by CUGC HQ

Members of the Month

What Citrix technologies are most important to your work?

Dan: XenApp, Storefront, Receiver, NetScalers, PVS.

Carl: NetScaler, XenApp and ShareFile, looking forward to getting more into XenMobile soon.

What current tech trends are you most interested in?

Dan: Internet of Things.

Carl: I think IoT and forms of automation are going to be huge. Anything mobility will continue to be an important factor in any business nowadays.

Both of you boldly stepped up to lead the new Healthcare SIG. What are you most excited about for the group?

Dan: I am most excited about the ability to have a central location for all Healthcare Citrix Admins to come together and discuss topics that specifically affect us.  We tend to spend a lot of time asking our vendors for contacts at other facilities that are running similar environments as ours so that we can learn and grow.  Now we can cut out the middle man.

Carl: Healthcare is one of the major industries that Citrix specializes in, because it has such a wide variety in terms of areas of business. I’m looking forward to being able to collaborate with others in the same industry, sharing unique ideas and overcoming common healthcare challenges.

What are some of the biggest technology challenges in the healthcare industry (and how do you hope the new SIG will help)?

Dan: First and foremost is ensuring that our patient data is secure when both in motion and at rest. Next is ensuring that all of our staff are able to connect, both within our facilities and outside of our facilities on any type of device. There are a number of issues that we are faced with and they differ from environment to environment, whether that be size, workflow, geographical location, etc. If I had to pick one, I would say the biggest challenge we have is ensuring our environments are available 24/7 while making upgrades as seamless as possible for our users and catering to all of the different needs and workflows. 

Carl: A lot of healthcare professionals like to think of IT as a second profession, so working with them to bridge the gaps between healthcare and IT. And, at the end of the day, it’s all about delivery of care to patients. Making their lives easier flows directly into patient care. I’m sure many of us are facing the same types of challenges with healthcare and IT, so sharing ideas with each other and knowing that if you are having an issue, surely many others out there are too will help. So will being able to share the technologies you use to overcome issues that other SIG members may not have heard of before or had exposure to, particularly in some of the smaller healthcare environments.

If anything was possible, what tech innovation would revolutionize healthcare IT?

Dan: One of the scanners that they use in Star Trek to get your vital signs in seconds.

Carl: I think the work that Octoblu and the Citrix Innovation guys are working on is going to revolutionize the way healthcare is being delivered. The introduction of Citrix HDX Pi is going to be a game-changer also.