Message from the President
Dear EDI Customer and Industry Partner,
Here in Atlanta, the heat and humidity of an intense summer have finally broke and given way to the coming fall. This is a wonderful time of year with so much to enjoy. It is my favorite time of year with college football, autumn colors, outdoor recreation, and more. It is also a time of harvest and of change and transition. We have a lot of news and great information for you in our newsletter. I hope you enjoy it.
This fall is also special to me in another way: EDI enters our 25th year in business as we celebrate our 24th birthday on September 19. We deeply appreciate the trust that you have placed in us over the last quarter century. Thank You for your business. A lot has changed over the years but not our unwavering commitment to always be honest and ethical in all our business dealings and to put our customer’s best interests at the heart of whatever solution we might offer them. We look forward to celebrating this achievement over the next twelve months and to the next quarter century working together with you.
First, I want to let you know that Kevin Hebblethwaite has recently left our firm. Kevin joined EDI in 1998, served as EDI’s President since mid-2005, and became CEO in late 2009. Kevin always exemplified EDI’s “Count On Us” culture and displayed a true professionalism with every interaction. We thank Kevin for his hard work during his time here at EDI and wish him God speed in his new adventures in life.
I am again serving in the role of President and CEO during an exciting time for our company. The historic focus on healthcare information technology created by recent legislation has driven an intense need for EDI’s expertise and skills. We are energized by our important role in helping our nation solve the many healthcare challenges that lay ahead. The intersection of our healthcare IT expertise and our recent investment in our expanded Data Center Services Group open up many new opportunities. “IT” is an exciting time.
We welcome several new members to EDI’s team in this issue – Beth Bandi, Cynthia Glendale, Mark July, and Mark Gross. Each of them brings a lot to our team. I invite you to learn more about each of them and their roles below. I am especially excited to announce Mark Gross as the newest member of EDI’s Board of Directors. Mark brings to EDI’s executive leadership the experience and knowledge of a rich 30 plus year career in health information technology, which includes the leadership and management of several of the industry’s premier HIT consulting practices.
In this Issue…
Jerry McDonell does a good job articulating the important and often intangible value that a quality firm like EDI can bring to your project. Gary Cudmore, Rob Nash-Boulden, and Dan Fanning share some valuable strategies that you can use to improve your data center and save money. Tony Fritz tells a moving story about his experiences helping Piedmont Healthcare with their new Fayette Cancer Center. Industry partner, Winthrop Resources, one of EDI’s business partner alliances specializing in custom technology lease financing – including financing solutions that encompass computer hardware, software, professional services, and medical equipment - talks about healthcare reform and its effect on the industry and our economy. Greg Liles talks about the brave new world of UC – Unified Communications – and how far we have progressed from yesterday’s telephone. Beth Bandi provides some important tips on RTLS, and Ryan Hochworter discusses the power of modeling and how we helped Auburn with their new data center.
We hope you find the information that follows useful and valuable.
Sincerely, Don Kinser, PE, MBA Chairman, President & CEO |
EDI is Growing Again!
EDI is pleased to welcome several new associates to our team.
Click here to learn more about EDI’s newest team members.
Value in Consulting Services - Considering Intangibles
By Jerry McDonell, PE - Principal
Consumers have a variety of resources that were single-source only just a few years back. You can now purchase products and services from around the world or down the street, from companies that are very small or very large, and from vastly different derivations.
Technology consulting has migrated as well. You can get services from internal resources, systems contractors, product vendors, other trade consultants, and large to small consulting organizations. And the wide range of geographic and origin choices are there, too.
Data Center Energy Efficiency Strategies
Written By:
- Gary Cudmore, HCC - Principal
- Dan Fanning, LEED AP, HCC - Engineering and Construction Director
- Rob Nash-Boulden - Vice President, Director of Operations, Data Center Services
Around the world, enterprise data centers are running into power and cooling limitations when they try to deploy new servers, storage, and blades, which, in addition to consuming more power than their predecessors, are often much more dense. Businesses continue to implement more powerful applications, which in turn puts more pressure on IT organizations to deploy the latest technology.
Audio-Video Services
By Mark July, CTS
Creating effective and useful audio-visual facilities involves more than selecting and installing equipment; it involves advanced planning, accommodating for future growth, and flexibility for integrating of new technologies. EDI, Ltd. has experienced professionals who specialize in a complete audio-visual design, which includes not only the proper equipment, but also the space planning, room shaping, room finishes, lighting, and acoustics.
ARRA, Healthcare Reform and the Economy - Axis of Evil or Wake-up Call?
By Bradley R. Swenson
"If you don’t change direction, you will end up where you are heading" - Lao Tsu
Over the long term, an aging population, a decline in the number of workers per beneficiary, and increasing life expectancy will present fiscal challenges for Medicare. From 2010 to 2030 the number of people on Medicare is projected to rise from 46 million to 79 million, while the ratio of workers per beneficiary is expected to decline from 3.7 to 2.4.* Fixing healthcare gets even more complex:
To Leverage or Not to Leverage My 802.11 Network?
By Beth Bandi
I am convinced that if William Shakespeare’s character, Hamlet, were alive today and working as the Director of IT or Facilities in a hospital pondering whether to implement an enterprise-wide Real Time Location System (RTLS), he would pose the following question, “To leverage or not to leverage my 802.11 network? That is the question”. Hamlet might even ponder over another question:
“Is this the right move for hospitals to have a ‘one highway fits all’ mentality?”
Over the last 5 years, hospitals have “slung arrows of outrageous fortune” when deciding whether to leverage their enormous and costly 802.11 communication infrastructures for RTLS in order to track, manage, and secure mobile equipment, staff, and patients.
Evolving Communications Technology Architecture – the Dynamic Costs of Unified Communications Systems
By Greg Liles, RCDD/OSP
Senior Consultant / Project Manager
Fifteen years ago I was installing and maintaining telephone systems for the federal government. At that time we were deploying digital time division multiplexing (TDM) PBXs with voicemail in a few varieties. Each line card would support sixteen to twenty-four phones and was attached, through the respective peripheral cabinet backplane, to twenty-five pair cables terminating on a Main Distribution Frame (MDF). The MDF allowed space for terminating the multitude of cables from the PBX backplane, as well as all of the copper station cables and backbone cables.
Using Building Information Modeling (BIM) to Construct, Operate, & Communicate Auburn University’s New Data Center Project
By: Ryan Hochworter, CCNA, MCP, MCAD, MCSD - Senior Consultant
EDI, Ltd. is designing an exciting and impressive, new state-of-the-art data center for Auburn University in Alabama. This data center is part of Auburn University’s new Office of Information Technology (OIT) building, currently under construction.
The OIT Building will be approximately 62,500 square feet and will house OIT’s computer equipment currently in another campus location. Additionally, it will provide office and support spaces for over 140 staff and student employees and enable consolidation of OIT employees from nine different buildings.
Featured Project
Piedmont Fayette Cancer Center
Fayetteville, GA
Pictures courtesy of Harris Fritz & Associates, Inc.
Cancer is a powerful word. The new Piedmont Fayette Cancer Center in Fayetteville, GA, helps patients see that it’s not bigger than they are... by offering high-tech treatments with a high-touch philosophy... by making sure in their fight not to become a statistic, they never feel like a number.
EDI and Harris Fritz & Associates, Inc. worked together, along with many others, on this project to build the new cancer center, providing quality architectural and interior design services. The final result was one that touched many hearts and lives – including Tony Fritz of Harris Fritz & Associates.
