Healthcare Innovation Journal

NComputing Inc. announced that it has won a massive computerization contract from Employee State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) alongside Wipro for deploying 31,000 NComputing virtual desktops in ESIC offices and clinics across the country. ESIC will use 31,000 NComputing thin-client workstations and vSpace Virtualization Software to outfit all ESIC offices and clinics with state-of-the-art green IT systems. ESIC is the Indian Government Chartered insurance and healthcare organization delivering Social Security benefits to employed individuals and their families. It provides health insurance and delivers medical care through over 2,200 facilities across India.

ESIC and Wipro selected NComputing's proven virtual desktops for 'Project Panchdeep', the largest e-governance project in India, to streamline insurance and healthcare services that ESIC provides to employers, employees, and state and central government workers. The initiative includes the following:

• Issuance of 20 million medical ID cards that can be used at any ESIC facility
  
• Creation of one of largest medical records databases in the world
  
• Computerization of 144 hospitals, 620 insurance branches, 1,388 dispensaries/clinics, and 51 regional offices
  
• Creation of a 50 million fingerprint database - the largest in India
  
• Rollout of a single Unified Information System that automates all ESIC processes for greater efficiency, transparency, and accountability
  
• Largest cloud computing deployment in India

In March of this year, Wipro, the global provider of IT and business transformation services had won the largest e-governance contract from ESIC in a competitive tender process. Wipro will oversee the six-year BOOT (Build, Own, Operate and Transfer) project. Over the next 15 months, Wipro IT engineers and consultants will deploy the NComputing-based solution across India. "Wipro's constant endeavor has been to bring innovative, efficient and cost effective solutions to its customers. The Wipro desktop platform with NComputing virtual desktops and software deployed at ESIC hospitals will ensure effective and optimum utilization of resources at minimum cost to ESIC beneficiaries," said Mr. Ashok Tripathy, General Manager, Wipro Infotech.

"We are honored that NComputing has been selected for this strategic initiative as it will vastly improve healthcare for the 12 million beneficiaries by speeding insurance and medical services," said Mr. Stephen Dukker, chairman and CEO of NComputing. NComputing technology enables a desktop PC to be shared by up to 30 users and a server to be shared by hundreds of users -- with each user getting a full computing experience. By sharing the PCs and servers, organizations can typically reduce purchase and support costs by 75% and electricity costs by 90%.

The NComputing solution includes both the virtualization software (vSpace) that creates the "virtual" sessions inside a PC or server, and the thin-client devices that connect the user's monitor, keyboard, and mouse to the shared computer. The NComputing thin clients are the greenest computers on earth as they use just 5 watts of electricity -- a major benefit in India where electricity is unreliable and require expensive UPS and back-up generators.

For the Panchdeep project, ESIC has chosen to deploy NComputing's L130 virtual desktops. Over 31,000 L130s will connect to Wipro desktop PCs, which then connect to the largest cloud computing environment in India at ESIC data centers.

For the millions of ESIC beneficiaries, the e-governance initiative will result in faster claims processing, a single ID card that is accepted in all ESIC facilities, and the ability to use any hospital/dispensary in the network.

Last year, NComputing won the largest Indian education computing tender in Andhra Pradesh for installing 40,000 NComputing virtual desktops in 5,000 government schools.