Humana Secures Mobile Workforce with Array Networks Healthcare SSL VPN Deployment; Scalability is Critical in Seizing Medicare Opportunity.MILPITAS, Calif. -- Array Networks, a leader in high-performance, secure universal access solutions, today announced that Humana Inc., a Fortune 150 firm and one of the nation's largest publicly traded health benefits companies, is using Array Networks' high-performance SPX (Sequenced Packet EXchange) The transport layer protocol in the NetWare operating system. Similar to the TCP layer in TCP/IP, it ensures that the entire message arrives intact. SPX uses NetWare's IPX as its delivery mechanism. 5000 SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) The leading security protocol on the Internet. Developed by Netscape, SSL is widely used to do two things: to validate the identity of a Web site and to create an encrypted connection for sending credit card and other personal data. VPN (Virtual Private Network) A private network that is configured within a public network (a carrier's network or the Internet) in order to take advantage of the economies of scale and management facilities of large networks. system to provide secure system access as it rapidly expands its mobile and remote workforce. That expansion has been fueled primarily by Humana's leadership in providing Medicare prescription drug prescription drug Prescription medication Pharmacology An FDA-approved drug which must, by federal law or regulation, be dispensed only pursuant to a prescription–eg, finished dose form and active ingredients subject to the provisos of the Federal Food, Drug, coverage nationwide. Humana previously relied on IPSec VPN for remote access. Today, Humana is using the SPX5000 SSL VPN as part of a comprehensive data security solution for all mobile and work-at-home associates and to gather detailed information and increase end-point security by enforcing workstation security compliance before remote users are allowed to enter the Humana network. Humana accelerated its adoption of the Array solution in order to build a large mobile sales force to take advantage of Medicare prescription plan opportunities. The scalability of SPX5000 helped Humana become the nation's No. 2 Medicare prescription plan provider while maintaining its commitment to information security. "We chose the Array SPX5000 for our SSL VPN deployment because it gave us the critical features we needed," said Paul Ratner, vice president of IT Operations for Humana. "Our primary reasons for selecting Array were scalability and performance, the strength of its security features, the company's ability to quickly execute and deliver custom requirements, lower support costs, and the ability to expand to meet other remote access challenges." "Humana represents an important Fortune 150 deployment of Array's SSL VPN solution and demonstrates our commitment to the healthcare industry," said Michael Zhao, president and CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. , Array Networks. "With the industry's best performance, scalability and latency (1) The time between initiating a request in the computer and receiving the answer. Data latency may refer to the time between a query and the results arriving at the screen or the time between initiating a transaction that modifies one or more databases and its completion. , Array's SSL VPN solution is the proven choice for 'business critical' industries like healthcare and finance. By providing an exceptional end-user experience and low total cost of ownership, Array further demonstrates its unique value to large enterprise customers like Humana." The Array SSL VPN solution improved secure access and productivity for Humana's mobile work force almost overnight. Moreover, despite a sharp increase in the number of remote access users to Humana's corporate network, help-desk calls dealing with access-related issues have dropped sharply since the conversion. The Array SSL VPN is also used by employees of Humana Military Health Services health services Managed care The benefits covered under a health contract , which provides health benefits support and services to approximately 2.8 million active duty and retired military members and their eligible family members. SPX5000 has enabled HMHS's remote workforce to securely access information services See Information Systems. that were previously unavailable. Using the Array SSL VPN, Humana is able to extend its internal information services to that user segment while maintaining the security of the military PCs and meeting all military and government requirements. "The Humana SSL VPN deployment is the most impressive we have seen in the healthcare industry," said Michael Suby, senior research analyst, Stratecast Partners. "It clearly establishes Array as a market leader in providing SSL VPN solutions for large-scale secure remote access and Humana as a progressive leader in adopting secure access solutions for its employees and partners." About the SPX Series: SSL VPN Systems for Enterprises and Service Providers The Array SPX family of SSL VPN solutions provides unsurpassed security, performance and scalability for large-scale secure access deployments. The SPX5000 can support 64,000 concurrent users In computer science, the number of concurrent users for a resource in a location, with the location being a computing network or a single computer, refers to the total number of people using the resource at the same time. , 250 VLANs, and 256 virtual sites all within a single system. About Array Networks Array Networks is the technology leader in high-performance, secure universal access solutions. The company provides the world's fastest and most scalable SSL VPN products. Array Networks' systems perform eight times faster and scale 12 times higher than the nearest competitor. As a result, Array Networks delivers the lowest cost per user by dramatically reducing hardware, software and maintenance costs. Array is headquartered in Milpitas, California Milpitas (IPA pronunciation: mɪlpitʌs; inhabitants are called 'Milpitans') is a city in Santa Clara County, California. It is located with San Jose to its south and Fremont to its north, at the eastern end of Highway 237 and generally between Interstate freeways 680 and , with offices in the Americas, Europe and Asia Pacific, and sells through direct and indirect channels across the globe. Customers include financial institutions, healthcare organizations, telecommunications companies See telecom company. , large enterprises, government agencies, universities and service providers. For more information, visit www.arraynetworks.net or call 1-866-MY-ARRAY and 408-240-8700. About Humana Humana Inc., headquartered in Louisville, Ky., is one of the nation's largest publicly traded health benefits companies, with approximately 9.3 million medical members. Humana offers a diversified diversified (di·verˑ·s portfolio of health insurance products and related services -- through traditional and consumer-choice plans -- to employer groups employer group Association of employers Managed care An entity with a current group benefits agreement in effect with a health plan to provide covered health care services to its employee-subscribers and eligible dependents. , government-sponsored plans, and individuals. Over its 45-year history, Humana has consistently seized opportunities to meet changing customer needs. Today, the company is a leader in consumer engagement, providing guidance that leads to lower costs and a better health plan experience throughout its diversified customer portfolio. More information regarding Humana is available to investors via the Investor Relations Investor relations The process by which the corporation communicates with its investors. page of the company's web site at www.humana.com. Array Networks, WebWall, and the SPX Series are trademarks of Array Networks. All other company, product and program names are trademarks of their respective organizations. |
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