| |
InterWord at Baxter
Healthcare |
|
Baxter Healthcare operates
in 110 countries worldwide and supplies thousands
of medical products and services to virtually every
hospital in the UK. For the applications team within
Baxter it is imperative to maintain operations to
support their large workforce.
When Baxter Healthcare started the project to update
their IBM System i (AS/400) to V5R2 they hit the
problem faced by many companies – conversion
of Office Vision Documents.
The schedule and plans for the upgrade of Baxter
Healthcare’s IBM System i (AS/400) had already
been authorised in terms of both budget and time
allocations. As the time approached for the commencement
of the project it became very clear to Baxter Healthcare
that the initially created plans had not allowed
for a conversion of the Office Vision documents
to a format that was supported on the new Operating
System.
For Baxter Healthcare it was looking as if this
issue could bring the whole project to a halt, as
it was necessary to convert all the Office Vision
documents before the upgrade could take place. This
put Baxter Healthcare in a position where they needed
to find a solution quickly.
Solving the problem fast was not the only issue
for Baxter Healthcare. They needed an application
that would provide an easy conversion of their 3,000
Office Vision documents whilst also keeping within
budget and integrating with existing software.
Gary May the Director of Global Datacentre Services
for Baxter Healthcare said:
“We wanted a quick resolution to our problem
but also needed to consider all other factors such
as cost, training, stability and integrity of a
new application. It was important to ensure we deployed
a long term solution rather than a quick fix which
may cause us problems in the future or need replacing.”
Baxter Healthcare considered moving the Office Vision
to a remote IBM System i (AS/400) running on an
older operating system, however this would only
have provide a temporary relief to the problem which
would still need to be addressed in the future.
They also took a look at various other Office Vision
conversion tools before deciding on InterForm400.
Many of the other tools were predominately server
based applications which would have meant incurring
cost in purchasing and maintaining a server. Together
with a large amount of deployment and training time
for the users.
Baxter Healthcare turned to SpaceTec for advice,
a leading supplier of IBM System i products and
services with whom they have a long standing relationship.
SpaceTec had provided Baxter Healthcare with a print
management solution for the IBM System i (AS/400)
called InterForm400. Baxter Healthcare use InterForm400
to create business documents and forms without the
need for pre printed stationary. They can distribute
documents as print or email, the spool data is mapped
according to the design of the form.
In addition to the base module (InterForm400) there
is also a word processing feature called InterWord400.
It was this add-on to InterForm400 that provided
Baxter with the solution to their problem.
Using InterWord400 Baxter Healthcare was able to
convert their 3,000 documents from Office Vision
within three weeks.
Guy Hughes the technical consultant for Baxter Healthcare
said:
“By using InterForm400 and InterWord400
we were able to complete the project within the
original timescale allowed. If we had chosen a different
solution the project would most certainly have been
delayed. Delaying the project would have been costly
not only in terms of the new solution but also due
to extra leasing costs for the IBM System i.”
InterForm400 and InterWord400 are used everyday
and have become indispensable applications for Baxter
Healthcare. A great advantage over the Office Vision
product is the GUI front end as opposed to traditional
Green Screen making life easier for the users. The
users found the move to InterWord400 very easy and
were able to use the product competently with only
minimal guidance. It was found that no formal training
was necessary for those familiar with Office Vision.
This assisted greatly in the task to complete the
project within the allocated timeframe.
Patrick Race from SpaceTec said:
“Baxter Healthcare is a true indication
of how InterForm400 and InterWord400 can assist
all Office Vision users whilst still maintaining
control over budget and time allocations. It is
quick and easy to deploy and integrates well with
other products.”
“Now InterForm400/InterWord400 is up and
running there is very little maintenance that we
need to do. The Total Cost of Ownership for these
products is very low. The decision to move forward
with SpaceTec and InterForm400 has definitely been
a positive move as proved when we were able to add
the InterWord module to solve our Office Vision
problems. We will be working with SpaceTec in the
future to keep updated on this range of products”
said Hughes.
SpaceTec are able to offer packages that run in
conjunction with or will integrate into the InterForm400
application this was one of the reasons Baxter chose
SpaceTec initially for InterForm400.
About
Baxter Health Care
Baxter Healthcare supplies thousands of medical
products and services to almost every hospital in
the UK, as well as working on supporting more and
more patients in the community. Over 1,350 people
are employed in the UK to combine a virtually unparalleled
ability to meet the demand of today and tomorrow’s
healthcare needs.
Beginning more than 70 years ago, Baxter has been
heavily involved in many medical breakthroughs we
take for granted today: intravenous medicine, kidney
dialysis, heart valve replacement; blood component
therapy and haemophilia care.
Throughout its history, Baxter has capitalised on
expertise in select core technologies to develop
a steady stream of product innovations across businesses.
Because many of these products are based on related
technologies, they are produced in the same manufacturing
plants. The company further leverages its expertise
geographically, extending the reach of its life-saving
products to patients around the world. Baxter currently
operates in over 110 countries worldwide.
Baxter Healthcare Ltd. is the primary domestic operating
subsidiary of Baxter International Inc. (NYSE: BAX).
Baxter International Inc., through its subsidiaries,
assists health-care professionals and their patients
with treatment of complex medical conditions, including
cancer, haemophilia, immune disorders, kidney disease
and trauma. The company applies its expertise in
medical devices, pharmaceuticals and biotechnology
to make a meaningful difference in patients' lives.
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
