Datalink, a leading provider of data center infrastructure and services, today announced that it has completed the deployment of a new, nearly $3M unified virtual data center infrastructure for the Cook County Health and Hospitals System (CCHHS) of Cook County, Illinois. Servicing the operational needs of nearly two dozen CCHHS facilities across the Chicagoland area, the private cloud solution dramatically speeds up access to patient care data for thousands of clinicians and staff personnel while giving the CCHHS a data center infrastructure that is ready for future growth.
Serving more than 500,000 patients each year, the Cook County Health & Hospitals System is a comprehensive, integrated system of healthcare facilities throughout Chicago and suburban Cook County. The John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital, Provident Hospital, and Cook County Department of Public Health are among the many entities in the CCHHS.
Datalink served as strategic advisor on the project, as well as designed and deployed compute, network, and storage components into a single, unified architecture—FlexPod™. Based on a Datalink-validated reference architecture, the FlexPod solution features technologies from NetApp, Cisco, and VMware and is designed to deliver high-performance, highly available, and secure access to data. Datalink leveraged the capabilities of the virtual data center infrastructure and also deployed highly efficient and reliable site-to-site and failover disaster recovery capabilities. In addition, Datalink upgraded CCCHS’ backup operations with new infrastructure and software from Quantum and Symantec. Datalink design and deployment practices were based on notable virtual data center certifications, including: VMware Certified Design Expert (VCDX), VMware Certified Professional (VCP), Cisco Data Center Storage Networking (DCSN) and Networking Infrastructure (DCNI), Cisco Data Center Architecture (DCA), and NetApp Virtualization and Data Center Specializations.
“Datalink provided the right-sized solution that fit our operational and financial needs,” said Marlon Burns, Chief Technical Officer of Cook County Health and Hospitals System. “Datalink demonstrated the expertise and experience to seamlessly and effectively implement our virtual data center. The private cloud solution delivers measurable data center efficiencies and enables our staff to quickly access the data they need to care for our patients.”
Datalink will be meeting CCHHS’ ongoing support needs through its OneCallSM unified support services. Datalink unified support services supplement original equipment manufacturer (OEM) support programs and provide streamlined solution-level assessment and resolution. Leveraging the support services teams, best practices, and data center expertise of OneCall, Datalink will assume ownership of each reported incident, conduct initial triages, and resolve issues. Should incidents be escalated to OEMs, Datalink will shepherd all incidents until a resolution is achieved.
“The CCHHS deployment is a prototypical example of how a unified solution covering architecture, delivery and support, aligned with business goals, can drive real value for customers,” noted Paul Lidsky, President and CEO, Datalink. “This integrated program provides Cook County Health and Hospitals System with an infrastructure that delivers performance today and a migration path for the future.”
The revenue of the project was recognized in the third quarter of 2011.