NHS BUSINESS SERVICES CASE STUDY

OF NHS BUSINESS LUMIA TAKES CARE

A specialist branch and Arm’s Length Body (ALB) of the Department of Health, NHS Business Services Authority provides a number of critical central services to NHS organisations, NHS contractors, patients and the public. It’s a diverse and complex remit – and keeping sensitive information secure is crucial, which makes changing workers’ mobile devices an important strategic issue. But for NHSBSA, the switch from BlackBerry to Lumia Windows Phone came with the same peace of mind their business is recognised for.

Background

The Authority takes care of many of the UK’s healthcare

business operations. The low-income scheme for

prescription charges, provision of European Health

Insurance Cards, the NHS Pensions scheme (the world’s

third largest) and NHS Dental Services are just a few

examples where the authority plays a key role in driving

down costs and maximising business efficiencies.

The switch to Lumia

Rob Hills, Senior Enterprise Architect, explains that when the

time came to maximising BSA’s own business efficiencies,

the Lumia was a clear choice.

“It made good business sense to switch to NHS Mail” says

Rob “It’s used by some 1.7m people across the NHS. It also

runs on Microsoft Exchange, which means Windows Phone

is ideal because it integrates so seamlessly.”

“The business case really

stacks up. Year on year

we’re saving around

£51k annually.” Rob Hills, Senior Enterprise Architect,

NHS Business Services Authority

“Security was the biggest concern,” says Rob, “previously, if

a phone was lost or stolen, we couldn’t easily wipe sensitive

information from it. And we had issues over licence keys and

restrictions to the size of mailbox attachments.”

The Lumia offered the peace of mind Rob was looking for.

“We looked at Android and Apple phones, but discounted

them on the basis of cost, and Android not meeting our

security needs.

“Configuring a Windows Phone requires a Microsoft Account.

With it, you get the ‘find my phone’ functionality for easy

tracking and remote securing of the phone. Along with

NHS Mail you can see which mobile devices are connected

to your account, and easily remove them.”

Rob adds; “If a phone gets lost, broken or stolen, we issue

a spare. As soon as the Microsoft account is connected,

everything reappears, set up, just as it was – mail, contacts,

photos, texts, apps. You can restore to an exact date, in just

10 minutes.”

Feedback has been very positive across the organisation.

“Everyone’s saying the phones are much better, and having

gone from BlackBerry to Lumia, the bigger screen is a lot

easier to work on. From email to Windows and Sat Nav,

it’s so useful.”

“It’s ideal for our business. The operating system is the

same across all our 620 and 625 devices. There are no

worries about apps not working on different phones –

it’s just a simple hardware change.”

“Everyone here loves the Lumia. It brings everything in

our business together neatly.”

“The Lumia’s a really

good phone. Everyone

loves it and many are

using it at home –

I am too.”

A mobilised workforce, a healthier business

The benefits extend beyond security, into the business

functionality. People are collaborating and working more

efficiently. Productivity is up, and the business has made

some big savings.

“We have people in seventeen different offices nationwide,”

says Rob. “With the Lumia they can collaborate much more

easily. They’re making good use of syncing with NHS Mail,

accessing and working on documents on the go.”

“Our new PSN tariff with Vodafone is cheaper. The new

agreement dispenses with previous third-party licences,

saving us £15,000 a year. With no BES to pay for and Office

built-in, there are no additional costs for software, which

means even more cuts. In fact, all-in we are saving around

£51,000 every year.”

Lumia highlights the roadmap

Adopting new collaboration and communications tools has

been intrinsic to shaping strategic business direction.

Rob says, “The business is growing, prescriptions are up

5% every year. When we need new staff, we are looking

at making people more flexible and mobile instead of

getting extra seats or offices – during the summer boom in

applications for EHIC cards, for example.”

The initial rollout of 160 phones has grown to 268 and

includes a pilot to expand BSA’s capabilities further,

“so field-based staff in non-BSA offices can collaborate

better,” said Rob.

Rob Hills, Senior Enterprise Architect,

NHS Business Services Authority

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