Electronic Health Reporter

In this series, we are featuring some of the thousands of vendors who will be participating in the HIMSS15 conference and trade show. Through it, we hope to offer readers a closer look at some of the solution providers who will either be in attendance – with a booth showcasing and displaying key products and offerings – or that will have a presence of some kind at the show – key executives in attendance or presenting, for example.

Hopefully this series will give you a bit more useful information about the companies that help make this event, and the industry as a whole, so exciting.

Elevator Pitch

As the world’s most secure and reliable hosting provider, Connectria was the first HIPAA-compliant hosting company. We have been through years of successful HIPAA assessments for our clients and for ourselves. Our knowledge and experience has enabled us to create the most comprehensive HIPAA and HITECH compliance solutions available. Our solutions enable healthcare organizations and related service providers to secure their Protected Health Information (PHI), achieve their HIPAA and HITECH compliance goals, and dramatically reduce their risks from improperly disclosing PHI.

About Statement

Connectria Hosting provides award-winning cloud computing, managed hosting and custom managed hosting solutions for more than 1,000 customers in over 30 countries worldwide. We are experts in complex multi-vendor solutions, and we support the broadest range of technologies, managed services and security in the industry. At the core of Connectria is our No Jerks Allowed company philosophy. As The Jerk Free Company, we’ve established a unique culture where every individual goes “the extra mile” to take care of our customers. Being The Jerk Free Company extends beyond our people too. We make it easy to do business with us through flexible terms, scalable solutions and straight-forward pricing to serve the hosting needs of large and small organizations alike.

Founder’s Story

Rich Waidmann founded Connectria in 1996 and brings more than 30 years’ experience as a successful entrepreneur and senior manager of both Fortune 100 firms and technology start-ups. Rich began his career in sales with NCR Corporation (acquired by AT&T) and years later established companies ranging from Disaster Recovery Services to Enterprise Systems Management. Initially created as a technology consulting organization, Connectria evolved into managed hosting through the unique disaster recovery requirements of a client, Deutsche Bank, one of the world’s largest financial institutions.  Since then, Rich has led Connectria to become a profitable company with global reach. Rich pioneered a “No Jerks Allowed” company philosophy and culture where everyone is expected to treat each other with respect, courtesy and dignity (www.nojerksallowed.com).

Services and Products Offered

Connectria provides HIPAA-compliant hosting for customers in the healthcare and dental industry or anyone who must comply with the HIPAA and HITECH Act security standards surrounding the storage of Protected Health Information (PHI). Our comprehensive HIPAA Compliant Solutions include the option of hosting within Connectria’s data centers or within Amazon’s public cloud. Regardless of where your PHI data is hosted, you’ll receive the same level of HIPAA-compliant managed services and support:

• Independent assessment of 100 percent HIPAA compliance
• SSAE 16 audited data centers
• Business associate agreement protections
• Vulnerability scanning for risk analysis
• Advanced data encryption support for data in motion and at rest
• Advanced information systems activity review
• Advanced risk management
• Encrypted offsite data backups
• Advanced device &and media controls for media disposal and media re-use
• Multi-factor authentication support
• Application access controls
• Facility audits
• HIPAA-compliant employee controls

Problems Solved

In a complex regulatory environment that requires healthcare providers to keep their Protected Health Information (PHI) secure and reliable, many healthcare organizations have chosen to host their PHI in the cloud using hosting companies that specialize in HIPAA Compliant Hosting. Since becoming the first company to deliver HIPAA-compliant cloud hosting in 2007, Connectria has provided 100 percent secure and reliable HIPAA-compliant hosting for hundreds of customers.

Value Proposition

Connectria’s HIPAA-compliant hosting solutions allow healthcare providers and organizations who must protect PHI to implement a hosted solution rather than in-house. Many organizations are unfamiliar with requirements and how to achieve compliance.  Through Connectria’s HIPAA solutions, they may be assured that their PHI data is secured and compliant, providing customers a higher level of protection while avoiding potential fines for non-compliance.

Key Messages

• Connectria has extensive experience implementing HIPAA compliant hosting solutions
• Achieving HIPAA compliance on your own can be challenging. Many healthcare providers and organizations do not have the expertise to achieve compliance on their own so a hosted solution is an attractive alternative.
• A HIPAA-compliant hosted solution allows healthcare providers and organizations to focus on their business…not managing IT infrastructure and compliance.
• First company to deliver HIPAA-compliant cloud hosting in 2008
• More than 1,000 HIPAA-compliant environments and hundreds of customers
• Meet HIPAA, HITECH and Omnibus standards
• Undergone successful HIPAA/PCI/SSAE 16 audits

Booth Number

#8160

Key Executives at Conference

• David Pollard, regional sales director
• Brian Whitt, regional sales director

Clients Served

In 1998, Connectria opened its doors with just one client. The client simply happened to be Deutsche Bank, the world’s largest bank. Our second client, IBM, followed quickly. And, since then, we have added more than 1,000 customers in more than 30 countries worldwide, including more than 1,000 HIPAA-compliant environments and hundreds of HIPAA hosting customers.

When Founded

1996

Number of full-time employees

150

Headquarters

St. Louis, MO

Booth Bait (Swag) Offered

No Jerks Allowed Stickers, wristbands, microfiber screen cleaners

Number of Previous HIMSS Conference Appearances

One

Specific Reason for Attendance

Promote Connectria’s brand and HIPAA compliant hosting offer to create greater awareness among healthcare providers and organizations that server the healthcare market.

Industry Outlook (What’s the most important, trend, topic or challenge the organization faces?)

How to take advantage of evolving technologies (e.g. cloud computing) while maintaining HIPAA compliance.  Connectria manages this for its customers however faces increasing competition from new market entrants who claim HIPAA compliance/knowledge but lack the expertise.