Case Study: IT&T and Ingram Micro Empowering Healthcare with Seamless Azure Integration with One-Click Deploy Solutions
In a sector where security, efficiency, and patient care are paramount, IT&T and Ingram Micro have set a new benchmark in Australian healthcare IT by migrating critical medical applications to Microsoft Azure.
Rather than one large project, IT&T and Ingram Micro executed hundreds of smaller, scalable ones. By refining a single technology solution for one customer, they were able to seamlessly replicate it across many, ensuring security and efficiency for all.
This largescale collaborative effort brings enhanced security and operational efficiency, empowering healthcare providers to deliver uninterrupted care with the confidence that their digital infrastructure is robust, reliable, and compliant, says IT&T CEO Serge Niazi.
“With cyber threats on the rise and regulatory requirements becoming increasingly complex, the shift to Azure has been a turning point for healthcare,” according to Niazi, who says educating SMEs on the importance of robust cybersecurity and AI capabilities has become essential in today’s rapidly changing landscape.
‘Cracking the code’ of Healthcare Cloud Migration
With over 30 years of experience in the healthcare sector, IT&T has established a strong presence, supporting a wide range of professionals including general practitioners, specialists, pharmacists, radiologists, pathologists, and allied health providers.
Unlike other MSPs, Niazi says the company is an end-to-end solution provider, handling everything from hardware and software to cabling, cloud solutions, printing, mobile internet, hosting, licensing, and project management.
Niazi says IT&T saw an urgent need to modernise the infrastructure behind critical applications like Medical Director and Best Practice, relied on by nearly all GPs across Australia. Historically hosted on local servers, these applications are vulnerable to security risks and lack the scalability to keep up with rising demand.
However, migrating sensitive applications to the cloud is no small task. IT&T, in collaboration with Ingram Micro, designed an Azure-based solution prioritising security, accessibility, and minimal workflow disruption.
Specifically, to support healthcare customers, IT&T and Ingram Micro Australia developed a solution using Azure Virtual Desktop (AVD). The deployment of AVD was via Ingram Micro's OneClick AVD template. The template automatically builds, configures, and deploys technology resources. With the solution and template designed, IT&T was able to significantly reduce manual work and deployment time. This approach made the process consistent, fast, and repeatable, ensuring that every customer IT&T serves receives a standardised, secure, and efficient AVD setup.
“Understanding the best tools in the market is essential," Niazi says. "In Australia, the majority of GPs rely on Medical Director or Best Practice, which together dominate the market. While we chose to initially work with Best Practice to develop a seamless, Azure-powered solution that integrates effortlessly into our customers’ workflows, we also have the capability to assist healthcare providers using Medical Director. The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, with close to 100 healthcare clients now benefiting from this solution.”
What’s more, the solution utilises Microsoft 365 Premium and Azure to bolster healthcare security and scalability. Key features include Advanced Threat Protection, Data Loss Prevention, and Defender for Office 365 within Microsoft 365, along with Azure Security Centre for centralised hybrid cloud security and Azure Sentinel for cloud-native threat detection.
“The feedback from our customers highlights one of the key benefits of moving to a cloud solution: the ability for doctors, practice managers, and staff to access their data and applications from anywhere. This flexibility allows doctors to move seamlessly between consulting rooms and access patient data from home when necessary, enhancing both efficiency and convenience in daily operations,” Niazi says.
Additionally, the subscription model for Microsoft 365 and pay-as-you-go Azure pricing offer flexibility, while 24/7 monitoring and incident response were supported through managed security services.
“This secure, scalable platform meets the unique demands of the healthcare sector, combining technical depth with intuitive functionality. Healthcare providers are now able to maintain patient care without disruption, marking a significant milestone in their journey toward modernisation.”
Changing Mindsets
Niazi explains that the first challenge was shifting healthcare practitioners' mindsets. “They were used to the one-time costs of on-premise solutions, so moving them to a monthly subscription model required a shift from CapEx to OpEx.”
This transition involved educating providers on Azure’s long-term benefits—enhanced security, compliance, and scalability. Yet, Niazi adds, “The lack of awareness around cybersecurity risks made this shift even more critical.” The team needed to not only deliver a technical solution, but also educate clients on IT security’s importance.
Once providers understood, the team tackled migration logistics, focusing on change management and minimal disruption. “Our goal was a seamless transition,” Niazi says. “The final step involved client training to ensure comfort with the new system, paving the way for a secure and flexible cloud environment.”
Building a Secure and Scalable Solution
Niazi says the success of this migration was largely due to Azure’s integrated security features, including zero-trust architecture, multi-factor authentication, and geo-blocking. These features ensure compliance with Australia’s strict Privacy Act standards while providing healthcare providers secure access to critical medical applications.
"Privacy is a top priority in healthcare, and with new Privacy Act standards approaching, clients want assurance their data is safe and compliant,” Niazi explains. “We built this solution to make that peace of mind standard."
The timing is crucial. As the new Privacy Act takes effect, health organisations—which make up the majority of IT&T's client base—will face even stricter data regulations. The law will require providers, including many in the health and not-for-profit sectors, to meet higher privacy standards or face significant fines, especially those with revenues over $3 million.
