Hato Hone St John's Digital And Data Win Big At Veeam Data Resilience Awards
HHStJ's Digital and Data general manager Sarah Ellison says, 'Winning this award validates the countless hours spent solving complex problems, embracing change, and pushing the boundaries of what's possible through technology'.
'It's a moment of pride for our team, and a motivating reminder of the impact we can have when we work together to deliver our vision of enhancing health and wellbeing for all through technology and data,' Sarah says.
Last week HHStJ's National Tech Infrastructure Manager Andrew Fletcher was invited to Veeam's Data Resilience Awards in San Diego where he presented to conference attendees on the rising threat of cyber-attacks, particularly ransomware, targeting healthcare organisations.
While there, Andrew accepted the award on behalf of the digital and data team.
'For our team, this recognition is especially meaningful. While our work is not always visible, it is critical to enabling the organisation to operate smoothly. Winning this award highlights the impact of our efforts and acknowledges the essential role we play in protecting and maintaining the organisation's digital infrastructure,' Andrew says.
As health data becomes a growing target for cyber hackers, HHStJ turned to the #1 global market leader in data resilience, Veeam Software for a solution to help protect its IT platforms.
Andrew says with healthcare organisations becoming increasingly popular targets for ransomware, it was vital they had effective data resilience for protection, backup, and disaster recovery for virtual, physical, and cloud-based workloads.
'There's been an increase in medical data breaches, with health and patient data now more valuable to hackers than financial data,' he says.
'It's not just about keeping the data safe; it's about making sure the ambulances keep rolling and life-saving services are not impacted. If our IT systems go down for too long, it could literally be a life-or-death situation, so having a data resilience powered by Veeam is critical to ensure we keep running.'
He says all the organisation's services depend on digital technology.
'Whether we are providing emergency paramedic care, offering first aid training or monitoring wearable medical alarms, practically all our services depend on digital technology.
'As well as ensuring we are always on with our IT platforms, our organisation needs to be data resilient. If that data isn't secure and accessible, it could impact emergency responses, patient care, and the support people count on every day.
'We rely on an extensive IT infrastructure to support our work, and extended periods of unplanned downtime could potentially be fatal.'
Veeam's General Manager and Senior Vice President APJ Beni Sia says, "The threat of ransomware demands best-in-class data resilience because without data, businesses grind to a halt.'
'In Hato Hone St John's case, that can be the difference between life and death. It's a privilege to be entrusted to power their data resilience and we're proud to be an integral part of the work required to ensure they can continue to save and protect lives.'
ABOUT HATO HONE ST JOHN
· Hato Hone StJohn provides emergency ambulance services to 90 percent of New Zealanders and covers 97 percent of the country's geographical area.
· Hato Hone StJohn is made up of a mix of full-time paid employees and volunteer staff.
· Along with the emergency ambulance service, Hato Hone StJohn provides a significant number of community health programmes and initiatives which help build community resilience. They include Health Shuttles, Caring Caller, Friends of the Emergency Department, StJohn Youth, StJohn in Schools, and Therapy Pets.
· Hato Hone StJohn also delivers event health services, medical alarm services, first aid training and operates retail stores across the country.
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