Independent medical scheme manager Medscheme is reaping the benefits of its ongoing relationship with Unisys Africa.
Two years after the company`s implementation of a Unisys ES7000 server, Hankie Vogel, CIO at Medscheme, says the flexibility provided by Unisys from a technology and services perspective has supported the health fund manager as it has expanded its business significantly through organic growth and acquisitions.
"When we reached maximum capacity on our main production systems we replaced them with a Unisys ES7000 and it`s been scaling up with our business ever since," says Vogel. "Our business growth has been greatly facilitated by the relationship we have developed with Unisys over the years. We have become close business partners who are committed to working together to achieve common goals and objectives. Today Unisys forms an integral part of our business."
Medscheme manages schemes in SA, Mauritius, Namibia, Swaziland and Zimbabwe.
As an integrated health fund manager, its business activities include providing efficient claim processing and payment services, ensuring efficient spending of healthcare funds for the benefit of medical schemes, integrating information on all healthcare services provided to beneficiaries, and providing appropriate and ongoing management information to trustees of medical schemes to enable them to implement optimal benefit structures suited to their individual beneficiary profile.
Medscheme therefore demands high-level performance from its server to provide maximised system availability. "The ES7000 server gives us the level of performance, uptime and ease of maintenance we require to ensure we are able to deliver optimum service to our members," says Vogel. "Our investment is further protected by the server`s inherent scalability which has allowed our business to grow and change substantially over the last three years."
He adds that Unisys has worked so closely with Medscheme over the years that its people have gained an intimate understanding of the fund manager`s environment, enabling effective collaboration. "The level at which our relationship functions is rare in today`s environment," he adds. "Where most technology and services providers are viewed with suspicion, we see Unisys as a strategic partner."
The relationship began when Unisys was approached to change Medscheme`s legacy data warehousing system. Medscheme`s production systems and data warehouse rely on EMC Symmetrix storage that connects to all mainframe, open systems and networked storage environments.
Shortly thereafter Medscheme needed to upgrade its main production systems, which were running short of power. The company demonstrated its confidence in Unisys by deploying what was then the new-generation ES7000 enterprise server.
"The ES7000 was very new in the market," says Vogel, "but my experience with Unisys has shown me that the company backs its technology with implementation and support services of the highest level. Three years later we can look back on our decision knowing it was the right one. I don`t know of another technology that would have been flexible enough to see us through our development."
He says Unisys`s systems and people have accommodated the challenges presented by Medscheme`s growth, including the acquisition of Liberty Healthcare, Sanlam Health, FedHealth and Sovereign Health, by understanding the company`s business imperatives and recommending appropriate technology solutions.
It takes more than a stable system and capable willing people to support the dynamics of a rapidly growing organisation, and that`s where the true value of the ES7000 has come to the fore. "The company for which we bought the ES7000 is very different to the Medscheme of today," says Vogel. "But in all this time, we have not had to add to or replace our investment. One can appreciate the value they have added."
"A partnership is only as effective as the cooperation between all parties involved," says Barry Holt, MD of Unisys Africa. "Lack of understanding between customer and vendor does not create an atmosphere conducive to effective partnership, but the Unisys-Medscheme success story is founded on the people representing each organisation. Because we understand Medscheme`s business imperatives and can recommend appropriate technology solutions we have developed a level of mutual trust and respect. We are proud of our staff and of Medscheme`s people for what they have created."
Holt adds that EMC has also played a vital role in enabling Medscheme to grow and evolve over the past few years. Along with Unisys EMC was instrumental in moving Medscheme from Randburg to its new premises in Bryanston with close to zero impact on the company`s business. EMC and Unisys were also involved earlier this year in setting up Medscheme`s disaster recovery and business continuity environment.
"With Unisys we have simplified our IT and server environment, and created an IT infrastructure that is flexible and effective," says Vogel.
Share
Editorial contacts