VMware Helps Healthcare Organizations Harness Digital Innovations to Improve Delivery of Patient Care

Today at the 2019 HIMSS Conference & Exhibition, VMware (NYSE: VMW) highlighted several customers who are partnering with the company to transform the cost, quality, and delivery of patient care – from the data center to the point of care.

Healthcare organizations globally are challenged to deliver the best patient care at the lowest cost. Healthcare IT is transforming into a strategic differentiator for every healthcare organization, empowering providers to improve care delivery reliability, agility, and scalability across networks in highly competitive marketplaces. VMware accelerates digital transformation by enabling unprecedented freedom and flexibility in how healthcare organizations build and evolve their IT environments.

Improve Clinical Workflows & Patient Engagement

By enabling new models of patient care with mobility, healthcare organizations can improve the quality of life for both patients and providers. VMware unifies user, desktop, and mobile management to enable a Digital Clinical Workspace—powered by VMware Workspace ONE—that moves with care providers or patients throughout their days. From the out-of-hours call to the bedside consult, the solution delivers always-on, more secure, simple access to patient information. With the single platform, IT can manage apps and devices, across ownership models—hospital-owned or bring your own device—while helping to safeguard user privacy.

VITAS® Healthcare, the nation’s leading provider of end-of-life services, cares for 18,000 patients across 47 hospice programs in 14 states and the District of Columbia. Mobility is critical to the daily operations of VITAS employees as about 80 percent of their time is spent providing care in patients’ homes. VITAS chose VMware Workspace ONE to manage and better secure all endpoints, including company-owned iPhones, iPads and Mac laptops.

“We worked closely with VMware to develop our mobile strategy and provide our admissions team with a hassle-free experience when it comes to onboarding a new device and accessing the apps they need in a patient’s home,” explained Patrick Hale, CIO, VITAS Healthcare. “With Workspace ONE, we’ve been able to cut device-related costs for a clinical work station by more than 35 percent. Truly our partnership with VMware has served as our foundation to successfully implement a robust and secure mobility strategy to make our employees’ jobs more seamless and enhance the care they provide to our patients and families.”

In addition to keeping clinicians connected, VMware's digital healthcare solutions also help connect patients with the world beyond the hospital walls. From a single device, patients can access social media, games, videos, and music for personal entertainment as well as understand diagnoses, prognoses, and treatment options.

VMware Workspace ONE, the solution utilized by VITAS Healthcare to mobilize patients and doctors alike, was recently recognized as a 2019 KLAS Category Leader for EMM and MDM by KLAS Research, a healthcare IT data and insights company. The Category Leader award is given to vendors to recognize their outstanding efforts to help healthcare professionals deliver better patient care. To download the full report, “2019 Best in KLAS: Software & Service,” click here.

Protect Brand and Data

The protection of patient information is top of mind for every healthcare organization. As people, devices, and objects become more connected, a compromised connection in one system can negatively impact the bottom line and customer loyalty of a trusted brand. Healthcare IT organizations need to secure every interaction between users, applications, and data—however and wherever they are occurring—in increasingly dynamic environments. VMware helps healthcare IT transform security with an architecture that’s layered, segmented and policy-driven, across network infrastructure, server, application services and endpoints.

When it came time for Moffitt Cancer Center, a cancer treatment and research center located in Tampa, Florida, to rethink its disaster recovery (DR) architecture built around proprietary server hardware and software, it chose VMware NSX to migrate to a virtual environment.

“We now have in place an architecture that allows us to create a cross data center environment we can leverage for DR and to fortify application availability, while resulting in considerable cost savings over legacy models,” said John McFarland, senior director of technology and business management, Moffitt Cancer Center. “Modernizing our network will also provide us with more flexibility when it comes to exchanging research information with other universities and research centers around the world while helping protect the security of our clinical information.”

Modernize Healthcare IT Delivery

IT infrastructure is directly tied to a healthcare organization’s ability to work faster, increase efficiency, innovate, and harness the opportunities of the digital age. Healthcare organizations are modernizing healthcare IT infrastructure with software-defined data center and integrated public cloud technologies from VMware and improve flexibility, security, and scalability, all while managing risk.

• Modernize Data Centers: VMware delivers streamlined, hyper-converged infrastructure (HCI) that combines compute virtualization with storage virtualization and management, laying the foundation for cost-effectively supporting staff and patients while accommodating growth and innovation. With VMware HCI, healthcare organizations can shift to a more agile IT architecture, bridge IT silos that stall progress, enable seamless and rapid deployment, and easily control scaling up and down.
• Integrate Public Cloud: The seamless integration of public cloud helps single hospitals and network providers meet rapidly changing requirements and growing business demands. The VMware Cloud Foundation enables healthcare IT to build a best-in-class private cloud; extend easily to public clouds, including IBM SoftLayer and Amazon Web Services; and run, manage, connect, and better secure any app on any cloud—all with freedom and control.

