Leader in Continuing Care Retirement Communities Chooses Aruba Instant Controller-less WLAN and Switches to Reduce Costs and Extend Connectivity Across 28 Sites
Aruba Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ: ARUN) today announced that ACTS
Retirement-Life Communities, Inc., a leader in life care living
since 1972, is implementing a unified wired and wireless network based
on Aruba’s MOVE architecture. With the new network in place, ACTS is
moving toward its vision of having all staff connected via mobile
devices to improve resident care and hospitality, while giving residents
the ability to stay connected with friends and family.
ACTS operates a range of communities in its 28 locations, employing
almost 6,200 staff and serving more than 8,000 residents. The
organization operates continuing care retirement communities
encompassing independent, assisted living, and skilled care. Having a
cost-effective networking solution that could answer the needs of both
residents and staff across their continuum including nurses and doctors
in their skilled care environments was a challenge that ACTS’ existing
wireless network could not handle. ACTS began the search for an
enterprise-class solution that could serve all of its communities, as
well as the company’s regional offices and headquarters in West Point,
Pennsylvania. After an initial Request for Information (RFI) that was
narrowed down to a more thorough evaluation of four vendors, ACTS
selected Aruba Networks as its preferred vendor.
“The key for us was selecting a vendor that could support both our
current environment, as well as our future plans,” said James Clark,
Corporate Director of Technology for ACTS Retirement-Life Communities.
“Aruba’s Instant Controller-less solution was far and above the most
cost-effective way to deploy wireless for our distributed environment
while still gaining enterprise-class functionality and ease of use. From
a business perspective, the Aruba Instant platform was considerably less
expensive than the other solutions we evaluated, while delivering staff
access, a bedside entry solution, a Wi-Fi hotspot for guests and
residents and an in-room telephone solution for our skilled care rooms.”
Clark also noted that the new network allows ACTS to fulfill its vision
of having every employee connected to the network, whether via
company-issued or personal mobile devices. In addition, this Bring Your
Own Device (BYOD) strategy would allow residents and guests to use
personal mobile devices to connect and communicate.
The ACTS deployment includes nearly 4,000 Aruba Instant Access Points,
of which approximately 1,000 are already installed, with the rest
scheduled to roll out by mid-2015. The organization is also using Aruba
2500 and 3500 Series Mobility Switches, AirWave Network Management
System and Aruba’s ClearPass Access Management System to provide guest
access. Currently, the wireless network delivers access in the skilled
care, assisted living and common areas of ACTS’ campuses which encompass
about 30 percent of their communities. The network will be extended to
ACTS’ independent living units, which comprise another 70 percent of the
organization’s sites, over the next year.
For ACTS’ staff, the new network finally brings wireless coverage to
areas that were previously devoid of access. With wireless extended to
the bedside, nurses and staff can document care on mobile devices,
saving time, reducing delays and potential errors – all of which
contribute to better resident care. With ACTS expecting to see thousands
of devices connecting to the network, Clark noted that flexibility to
expand was a crucial factor in their infrastructure choice.
For residents, the new network provides services that weren’t available
previously and according to Clark, were cost-prohibitive until the Aruba
deployment. “Using the Aruba Instant APs, we were able to create a
solution that placed a phone in each of our skilled care residents’
rooms without running expensive cables,” said Clark. “There were a
number of ways to do this, but this model saved us an estimated $15,000
per location.” The new network also provides HotSpot-type capabilities
for residents allowing them to use applications like Skype to
communicate with loved ones. Clark noted that a key benefit of the Aruba
Instant APs is the ability to rate-limit specific apps on residents’ and
guests’ mobile devices, to avoid saturating the network.
“ACTS exemplifies many of the progressive healthcare organizations that
are recognizing the numerous benefits a solid networking infrastructure
can bring to both their employees and patients/residents,” said Jeff
Dolce, Area Vice President, Aruba Networks. “By choosing the right
network infrastructure, these customers can improve productivity and
patient care and satisfaction, while saving significantly on both their
capital and operational expenses. We’re excited to see organizations
like ACTS using Aruba technology in an increasingly innovative fashion.”
Additional Resources
About Aruba Networks, Inc.
Aruba Networks is a leading provider of next-generation network access
solutions for the mobile enterprise. The company designs and delivers
Mobility-Defined Networks that empower IT departments and #GenMobile, a
new generation of tech-savvy users who rely on their mobile devices for
every aspect of work and personal communication. To create a mobility
experience that #GenMobile and IT can rely upon, Aruba Mobility-Defined
Networks™ automate infrastructure-wide performance optimization and
trigger security actions that used to require manual IT intervention.
The results are dramatically improved productivity and lower operational
costs.
Listed on the NASDAQ and Russell 2000® Index, Aruba is based in
Sunnyvale, California, and has operations throughout the Americas,
Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific regions. To learn more,
visit Aruba at http://www.arubanetworks.com.
For real-time news updates follow Aruba on Twitter
and Facebook,
and for the latest technical discussions on mobility and Aruba products
visit Airheads Social at http://community.arubanetworks.com.
© 2014 Aruba Networks, Inc. Aruba Networks’ trademarks include Aruba
Networks®, Aruba The Mobile Edge Company® (stylized), Aruba
Mobility-Defined Networks™, Aruba Mobility Management System®, People
Move Networks Must Follow®, Mobile Edge Architecture®, RFProtect®, Green
Island®, ETips®, ClientMatchTM, Virtual
Intranet AccessTM, ClearPass Access Management
SystemsTM, Aruba InstantTM,
ArubaOSTM, xSecTM,
ServiceEdgeTM, Aruba ClearPass Access
Management SystemTM, AirmeshTM,
AirWaveTM, Aruba CentralTM,
and “ARUBA@WORKTM. All rights reserved. All
other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available: http://www.businesswire.com/multimedia/home/20140507005182/en/
Aruba Networks, Inc.
Pavel Radda, +1-408-419-0294
Director of Corporate Communications
pradda@arubanetworks.com
or
LSH Communications for Aruba Networks
Lori Hultin, +1-818-879-4651
Principal
lhultin@arubanetworks.com