Vernier Networks Selected for Wireless Network Security Solution by ST. Agnes Medical Center

Overall Cost of Deploying Secure Wireless Network Reduced with Vernier’s ‘One-Click Configuration’ Access Management Solution

HostReview.com
Monday, May 31, 2004; 12:00 AM

Mountain View, CA (PRWEB) May 31, 2004 -- http://www.verniernetworks.com — Vernier Networks® recently announced that St. Agnes Hospital, a Solucient Top 100 full-service healthcare facility, has deployed Vernier’s IS 6500 Integrated Security System to centralize and streamline the process of configuring doctor and nurse PDAs for secure wireless network access. Prior to implementing Vernier’s user centric security solution, IT managers at St. Agnes manually entered wireless network security codes on over 100 wireless-enabled PDAs used for point-of-care access to patient records, radiology reports and real-time laboratory results. Now, the IT department can define and enforce individual user access rights and set up PDAs to access the network through “one-click configuration” by location, time or application.

“Our hospital staff depends heavily on our wireless network so it is important to be able to make changes such as adding users without compromising the network. We spent so much time configuring PDAs with security keys, that we didn’t have time to test and add new applications to our overall network,” said Larry Lawson, director of IT for Baltimore-based, St. Agnes Hospital. “With Vernier’s security solution, we have automated the maintenance of our wireless security network and can now do things such as define access rights for individual users based on their needs in a single step from the desktop. Not only is the user and patient experience better, but the overall management of our wireless network security is seamless and requires minimal IT attention.”

In addition to providing its staff secure mobile access to the hospital network, St. Agnes uses Vernier to authenticate a group of 20 “in the field” home care nurses for the remote update of new patient data. Field nurses have special user rights to access the network from the hospital’s parking lot and can upload information into patient care records directly from their automobile, eliminating the need to physically walk into the hospital and log-in to a data entry point. Vernier’s technology enables healthcare network managers to implement WLAN usage policies and secure control at the edge of the network to provide enterprise-class scalability, complete HIPAA compliance, and optimal end-user wireless experience.

Following the hospital’s early success with Vernier’s security solution, Lawson said that St. Agnes plans to support guest and visitor access to the Internet. Vernier’s solution has made guest access possible by streamlining the security, support and configuration tasks, added Lawson.

St. Agnes implemented the Vernier secure access management system in collaboration with Columbia, Md.–based Systems Integrator, Networking Concepts. The implementation, completed over two days, was constructed to provide centralized control of all wireless access points, easy enforcement or modification of security policies and dynamic, point-and-click addition or deletion of users.

The IS 6500 is an enterprise-class security and management solution that secures traffic throughout the wired and wireless network, supports advanced services for mobile users, and provides administrators with unprecedented visibility and control over their enterprise network infrastructure.

About Vernier Networks - Wireless Network Security Solutions

Vernier Networks offers secure access management and service provisioning for the enterprise. Its patent pending policy-based security system enables enterprises to increase productivity by automating the establishment and maintenance of security throughout the wireline and wireless network infrastructure. Vernier does this through enabling network managers to uniquely define when, where and what services a mobile, guest, LAN based, or remote user can access. Vernier has several hundred customers worldwide and has received numerous awards, including InfoWorld’s 2004 Technology of the Year Award for Best WLAN solution and the 2003 Product of the Year Award from Network Magazine. Vernier is a privately held company headquartered in Mountain View, California. http://www.verniernetworks.com