Improve Support Service With M2M

By Sarah Howland, Integrated Solutions magazine

Varian Medical Systems is a $1.6B company that manufactures hardware and software and provides software services for the radiation therapy industry. Varian employs 3,600 people in 56 sales and support offices worldwide. Varian's products are used in more than 3,000 hospitals and treatment centers throughout the world. As a company whose products save lives, maintaining and supporting these products is a crucial aspect of Varian's business.

Until a couple of years ago, Varian handled service and support mostly with field service and some remote access via analog phone lines and telephone modems. Varian found that the modem method of remote desktop connection was becoming cumbersome for hospitals. With the hardware of a modem, and separate phone lines necessary for each system requiring remote access, the process was costly for hospitals to implement. The option of connecting remotely via the Internet was pursued because it would eliminate the extra phone lines and hardware.