Carante Group is a collaboration of twelve independent care organizations. The affiliated organizations are regionally active, spread across The Netherlands. The organizations, with over 19,000 employees, offer customized care, guidance, and support to more than 20,000 clients with a physical and/or mental disability.
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As Carante is active in the healthcare sector, it manages sensitive client data that needs to be protected at all costs. Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) was quickly recognized as the way forward for the organization, as Jerry van Rekom, IT Manager for Carante Group, explains: “We managed MFA with RSA hardware tokens, which initially worked fine. Then, as remote working became more popular, we realized that hardware tokens were expensive and time-consuming to manage. We wanted a user-friendly solution that would be SMS-compatible, or for use with a simple app, and give us the opportunity to integrate MFA directly with applications, so that it can have a wider purpose beyond supporting remote working.”
Following market research, it was clear that Micro Focus NetIQ Advanced Authentication offers a single framework for all authentication needs, providing consistent security, simplified administration, and reliable policy enforcement. As their RSA license was due to expire, and Carante did not want to pay for two authentication solutions, the NetIQ Advanced Authentication implementation was done swiftly. “NetIQ Advanced Authentication was the most mature solution available at that time,” says Van Rekom. “With some support from Micro Focus we implemented the solution ourselves, and were confident that management and administration would be easier and more cost-effective than with our previous tool.”
The transition was seamless, and soon Carante’s remote workers saw the benefit. With NetIQ Advanced Authentication leveraging Active Directory data, they only need to have their smartphone and internet access to access their digital workspace which is identical to the one they have in the office. Carante’s ISO9000 and ISO27001 certifications ensure full data security, and NetIQ Advanced Authentication supports regular external and internal audits.
Remote working became more popular and more organizations joined the Carante family. The IT organization was supporting approximately 2,000 homeworkers when COVID-19 struck in March 2020. “For our clients, the pandemic was a very confusing and scary time,” says Van Rekom. “It was really difficult to explain why they couldn’t have visitors, or attend the day centers that were part of their routine. Care levels were of course maintained, and with 80 percent of our staff in a hands-on care-giving position they did a fantastic job of keeping our clients reassured and everyone safe. It was a worrying time for all of us, and on top of this we suddenly had to accommodate many more homeworkers.”
When Van Rekom called Micro Focus with this dilemma, rather than waste any time in budget negotiations, Micro Focus immediately released an unlimited supply of NetIQ Advanced Authentication licenses, free of charge. This gesture was much appreciated according to Van Rekom: “In these worrying times it really relieves the pressure when a supplier acts like a partner and comes up with a solution that directly contributes to the care of our many clients. Thanks to Micro Focus we were able to extend our homeworking capability immediately to over 3,000 extra employees.”
With over 5,000 remote workers now, NetIQ Advanced Authentication helps Carante integrate new organizations and employees, boosting productivity. Healthcare workers are supported so that they can deliver client care anywhere, at any time, and with any device. More and more electronic devices are used by Carante employees and clients. Leveraging NetIQ Advanced Authentication these provide access to the inter-connected set of applications a care worker needs to provide superior care to their clients.
Van Rekom concludes: “IT has become a real competitive differentiator in our care sector, and can determine the success of an organization. We will continually monitor the market to ensure we have the best solutions to make life as efficient and easy as possible for our employees and clients. We are pleased with the partnership with Micro Focus. NetIQ Advanced Authentication has given us a user-friendly solution that was easy to implement and has saved us a considerable amount given the growing popularity of remote working.”
NetIQ Advanced Authentication has given us a user-friendly solution that was easy to implement and has saved us a considerable amount given the growing popularity of remote working.
NetIQ Advanced Authentication was the most mature solution available at that time. With some support from Micro Focus we implemented the solution ourselves, and were confident that management and administration would be easier and more cost-effective than with our previous tool.
