Whakarongorau Aotearoa (New Zealand Telehealth Providers) is transferring to a brand new cloud host by the top of the yr.
It was introduced that the federal government service can be an anchor tenant of IT big Microsoft’s upcoming hyper-scale cloud in New Zealand.
Whakarongorau has been delivering free, government-funded, and round the clock nationwide telehealth companies throughout seven digital channels since 2015. It operates over 30 telehealth companies, together with help for COVID-19, psychological well being and home violence, with 12 scientific groups.
WHY IT MATTERS
Based on a media launch, the organisation will combine its core telehealth system, offered by Valentia Applied sciences, right into a single platform on Microsoft’s zero trust-based cloud area.
The transfer comes a yr after Whakarongorau accomplished its Contact Centre Platform Substitute challenge, which goals to modernise its telehealth operations.
Aligning with its digital technique, this switch to the Microsoft Azure area permits Whakarongorau to concentrate on its subsequent modernisation section: to undertake superior analytics and AI instruments that improve operational effectivity and assist ship service “at a better scale.” These embrace instruments for real-time name transcription and buyer sentiment evaluation.
“This settlement with Microsoft will permit us to ship safe, seamless companies throughout digital and AI platforms, making certain we meet New Zealanders’ wants wherever they’re,” Whakarongorau CIO Mike Mulvaney stated in an announcement.
THE LARGER CONTEXT
Microsoft first introduced in 2020 its plan to ascertain a regional cloud information centre in New Zealand. Its first native associate, IT and hybrid cloud companies supplier CLC of the Spark Enterprise Group, was revealed in June this yr.
Earlier than the official launch of the hyper-scale information area, the Accident Compensation Company (ACC), which gives nationwide private harm insurance coverage, grew to become the primary organisation in New Zealand’s well being system to signal a three-year cloud cope with Microsoft in 2021. Nevertheless, even earlier, in the course of the peak of the pandemic in 2020, the corporate had already been supporting well being organisations within the nation with their adaptation and restoration by providing Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare — a set of healthcare cloud functions and instruments.
Microsoft is half the contractor for Te Whatu Ora’s nationwide hybrid cloud challenge, which goals emigrate its ICT methods to the cloud. Cloud migration is one of many authorities’s key initiatives following its choice to restrict ICT implementations and choose for “fewer, extra sturdy” platforms. It had uncovered a patchwork of over 4,000 outdated scientific and enterprise functions that grew to become expensive to take care of.
Alongside signing an all-of-government service contract with Microsoft in 2021, the Ministry of Well being additionally entered right into a separate cope with the IT big to assist improve the well being system’s cybersecurity functionality.