Avnet Enterprise Solutions Integrates New and Existing HP and Cisco Networking, Storage Technologies for Exempla Healthcare

Business Wire, May 11, 2004

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

TEMPE, Ariz.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 11, 2004

Healthcare provider installs SAN solution to support mission-critical

imaging application and provide disaster recovery capabilities

Avnet Enterprise Solutions, an IT solutions integrator, has successfully installed a storage area network (SAN) solution, complete with design, implementation and project management services for Denver-based Exempla Healthcare. This solution will allow Exempla to improve patient care, which includes adding a digital storage solution for radiology and other images.

Exempla staff members wanted the ability to replicate data between their three hospitals, implement a disaster recovery system and have more storage space to support a Picture Archiving and Communication System (PACS).

In order to accomplish all of their goals, Exempla staff members chose a combination of the HP StorageWorks Enterprise Virtual Array (EVA) and the Cisco MDS 9505 Multilayer Intelligent Director, which greatly increases storage utilization rates and improves manageability, while allowing Exempla to easily scale its SAN to meet future needs. A key enabling technology in this new SAN was Fibre Channel over Internet Protocol (FCIP) available through the Cisco MDS 9000 IP Storage Services Module, which allowed Exempla to extend Fibre Channel storage traffic over its existing IP network across all three hospitals.

Because its SAN had to work with existing technologies, including the hospital's Cisco-based IP network and other HP hardware and services, Exempla turned to Avnet Enterprise Solutions, HP's No. 1 Provider of SAN Solution Services, and a Cisco Gold Certified Partner, for help.

"The increasing reliance on digital imaging technologies coupled with HIPPA requirements for storing and moving patient records, has accelerated the adoption of multiprotocol storage networking solutions, representing a tremendous opportunity for both Cisco and its partners," said Edison Peres, vice president, Advanced Technologies at Cisco Systems. "Avnet was able to combine its storage and networking expertise with an understanding of the healthcare industry to recommend a storage solution -- featuring Cisco technology -- that fit Exempla's needs."

"Cisco network and HP hardware and servers, they all had to work together," said George A. Welton, vice president and chief information officer for Exempla Healthcare. "Avnet Enterprise Solutions is providing the project management skills to marry the two technologies together and create a critical link for us to produce this repository of images and improve patient care. Avnet Enterprise Solutions is helping to provide a critical patient care platform and that's huge for us."

"Information is the lifeblood of a hospital," said Mark Gonzalez, vice president, Americas Network Storage Solutions, HP. "Continuous access to information is not a 'nice to have,' it's a 'must have.' This solution is much more than just hardware, or even software; this solution involved significant amounts of intellectual capital. Exempla Healthcare is a great example of how, together, we can solve real customer problems in the most demanding environments to ensure the highest levels of customer satisfaction."

"The ability to take advantage of Avnet's knowledge of Cisco director-class SAN switch technology and the use of blades to provide multiple network protocols to attach servers to the SAN was a major factor in the selection of the Cisco 9509 Multilayer Intelligent Director," continued Welton.

With the SANs in place, Exempla will be able to not only take full advantage of PACS, but also have a disaster recovery solution in place and be able to share data between all three hospitals.

PACS is a way to digitally store and transfer images. Exempla staff members will start with radiology -- x-rays and some CT scans -- then in the future will add mammography, cardiology and pathology.

With PACS, staff members won't have to store films; instead they'll have access to the electronic images on the network at all three hospitals.

"PACS requires a great deal of disk space," said Welton. "We're going from one terabyte to 75 terabytes in four years; we need a solution we can depend on."

About Exempla Healthcare

Exempla Healthcare is made up of three hospitals in the Denver area. In January of 1998 Saint Joseph Hospital joined Lutheran Medical Center and Exempla Medical Group to form Exempla Healthcare, a not-for-profit, community-based organization. The Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth Health System remains as a sponsor, along with LMC Community Foundation, while Exempla Healthcare manages the hospital's operations. Further enhancing its service to the region will be Exempla Good Samaritan Medical Center, which will open in late 2004, building on the legacy of its sister institutions.

About Avnet Enterprise Solutions

Avnet Enterprise Solutions is a solutions integrator specializing in enterprise server, storage and network solutions that power leading business applications. The company is listed 85th of the top VARs (value-added resellers) for the 2003 VARBusiness 500. The company leverages its unique suite of technical and financial professional services to minimize risk, maximize flexibility and optimize IT investment. Avnet Enterprise Solutions integrates hardware, software and services from industry leaders including HP, IBM, Cisco Systems, Oracle and VERITAS. Headquartered in Tempe, Ariz., Avnet Enterprise Solutions (www.es.avnet.com) is a division of $4 billion Avnet Technology Solutions, an operating group of Avnet Inc. (NYSE: AVT). Avnet Inc. is ranked 223 on the Fortune 500 list and is a global technology marketing, distribution and services company with fiscal 2003 revenues of $9.05 billion.