“What was once limited to large organisations like telcos is now extending to most healthcare providers. Clients are counting on IT&T to ensure they are ready, and we have 12 months to help them meet the new requirements.”
Roshan Yalaburgi, an Ingram Micro solution architect, agrees, noting: “With Azure, we could build a solution that met regulatory standards without sacrificing accessibility. It’s a secure, flexible platform that empowers healthcare providers to focus on what matters most—patient care.”
One-Click Functionality for Seamless IT Management
For GPs, doctors, and healthcare providers, streamlined IT management is essential to ensure uninterrupted patient care. The OneClick functionality in IT&T’s solution is designed to make this possible by centralising all IT services under one roof, eliminating the need to manage multiple vendors.
“We take care of everything—from cabling to telcos to printing. Clients no longer deal with finger-pointing when issues arise,” Niazi explains.
“Whether it’s an NBN issue or a printer malfunction, clients only need to make one call. With backend access to the NBN, IT&T can quickly diagnose and resolve problems—whether with the street, router, or network—saving customers valuable time. Similarly, print issues are addressed remotely, reducing the need for costly on-site visits.
“We’ve streamlined the entire process to save customers both time and money,” Niazi says. “One call, one place, one solution for all their IT needs,” he says, underscoring how the streamlined process saves time and money while supporting healthcare providers’ focus on delivering quality care. To further ease the customer experience, IT&T consolidates all services—mobile, internet, phone lines, faxing, printing, and cable—into one bill.
Seamless Migration Without Workflow Disruption
Notably, a key concern for healthcare providers is ensuring that there’s no disruption to their daily workflows during the migration process.
"Our healthcare clients feared the disruption that comes with change,” Niazi explains. “By ensuring their daily workflow wasn’t impacted, we helped them take the leap to a cloud-based solution."
This focus on minimising disruption was crucial in gaining buy-in from healthcare professionals, many of whom were initially hesitant to embrace new technologies. By addressing concerns upfront and offering personalised solutions, IT&T helped build trust and foster a smooth transition.
“Another challenge we faced was dealing with doctors' reluctance to use strong passwords. Many preferred simple ones, like their child’s name or ‘password,’ which obviously posed a security risk. Encouraging them to adopt more secure practices, like multi-factor authentication, was also difficult. They were resistant to using SMS codes, despite the clear security benefits. Overcoming these behavioural hurdles was key to ensuring their systems were secure.”
Training and Ongoing Support: A Key to Success
Undoubtedly, the success of the cloud migration wasn’t just about the technical transition; it was about ensuring healthcare providers were comfortable with the changes. IT&T took a hands-on approach, educating clients about the benefits of cloud migration, from improved security to optimised workflows.
“Once we moved customers to the cloud, we had to walk them through the new security measures,” says Niazi. “We explained multi-factor authentication, showing them when to expect an SMS, phone call, or app notification. We also stressed the importance of setting expiry dates for security settings—no permanent configurations, as they compromise security.”
Ingram Micro provided additional technical training and support, ensuring IT&T’s team was well-equipped to address any questions or issues.
Diego Vidal, Ingram Micro’s Customer Success Manager, adds, “We were there at every step, working closely with IT&T to ensure the solution was reliable and user-friendly. From training to troubleshooting, we made the transition as seamless as possible.”
Looking Ahead: AI and Future Innovations
As the healthcare IT landscape continues to evolve, IT&T and Ingram Micro are already looking to the future, focusing on integrating artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance operational efficiency. AI tools like Microsoft Copilot are poised to revolutionise productivity in healthcare settings.
“The solution we’ve implemented sets the foundation for AI, like Microsoft Copilot or similar tools. Previously, clients didn’t have the necessary infrastructure to support AI, even if they wanted to adopt it. Now, they have the baseline in place—both the security and compliance needed—to move forward with AI integration.”
IT&T itself has undergone significant transformation, evolving from a traditional MSP to a cloud and AI-driven service provider.
“We no longer offer on-premises services or devices. Today, everything we provide is powered through the Azure infrastructure.”
In practice, AI is already making waves in healthcare settings. For instance, doctors are increasingly adopting AI-powered speech-to-text tools that allow them to transcribe patient consultations directly into medical software in real time, significantly reducing administrative burden. These tools also incorporate language translation capabilities, enabling smoother communication with patients who speak different languages, making the medical consultation process more efficient for both patients and healthcare providers.
This innovation is supported by scalable Azure hosting and AI-driven tools, which create opportunities to further enhance patient care.
However, both IT&T and Ingram Micro emphasises that AI should be viewed as a complementary tool rather than a catch-all solution.
“Many clients view AI as a magic bullet, but our role is to guide them on practical uses for their specific needs.” This forward-thinking approach ensures that healthcare providers will be able to leverage AI while staying focused on the core goal: delivering high-quality patient care,” Niazi says.
For full access to the case study, click here. For more information on Ingram Micros One-Click solutions, click here.
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