AOK Case Study

Case studyHealth reform forweb communicationClientAOK AOK unifies the communication platform for approximately 60,000 employees andSectorHealthcare 25 million policy holders.BusinessStatutory health insurance A market-leading company such AOK offers comprehensive healthChallenge as AOK is only successful when it management, where consistentlyNew ICT infrastructure can communicate with its policy applied quality management leadsColt products and services holders, staff and service partners to increased efficiency in the• Colt Managed Services continuously, securely and reliably. provision of healthcare services. To guarantee this, AOK counts on For the policyholder, this means Colt Managed Services. optimum care in return for an affordable rate. In fact, AOK By implementing a Colt designed is known for customer service and managed ICT solution, the - answering client questions health insurer has not only achieved concerning health and health higher performance and security insurance within 24 hours during for its central communications the business week. Moreover, AOK platform, but has also significantly offers various initiatives relating lowered operating costs - to precautionary healthcare and improving competitiveness and provides substantial assistance to keeping their policy holders policy holders via advisory forums, rates down. access via the Internet to content- rich databases, current news and The customer medical dictionaries, as well as a With over 25 million insured, hospital “navigator”. AOK is the largest health insurer in Germany. Approximately one The task third of the country’s population When system environments expand place their trust in AOK. Policy over a long period, updates to holders are served by over 60,000 these systems are often complex employees in approximately and require significant effort. This 1,600 branches. The AOK federal was exactly the case with AOK, association is an umbrella whose IT infrastructure required organisation representing the an “overhaul” to accommodate interests of 16 independent regional new requirements. This not only AOK offices in addition to branch included technical upgrades, offices and further subsidiaries. but also required an increase in

// This meant that not only 60,000 AOK employees were provided with central Internet access, but employees obtained a highly available communication platform for the transmission of their social insurance data, and support partners such as SAP obtained a reliable platform for support purposes as well. // Andreas Jonscher, AOK Account Director at Colt.cost effectiveness and greater To support this strategy, AOKefficiency. The goal was to minimise required a secure, fault-tolerantthe expenditure and investment architecture so that high availabilityrequired for data, voice and and security would be safeguarded,managed services and to create a even in the event of a disaster. Theflexible platform with transparent, synchronisation and standardisationpredictable costs for the future. of the communications platformAOK thoroughly evaluated whether were critical objectives for AOK.this modernisation should be done Over time, the ICT systems mustwith internal resources or via an remain both flexible and responsiveout-tasking approach with a trusted so that new processes andmanaged services provider. business models can be supported optimally and on a timely basis.Following a pan-European A continuous high quality ofinvitation to tender in 2005, Colt service through clearly definedwas selected to implement the service levels is also important andCentral Services Area (CSA) as well “future-proofing” must be ensuredas a Multi-Protocol Label Switching through straightforward access to(MPLS) network. Colt beat five new technologies. In addition, it isreputable competitors based on essential that the solution providedthe best price/performance ratio. by Colt remain compliant withThe innovative design of the overall international certification standardssolution, as well as the detailed and comprehensive regulatorymigration plan and operating model principles.for the CSA also served to furtherconvince AOK decision-makers. The Colt solutionThe requirements These diverse and complex requirements were configured andFor AOK, the digital world plays implemented by Colt in a bespokea central role and will play an solution tailored to AOK’s needs.even greater role in the future. Colt provided the infrastructure forThe Information Communications Internet and email communicationTechnology (ICT) systems must and took responsibility for theguarantee a secure, fast and reliable operation of these platforms (overexchange of information with 60 servers) at the agreed pointmultiple communication partners in time. This meant that not only(from customers to employees 60,000 AOK employees wereand service partners, from any provided with central Internetbusiness location or branch) at all access, but employees obtainedtimes. This also applies to web- a highly available communicationbased information and self-service platform for the transmission offacilities from various AOK portals, their social insurance data, andwhich offer policyholders practical support partners such as SAPassistance with current health obtained a reliable platform forissues, along with higher quality support purposes as well.customer support and greaterindependence from service points. By using scalable systems andThese services are essential for flexible modules, the solutioncustomer satisfaction and customer was designed so that changingloyalty, which are central to AOK’s requirements can be flexiblystrategic goals. accommodated within a short time frame. To secure the data