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Time for the New 2019 VCP Certifications - VMware Certification Exams

We are now beginning to roll out our new VCPs for 2019. Since it’s a new change in terms of naming and timing, I want to provide more clarification on how it all works and what you can expect.

With the year designator on every certification, it becomes clearer when you earned a certification and how current your expertise is within that certification track. The certification you earn depends on when you complete the requirements. If you meet all the requirements in 2019 (starting on January 16), you’ll earn the 2019 certification. If you finish it in 2020, you’ll earn the 2020 certification, and so on.

For each certification, there are exam requirements. When the certification launches, the most recent exam will still be available since it represents a current solution (although with a different exam code so our system will map it to the new certification). Then, based on product updates, available resources, and the timing of product releases, one or more new exams will be released. Any of the available exams count towards the certification, as they represent current solutions.

For example, the new VCP-DCV 2019 will include the choice of:

• the current exam based on vSphere 6.5 (with the new exam code)
• or the new exam based on vSphere 6.7, available on or before January 24

Here are the exam plans for each VCP certification for 2019:

And to ensure we are always certifying on current solutions, we will retire exams as we introduce new versions. The current policy is that we retire exams four months after a new version is released (subject to change).

For those who have earned one of the two previous versions of the certification (see policy here), upgrade paths will be straight-forward. Choose one of:

• Passing the new exam
• Passing a smaller Delta exam, when available
• Other options, which will be added as they are released, with the goal of making it simpler to upgrade

I hope this helps clarify some of the new standards for our annual certification releases. We will also be posting FAQs on our website to help answer other questions as they come up. Post any questions you may have here, and I will answer and/or create a FAQ for it!

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Exfiltrating User Data from Mobile Devices – What Cybercriminals Look For

We focus on the techniques used to exploit mobile devices’ vulnerabilities and offer how organizations can potentially prevent these type of attacks.

Outdated OS exploit – the most widely-used attack at the device-level

Researchers discover vulnerabilities in operating systems on a regular basis. When that happens, mobile device operating system manufacturers such as Apple and Google quickly develop and release security patches to be deployed to users through OS updates. Once updated, vulnerabilities detected in previous versions of the operating system are typically publicly disclosed.

In October 2018, the Pradeo Lab observed that 90% of Android devices and 50% of iOS devices used in the workplace (BYOD and COPE) run outdated OS versions. Most mobile users don’t install updates as soon as they are available, potentially causing their mobile device to be more prone to a malicious attack and endangering the data that lives or is processed on the mobile device. Cybercriminals target outdated devices to exploit their disclosed vulnerabilities. This type of attack can lead to system takeover and major data breach as it provides perpetrators with extended rights into the mobile device, enabling them to steal and tamper with data, to perform denial of service, and more.

Setting modification – not as innocuous as we may think

Mobile devices are typically set up to ensure basic protection for users. By default, some functionality, such as the installation of untrusted certificates or the modification of host files, are disabled to ensure that malicious content isn’t accessed. However, in order to extend their rights, some users change their device default settings, thus exposing their data to the threats potentially featured by untrusted websites and applications. This ultimately increases their device’s exposure to Man-In-The-Middle attacks.

Root / Jailbreak exploit – found the most in IT staff

6% of IT employees use a rooted or jailbroken device, compared to only 0.1% in other services. By deeply modifying their smartphones’ OS in order to benefit from extra features, these users expose their devices to malicious and intrusive applications. 75.1% of mobile apps automatically check the root / jailbreak status of devices to execute specific commands. This practice weakens a device’s resistance to attacks and puts personal and corporate data at risk.

Pradeo Security and VMware Workspace ONE – help prevent app, network and device-level attacks

Pradeo Security leverages Artificial Intelligence principles such as machine learning and deep learning to enable its engine with the most precise mobile threat detection. Relying on these capabilities, Pradeo Security Mobile Threat Defense accurately identifies known, unknown and advanced mobile threats operating at the application, the network and the device-level, defending against threats before they do any harm. Once activated through, Pradeo Security provides fast, appropriate and proactive threat management directly from the VMware Unified Endpoint Management (UEM) console.

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VMware Certification Exam BrainDumps - VMware VCE Practice Test

The VMware vSAN 2017 Specialist Paractice Exam

Question 1

Which services for vSAN are provided by NexentaConnect?

