Hessing Kliniken: Fit for the Future with Storage Solutions for SMEs

Highly specialised orthopaedic centre with growing data volume

Headquartered in Augsburg, Hessing Kliniken are among the leading orthopaedic centres of expertise in Europe and are one of the largest orthopaedic specialist clinics in Germany. Each year, the doctors and nurses provide the highest level of treatment to over 13,000 inpatients. The orthopaedic clinics include eight highly specialised orthopaedic departments and rehabilitation clinics. With more than 1,400 employees, the clinics are a high-end medium-sized company. It’s no wonder that the volume of data generated is constantly growing - a challenge that pushed the hospital’s previous storage solution to its limits.

Maximum security and minimum downtime

Large amounts of patient data and high-resolution medical images that need to be stored securely and reliably, and accessed quickly and efficiently at any time - this is an essential requirement for storage solutions in demanding healthcare facilities. The system must also be scalable in order to cope with future growth and continuously increasing volumes of data, as well as possible data-intensive technological disruptions. Projects that are to replace legacy hardware present a particular challenge - especially when it comes to important infrastructure components.

The implementation of the new hardware must be smooth and with a minimum of downtime. The IT team at the Hessing Foundation, led by Head of Division Markus Großmann and Administrator Bernhard Wächter, quickly decided to rely on the expertise of their IT partner Microstaxx when selecting new storage systems. The managed service expert for innovative IT infrastructures has been implementing needs-based IT solutions for its customers - large and medium-sized companies, research institutions, municipalities, universities and universities all over Germany - for more than 30 years.

Easy-to-manage active-active storage

After examining solutions from different manufacturers, the responsible parties agreed: Two Huawei all-flash storage systems, more specifically OceanStor Dorado series models, needed to quickly replace the old storage solution. OceanStor Dorado 5000 is a dual controller active-active storage that is easier to manage than other manufacturers’ complex storage solutions that require additional software. The solution does not require an additional layer of software or management nodes, making commissioning easier and more cost-effective without compromising on security, performance or ease of use. It also makes the system easier to manage, offers high capacity and high-speed data access - made for use in the challenging everyday hospital life.

Higher performance, less manual tasks

The implementation project started at the beginning of January and the system was ready for rollout at the end of the month. Huawei’s fast delivery and easy installation were important factors for the clinic when making the selection. "In addition to the very fast delivery times, Huawei as a technology partner impressed us above all with the fact that the solution is tailored to the needs of SMEs. Other manufacturers often only focus on large corporations," says Markus Großmann.

Thomas Mayerhofer, Strategic Enterprise Architect at Microstaxx, is also convinced that the Dorado solution from Huawei was the optimal solution for the Hessing Kliniken: "Data centre modernizations are usually not a greenfield issue. The high integration capability of the new Huawei systems in the growing existing environment of the clinics was therefore key. This meant that the roll-out also went smoothly."

Shortly after commissioning the new storage system, IT manager Großmann is satisfied: "Everything works smoothly. I don't hear anything about 'storage' from the workforce at all - this is the best indicator for us IT professionals." Architecture specialist Wächter is also impressed by the solution: “By switching to All-Flash, we no longer have any performance bottlenecks.” In all modernisation projects, it is also important for the managers of the Hessing Foundation to offer their administrators an attractive working environment in times of skilled worker shortage; this includes, in particular, relief from repetitive manual tasks. Systems such as Huawei OceanStor Dorado contribute to this approach.

About Hessing Kliniken

Hessing Kliniken are one of Europe’s leading orthopaedic centres of expertise and are among the largest orthopaedic specialist clinics in Germany. The doctors and nurses provide the highest level of treatment to over 13,000 inpatients every year.

https://www.hessing-kliniken.de/

About Microstaxx

Microstaxx is a managed service provider and IT service company based in Munich, which specialises in networking, security, storage and professional services and has been serving large and medium-sized companies, such as research institutions, and municipalities throughout Germany for over 30 years.

https://www.microstaxx.de/

“In addition to the very fast delivery times, Huawei impressed us above all with the fact that the storage solution is tailored to the needs of SMEs.”

Markus Großmann

Head of IT at Hessing Kliniken

“By switching to all-flash storage, we no longer have any performance bottlenecks.”

Bernhard Wächter

Administrator at Hessing Kliniken