Solution concept B2B Internet location 1 (employer) Boundary DC1 Internet (customer) VPN DC2 Extranet (support) Platform location 21. Caching Mailrelay Secure mailrelay - features2. Anti- SPAM, Antivirus3. Sender/Recipient related content 1 Caching Mailrelay filtering4. E-Mail encryption and digital 2 Anti-SPAM, Anti Virus signature Metadirectory5. Quarantine (archive) and release 3 E-Mail Encryption and signature management6. Application related routing 4 E-Mail Encryption and signature 5 Separate queue for each destination domain Efficient and Secure Mailrelay and systems in the event of a operated by Colt on Colt’s fibre disaster, the CSA is operated with infrastructure. mirrored sites in two separate high The AOK infrastructure within performance data centres, owned the Colt data centre is protected and managed by Colt. The two from compromise or attacks via data centres are connected by the Internet using Colt’s Managed redundant high speed connections Security Services such as intrusion that are implemented on the Colt prevention systems, firewalls, fibre optic network. As a result an innovative anti-virus and anti- extremely high level of security was spam services. A Mail relay with achieved enabling AOK to continue comprehensive functionality business activities, without in installed in the CSA ensures that the event that a data centre, or electronic messages are filtered systems provided in one data and only trusted messages are centre, become unavailable. Fully forwarded to the AOK email server. automatic switching in the event of If messages entering this process a fault is provided via global load are identified as suspect, they balancing. are forwarded into quarantine In normal operation the load for further testing by in-house balancing devices perform fully AOK administrators. Moreover, automatic distribution of requests Mail relay offers encryption and so that optimum performance is digital signature so that data and ensured. The AOK branches access documents can be exchanged the services provided from the safely via email. data centres via the MPLS network

All services are monitored by Colt The Colt solution at a glance around the clock in accordance with ITIL Best Practices. Colt • Provisioning and assumption of integrates the quality and service operational responsibility for the management into the IT processes AOK web-based communication to ensure high levels of service and platform in the Central Service security. Moreover, the platform Area (CSA) designed and operated by Colt • A fault-tolerant solution through was audited “without reservation” by TÜV Rhineland, an international the replication of the CSA in two service provider specialising in geographically separate Colt data compliance. centres • Fully automatic switching in Customer benefit the event of a fault achieved by The Colt solution provided for global load balancing the AOK Federation has now been in operation for over a year • Integration of the data centres without interruptions in service. via internal Colt high-speed fibre AOK benefits from filtering of optic connections spam, virus and content– and • Access by the AOK branches has experienced growth in the to the CSA via the Colt MPLS spam recognition rate (95% to network 99%) compared with the previous solution for over 1.2 million emails • Preparation of a high- processed daily, This means that performance Mail relay with both AOK employees and the extensive security features internal mail system have been relieved of an extra 10 million • Proactive, 24x7 management of unwanted emails annually. In total, all services handled in the Central the Colt solution filters over 200 Service Area by Colt million spam messages annually. • Fixed defined service quality In addition to these benefits, AOK guarantees through Service Level was able to realise lower costs by Agreements (SLAs) partnering with Colt, particularly due to the use of standardised • Filtering of 1.2 million e-mails infrastructure components that daily, identification of 200 million lower the required administrative SPAM/virus-mails per year, > 60 effort. The modular design also servers, 40 switches ensures high scalability and permits fast adaptations to changing • > 7 TB Storage, Internet access business requirements, including for 60,000 AOK employees compliance regulations and industry standards. Next step To arrange a consultation or to discuss how Colt can help you: Visit: www.colt.net© 2010 Colt Technology Services Group Limited. The Colt name and logos are trade marks. All rights reserved. CS-UK-EN-09-08-M01

AOK Case Study

by Colt Technology Services on Jul 28, 2011

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AOK Case Study — Document Transcript