A: Encryption and key management
B: Apache and JavaScript
C: NFS and SMB
D: iSCSI and FC

Correct Answer: C

Question 2

The following are the configuration details for a 10-node all-flash vSAN cluster:
All hosts contain one vSAN disk group.
Each disk group has 400GB for the cache tier and 1600GB for the capacity tier.
A host in the cluster is placed into maintenance mode. The maintenance mode option selected is "Ensure data accessibility from other hosts".
How much is the vSAN datastore raw capacity reduced while the host is in maintenance mode?

A: 1600GB
B: 400GB
C: 0GB
D: 2000GB

Correct Answer: A

Question 3

Which are two characteristics of a RAID-5 storage configuration? (Choose two.)

A: Data remain available with the loss to two storage devices.
B: It uses less storage capacity than mirroring with the same level of availability.
C: Data is striped across multiple storage devices.
D: It requires a minimum of five storage devices.

Correct Answer: BC

Question 4

Which three statements are true regarding vSAN networking requirements? (Choose three.)

A: Each host must have minimum bandwidth dedicated to vSAN:
Dedicated 1 Gbps for hybrid configurations.
Dedicated or shared 10 Gbps for all-flash configurations.
B: vSAN supports both IPv4 and IPv6.
C: Each host on the vSAN cluster must have a VMkernel network adapter with vSAN traffic enabled.
D: Each host in a vSAN cluster must use NIC teaming with NetFlow enabled.
E: The vSAN port group must have Promiscuous Mode emabled.

Correct Answer: ABC

Question 5

Which two vSAN configurations require the use of a witness appliance? (Choose two.)

A: two-node configuration
B: all-flash configuration
C: stretched cluster configuration
D: hybrid configuration

Correct Answer: AC

Question 6

When implementing vSAN stretched clusters, bandwidth requirements between the preferred and secondary sites are determined by which factors?

A: Total number of read operations and block size
B: Total number of components and block size
C: Total number of write operations and block size
D: Total number of read operations, total number of write operations and block size

Correct Answer: C

Question 7

Which two statements are true about the vSAN health and performance services? (Choose two.)

A: The vSAN performance service must be enabled before the vSAN health service.
B: The vSAN health service is enabled by default.
C: The vSAN health service is disabled by default.
D: The vSAN performance service is disabled by default.

Correct Answer: BD

Question 8

What are two ways that the storage policies can be allied? (Choose two.)

A: Execute a PowerCLI script
B: Right-click a virtual machine in the vSphere Web Client
C: Run the "esxcli vsan storage tag add" command
D: Select the vSAN datastore and click "Apply Storage Policy"

Correct Answer: AD

Question 9

Which statement is true regarding vSAN and vSphere high availability (HA) interoperability?

A: The vSAN datastore must be configured as the heartbeat datastore for vSphere HA.
B: vSphere HA must be disabled before enabling vSAN.
C: vSphere HA host isolation must be set to disabled.
D: The vSphere HA heartbeat object can only be assigned the default datastore storage policy.

Correct Answer: B

Question 10

What is the maximum supported latency between the preferred and secondary sites in a vSAN stretched cluster configuration?

A: 5 milliseconds round trip time
B: 10 milliseconds round trip time
C: 2.5 milliseconds round trip time
D: 200 milliseconds round trip time

Correct Answer: A

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Introducing NSX Hybrid Connect - VMware Certifications

I still remember the days where vCenter/ESXi became popular with great features and now it’s the time for VMware NSX (Network stack) which is now widely deployed in most of the VMware based Customer Infrastructures. Dream of the cloud is now moved to deployments phase but also brings additional challenges to maintain the Application Mobility from one Data Center to Cloud and vice versa. VMware NSX Hybrid Connect delivers secure infrastructure hybridity between vSphere platforms and enables seamless bi-directional application mobility. NSX Hybrid Connect does not require NSX to be present in the source environment. However, if NSX is present, additional features such as distributed firewall rules are possible

NSX Hybrid Connect enables bi-directional application landscape mobility by creating a layer of hybridity between the source and destination environments. NSX Hybrid Connect can stretch Layer-2 networks via high throughput L2C appliances while encrypting and optimizing traffic that passes over the interconnect. NSX Hybrid Connect migration options include vMotion and bulk migration methods, when combined with stretched networks allows workloads to retain their IP regardless of the environment they are running on. The proxy architecture of NSX Hybrid Connect enables hybridity and migrations without retrofitting applications. As part of the migration process, NSX Hybrid Connect optionally migrates traditional/legacy networking to NSX-based logical networks and logical routing, automating the process of physical to logical network conversion.

