Siemens Healthcare Announces Planned Collaboration with Harris Corporation

Both companies align to leverage technologies for PACS data disaster recovery 


CHICAGO, April 3  /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Image and Knowledge Management (IKM) business unit of Siemens Healthcare (http://www.siemens.com/healthcare) and Harris Corporation (http://www.harris.com/) are joining forces to offer healthcare providers affordable solutions critical for Picture Archiving and Communication Systems (PACS) disaster recovery to support business continuity.

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The value placed on information technology for healthcare providers is ever-increasing, along with the amount of data they are generating - making the need to protect this information, data, and IT infrastructure in the event of an emergency a critical requirement for them. And yet, while healthcare providers clearly recognize the need for such a disaster recovery plan, they often lack the infrastructure and resources required to safely replicate large amounts of clinical data and images.

Siemens IKM business unit and Harris Corporation created an initiative that will help make PACS disaster recovery easily attainable and affordable. This collaboration is intended to provide customers with the synergetic competencies acquired by decades of combined experience in healthcare and network technologies. The greatest benefit to the customer is fast and secure recovery in the event data is lost in a natural or human-induced disaster.  The solution provides access to dedicated fiber-optic, microwave, satellite communications, and landlines that are part of the Harris Wide Area Network, which will connect the local PACS deployments to the disaster recovery capabilities at the Harris network operations facilities.

Because this offering is based mainly on the infrastructure and resources available from Harris, and leverages the hardware and software within the customer's existing PACS solution, the customer is not required to make any major upfront capital investment. In addition, the managed disaster recovery services that come with this solution make recovery easily attainable.

"Harris has proven expertise, infrastructure, and stability, which are essential requirements to provide disaster recovery services," says Arthur Kaindl, CEO, Image & Knowledge Management, Siemens Healthcare. "With a nationwide telecommunications network and IT infrastructure, Harris is well equipped to collaborate with Siemens IKM business unit in offering comprehensive managed disaster recovery services for our image management solutions customers."

"We are on a mission to improve the quality of healthcare," said Jim Traficant, vice president of Harris Healthcare Solutions.  "Harris is trusted by health experts at the intersections of care delivery, communications and data management.  By joining forces with industry-leading Siemens Image & Knowledge Management business unit to deliver innovative enterprise solutions for medical image management, we are able to provide healthcare professionals with the secure collection and storage of patient-critical medical imaging data."

As a provider of innovative solutions for imaging IT, Siemens IKM business unit supports imaging workflow processes to achieve greater efficiency and accuracy while reducing costs. Siemens IKM offerings encompass products and solutions for Radiology Information Systems (RIS), PACS, Cardiovascular PACS, as well as, advanced imaging applications and Computer-Aided Detection (CAD).

Harris Healthcare Solutions provides health systems integration, intelligent infrastructure, advanced visualization and display, and enterprise digital content management. Harris Healthcare Solutions is committed to transforming healthcare through enterprise intelligence -- delivering critical medical information with security and privacy to the right person, on the right device -- at the point of care.

Harris Corporation is an international communications and information technology company serving government and commercial markets in more than 150 countries. Headquartered in Melbourne, Florida, the company has annual revenue of $5.4 billion and 16,000 employees -- including nearly 7,000 engineers and scientists. Harris is dedicated to developing best-in-class assured communications(R) products, systems, and services.

The Siemens Healthcare Sector is one of the world's largest suppliers to the healthcare industry. The company is a renowned medical solutions provider with core competence and innovative strength in diagnostic and therapeutic technologies as well as in knowledge engineering, including information technology and system integration. With its laboratory diagnostics acquisitions, Siemens Healthcare is the first integrated healthcare company, bringing together imaging and lab diagnostics, therapy, and healthcare information technology solutions, supplemented by consulting and support services. Siemens Healthcare delivers solutions across the entire continuum of care - from prevention and early detection, to diagnosis, therapy and care. Additionally, Siemens Healthcare is the global market leader in innovative hearing instruments. The company employs around 49,000 people worldwide and operates in 130 countries. In the fiscal year 2008 (Sept. 30), Siemens Healthcare reported sales of euro 11.2 billion, orders of euro 11.8 billion, and Sector profit of euro 1.2 billion. Further information can be found by visiting http://www.siemens.com/healthcare. 

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CONTACT:  Gian Sachdev, [phone], 



Web Site:  http://www.siemens.com/healthcare 

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