ZAS lays solid foundation for the future with new server & storage environment
With the merger of ZNA and GZA Hospitals to form Ziekenhuis aan de Stroom (ZAS), the IT infrastructure also needed to be addressed. ZAS chose AXI for the expansion and renewal of its data center, ensuring smooth integration and continuity during this complex operation.
In July 2024, Belgium's largest hospital became even bigger. That was when the merger between the Antwerp hospital groups ZNA and GZA Ziekenhuizen was officially completed. Ziekenhuis aan de Stroom (ZAS), as the hospital group is now known, currently has 13 campuses, 9,000 employees, 1,000 doctors, and 3,300 accredited beds.
Centralized IT
It is clear that such a merger will have a major impact on the IT infrastructure. Today, medicine generates vast amounts of data, much of which is contained in electronic patient records, and relies on a wide range of specialized applications and infrastructure. From the outset, ZAS set itself the goal of centralizing as much of this infrastructure as possible.
“When we look at purchasing and maintenance, it is no longer economical or practical to continue working with the ZNA and GZA data centers on different campuses,” says Wim Van Laer, ICT Infrastructure Manager at ZAS. “In terms of security, a centralized ZAS data center in ZAS Cadix and ZAS Augustinus also offers advantages, for example because it is easier to implement more advanced security measures. Ultimately, centralization not only ensures greater reliability of the IT systems, but also better healthcare provision.”
On-premises data center: secure and high-performing
ZAS partnered with AXI to expand and upgrade its existing data center infrastructure (storage and compute), which was set up in 2020 to host the joint EPD (electronic patient record). The aim is to eventually migrate all other applications of ZNA and GZA Hospitals to this central environment. In addition, the EPD hardware at ZAS Middelheim had to be moved to ZAS Cadix.
To ensure smooth integration, ZAS wanted to work with technologies and providers they were familiar with, including HPE, in order to eventually evolve towards a centralized data center infrastructure.
ZAS opted for an on-premises infrastructure to run all critical applications. Only less critical applications, such as Microsoft 365 and SAP, now run in the cloud. “At ZAS, we have the capacity and all the critical conditions—power, cooling, redundancy—in-house to run everything securely on-premises,” says Ivor Dillen, ICT Infrastructure Architect at ZAS. “In terms of security, it's also practical for us to have everything close by.”
A true partner collaboration
Even before the merger, ZNA and GZA Hospitals had already collaborated with AXI. So the decision to work with AXI again for this expansion did not come out of the blue. Of course, experience in healthcare played a role. But there were other reasons why ZAS opted for a new collaboration.
“AXI had already worked with us to consider the most optimal architecture. What particularly struck us in that collaboration was the open communication with the AXI team,” says Wim Van Laer. “We never felt that AXI wanted to impose a particular solution on us. The team saw our collaboration primarily as a partnership, in which we worked together to find the best solution.”
“AXI's strong connection with HPE is also an added value for us,” says Ivor Dillen. “Especially when something had to be escalated to HPE, AXI was able to ensure a quick follow-up. In fact, we benefited from the close collaboration between AXI and HPE.”
“The strong connection between AXI and HPE is a major added value.”
Ivor Dillen, ICT Infrastructure Architect at ZAS
Continuity in a complex environment
A key challenge for the merger and relocation of IT systems to ZAS Cadix was ensuring continuity. Hospitals such as ZAS operate 24 hours a day. Every minute that healthcare providers do not have access to crucial systems can have a direct impact on the diagnosis, treatment, or monitoring of patients. Minimizing interruptions and providing redundant systems was therefore of great importance. AXI was able to help here too, for example by implementing temporary infrastructure.
With the implementation of the new storage and compute infrastructure, ZAS has laid a solid foundation for its future. “We naturally have a complex environment, with different sites and users who need to collaborate in different domains and applications,” says Wim Van Laer. “Thanks to AXI, we now have a solid foundation to make that possible. Now it's up to us to roll it out further with the right systems and applications.”
“We were able to go live in December 2024 with peace of mind,” says Ivor Dillen. “We are therefore very satisfied with the collaboration with AXI and with the advice and support that made this merger a success.”
"Thanks to AXI, we now have a solid foundation for successfully integrating our complex environment with different sites, users, and applications."
Wim Van Laer, Manager ICT-infrastructuur ZAS
