Regulatory changes can play a major role in the ebb and flow of business for companies in the information technology space.
For example, take U.S. laws protecting sensitive patient information in the healthcare sector. During a HealthTechZone video interview during ITEXPO West 2011 in Austin, Texas, Chas Kissinger, founder and vice president of OnRamp, talked about the impact of recent changes to HIPAA.
Until a couple years ago, HIPAA didn’t have much impact on IT companies that help healthcare organizations keep their computer and communications systems running smoothly. HIPAA didn’t really apply to such IT companies, which were only required to take “reasonable care” when working with systems involving sensitive data.
Then, a couple years ago, HIPAA was updated, and now IT companies must comply with privacy rules in very specific ways.
In response to this change, OnRamp – a data center operations company – put more of its resources into high security, private cloud solutions.
“We developed private cloud and business processes to help IT people become HIPAA compliant,” Kissinger said during the video interview. “Compliance is a big opportunity, and a lot of people need solutions quickly.”
As a provider of collocation, manager service, disaster recovery and private cloud solutions, OnRamp differentiates itself by offering ‘seven layer support’– infrastructure coupled with deployment support all the way up to the application layer. The company partners with customers to make sure that cloud applications are delivered properly and perform in the manner expected.
Because it is certified by Microsoft and Citrix, and owns equipment for virtualized systems, OnRamp can provide a range of virtualization options including disaster recovery and emergency response.
“We specialize in hybrid cloud solutions,” Kissinger explained.
An example of this approach is the recently introduced Ready Server product line. These are ready-to-go servers pre-populated with things like hypervisors and virtualization software. They’re intended for quick provisioning if a client needs to quickly expand capacity or replace failed equipment.
“Traditionally, our hybrid hosting customers are those who used collocation in the past,” Kissinger said. “They may see virtualization as having a lot of promise but are not aware of how to do it. They can keep their collocation and, as older equipment goes out of service, we build a private cloud and help with the transition.”
Want to learn more about the latest in communications and technology? Then be sure to attend ITEXPO East 2012, taking place Feb. 1-3, 2012 in Miami, Fla. ITEXPO offers an educational program to help corporate decision makers select the right IP-based voice, video, fax and unified communications solutions to improve their operations. It's also where service providers learn how to profitably roll out the services their subscribers are clamoring for – and where resellers can learn about new growth opportunities. To register, click here.
Mae Kowalke is a HealthTechZone contributor. She is Manager of Stories at Neundorfer, Inc., a cleantech company in Northeast Ohio. She has more than 10 years experience in journalism, marketing and communications, and has a passion for new tech gadgets. To read more of her articles, please visit her columnist page.Edited by
Jennifer Russell
