MARKET REPORT Healthcare
“Even if a CCG wants to make a decision surrounding an upcoming tech investment,
there’s no ‘go to’ solution or standardised guidelines.”
Tim Mercer, CEO of Vapour Cloud
organizations as they undergo in
weeks the sort of transformations
that would normally have been
planned over months or years.
Dave O’Shaughnessy,
Healthcare Practice Leader –
Avaya EMEA & APAC, added
“If digital transformation is
just switching from analogue
to digital telephony and
adding some video units here
and there, that’s really of
minimal value and bene t, it’s
not transforming the service.
Real change and impactful
transformation comes from
the Channel taking to time
to build their network and
closer relationship into the
Healthcare stakeholders, dive
deep into understanding the
work ow operations of a
hospital or community service,
understanding what is of value
to clinicians and nurses, what
annoys them about technology,
what frustrates patients calling
to schedule appointments
or communicate with their
healthcare specialists – listen
to them. Right now, in my
experience, a lot of Channel
Partners are not practically
able or are even reluctant to take
the time to build that network,
take the time to listen and
understand how transformation
could look to sta and patients
alike. is is equally a business
transformation for Channel
Partners, and it will take time
and committed e ort, but the
bene ts when that listening
is patiently done, when that
understanding is achieved, can
be… well, transformational.”
ED SAYS…
The current pandemic is clearly pushing
healthcare organisations into adopting
technology at a rate never seen before. The
big question will be how much of what gets
implemented now will stick and what kind of
platform will be left for partners to help their
customers build on?
CBM: How has the Covid-19 crisis impacted BT’s services and
how are you supporting the Channel?
Alex Tempest, MD of BT Wholesale
“Within BT’s Enterprise division, we’re supporting the health sector
through a number of different initiatives. We quickly established
connectivity for the new Nightingale Hospital at London’s ExCeL
Centre, and we’re enabling voice and video calling solutions for
a number of NHS Trusts so isolated patients who are in adult
intensive care can see and speak with their loved ones.
Our dedicated 999 agents also answer more than 30 million
calls each year and are currently working fl at out to manage the
unprecedented number of calls being made, that’s despite the
launch of the dedicated 111 Covid-19 number. At the peak of demand,
our agents have answered the equivalent volume of calls seen on
New Year’s Eve – 999’s busiest day of the year – every single day.
For the channel, we’ve waived fees around Etherfl ow
modifi cation meaning partners can freely boost network bandwidth
to match increasing demand. We’re also offering free foundation
licenses for our Hosted Communications suite, as well as a free
customer establishment offer, to facilitate quick access to remote
telephony solutions. We recognise that this is a worrying time for
all, and we’re doing everything we can to help our partners and
their customers manage this challenging situation. We are here to
support whenever, and wherever, it’s most needed.”
Cloud and managed services as
healthcare organisation want
to focus on their core expertise
and cloud can be proven to be
dependable and highly available.
It enables them to very rapidly
deploy new services such as
multi-channel communications
to enable them to connect with
patients digitally.”
Equinix’s health expert
Tom Carter commented, “ e
healthcare sector has historically
been quite slow to digitally
transform its IT infrastructure,
but the past few months and
the rapid escalation of the
COVID-19 crisis has changed
everything. e industry has
been propelled into the fastest
period of virtualization and
change ever seen in any sector,
and the stakes have never been
higher.
ere is a vital role for the
Channel to play as we collectively
navigate this unprecedented
period. Channel partners have
quickly become invaluable
trusted advisors to key players
across the sector: guiding
and supporting healthcare
Dave O’Shaughnessy, Healthcare Practice Leader – Avaya EMEA & APAC
26 | Comms Business Magazine | May 2020 www.commsbusiness.co.uk
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