AOK Berlin deploys CA solution

Computer Associates International Inc. (CA) today announced that AOK Berlin, a part of Germany`s largest health insurance company, is implementing CA`s acclaimed Unicenter infrastructure management solution across its complex IT environment to streamline critical IT operations. By using Unicenter to automate routine tasks, proactively identify potential problems and speed remedial actions, AOK Berlin will significantly improve IT service levels while reducing workloads and operational costs.

The increased efficiency that Unicenter offers is particularly critical to AOK Berlin in light of spiraling health care sector costs. Increasing the efficiency of its IT operations will enable AOK Berlin to remain competitive and optimize profitability in a challenging market environment.

AOK Berlin initially piloted Unicenter in a limited deployment within the company`s office. Due to the unqualified success of this pilot, the deployment has now been expanded to encompass the entire facility.

"Our initial experience with Unicenter was extremely positive, which is why we decided to expand our deployment and increase the total benefits to the company," said Sascha Porbadnik, AOK Berlin`s representative manager, Information and Communications Technology. "In an information-intensive business like ours, the significant improvements in IT efficiency that Unicenter provides result in substantial bottom-line benefits - as well as improvements in a wide range of intangibles, such as customer satisfaction and employee morale." AOK Berlin`s Unicenter deployment was also bolstered by the fact that its long-standing systems partner, Mikado, has extensive experience with CA`s eBusiness management solutions and is well acquainted with the IT requirements of health insurance companies.

"The networked computing environments at companies like AOK Berlin are continually growing in size and complexity, which drives their need for more automated monitoring and management tools," said Petra Melzer, senior consultant at Mikado Systems. "Unicenter delivers this essential management technology in a way that transcends and unifies systems and network disciplines to create a single, seamless approach to ensuring the effective delivery of business-critical IT services."

With Unicenter installed, AOK Berlin can now control and monitor its entire infrastructure of approximately 200 Windows servers throughout the city with point-and-click ease. Unicenter monitors all hardware, operating systems, services (such as Microsoft Exchange and Web servers), and software - which includes several sophisticated data warehouse applications.

Unicenter also administers a newly implemented "virtual branch office," which allows AOK Berlin customers to handle most of their business inquiries online. "This virtual branch is now available on a 24-hour basis," said Porbadnik. "Unicenter offers us an operational infrastructure and an around-the-clock management system to make sure it`s there when customers need it."

"Today`s insurance companies are grappling with tremendous technological complexity, non-stop infrastructure expansion, and very serious resource constraints," says Peter Rasp, CA`s managing director in Germany. "Unicenter has proven once again that it is the most effective solution set to help them cope with these serious challenges."