compliant facilities devices from 2,349 to 113 in six months.
More than 98% compliant
In the end, more than 98% of all medical and facilities devices were brought into compliance.
Less exposure
With devices in compliance, the network was significantly less vulnerable to virus and ransomware attacks that could expose patient data. Both groups’ management praised the team’s work.
Project management
Too many devices and not enough structure?
Digineer project managers bring the plan, the process and the daily discipline that turn a large remediation effort into steady progress.
Bring structure to your devices
Client name withheld for confidentiality.