NSX Hybrid Connect provides a hybrid cloud environment for workload mobility across enterprise sites:

Infrastructure Abstraction:

NSX Hybrid Connect abstracts infrastructure and allows you to interoperate across different versions of vSphere software-defined data centers (SDDC) and across different network types.

Infrastructure Hybridity:

NSX Hybrid Connect provides high performance, multi-site datacenter-to-datacenter interconnectivity capabilities. With NSX Hybrid Connect, customers can set up WAN optimized multi-site IPsec VPN mesh for secure site-to-site connectivity. On top of this secure, optimized fabric, customers can stretch Layer 2 networks and extend datacenters between sites. NSX Hybrid Connect provides high-performance large-scale L2 extension – up to 5Gbps per extended VLAN/VxLAN – at scale.

Workload Mobility:

NSX Hybrid Connect provides large-scale application mobility between sites without any impact to application performance, runtime, and access. NSX Hybrid Connect provides secure live migration and large-scale warm migration, enabling customers to transform their applications and datacenter more rapidly and securely. This migration approach combined with stretched networks allows bi-directional migrations without any network configuration changes, such as IP address, DNS, MAC address, etc. Additionally, delays due to large-scale application dependency mapping are avoided. Customers can move applications without worrying about application dependencies. NSX Hybrid Connect automates manual migration tasks, allowing your team to easily and safely leverage the cloud with reduced risks and cost. Simple, intuitive UI reduces data center and cloud complexity and eliminates the need for specialized skill and knowledge.

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VMware a Leader in Unified Endpoint Management - VMware Certifications

According to the Forrester Wave report, “Over the past year, VMware has invested heavily in helping customers embrace modern management for Windows 10 with its Workspace ONE product. The solution’s differentiated AirLift feature automates migration of SCCM collections, devices, and app packages to Workspace ONE. It excels in IAM, with features like single sign-on (SSO) to the Workspace ONE app and support for dozens of conditional access policies.”

VMware continues to deliver on new innovations that make Workspace ONE the industry’s digital workspace platform of choice for IT and employees. From apps to mobile devices to PCs, VMware Workspace ONE UEM provides employees with a single console to manage and better secure their most critical business apps and devices across all platforms, including Windows, macOS, Chrome OS, iOS, and Android. Workspace ONE UEM delivers an automated and on-demand workspace environment with greater flexibility and at lower costs for an intuitive, more secure experience for all employees, both inside and outside the office.

“By helping customers manage and better secure more devices and OS platforms, more apps, and more clouds with Workspace ONE, VMware is uniquely positioned to help them embrace the technology heterogeneity that is commonplace in today’s workplace,” said Noah Wasmer, senior vice president and general manager, End-User Computing, VMware. “We are proud of the fact that our broad platform support, deep management and security capabilities, and expansive partner ecosystem are leading the industry and, we believe, have earned us recognition from today’s leading analysts.”

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VMware vSAN named the CRN Product of the Year, For Three Years Running

VMware is pleased to announce that, for the third year in a row, vSAN is the CRN Product of the Year in the Software Defined Storage category. We are thankful for the recognition from our partner community, and we’re excited to see the continued leadership momentum. This year, vSAN was named a leader twice by Gartner in the Magic Quadrant for Hyperconverged Infrastructure 

CRN’s annual Products of the Year Awards are given to standout products and services that represent best-in-breed technological innovation and customer demand, among other criteria. A panel of CRN editors selected five eligible products as finalists, and winners were chosen by survey fielded to solution providers to accurately capture real-world satisfaction among partners and their customers. CRN received over 3,600 responses to determine the Overall Winner in each category.

vSAN Delivered A New Hyperconverged Infrastructure Experience in 2018

This year, VMware released two new versions of vSAN, which delivered a new experience for users. In April 2018, VMware vSAN simplified operations with a new, intuitive management experience that included a new user interface based on HTML5 for consistent operations across the full SDDC stack. The UI was rebuilt from the ground up, with a clean, modern look. The user experience is similar to sleek web browsers that you use every day: clean, simple and intuitive. In addition, a new quickstart workflow empowered users to quickly build and integrate cloud infrastructure with guided, exhaustive instructions for a simple, consistent experience. vSAN also introduced a number of new capabilities to ensure predictable application performance and availability, including intelligent self-healing capabilities that minimize the impact of resynchronization (resync) operations and establishing guard rails for maintenance mode. Finally, VMware introduced ReadyCare, a term to describe the focused investments and innovations being made into vSAN support. Similar to vSAN ReadyLabs that focuses on certifications and new technologies, vSAN ReadyCare represents the combined investments the vSAN team is making in people, services and technology to provide a superior vSAN support experience. Support innovations included more proactive health alerts, tools that aid in rapidly diagnosing issues with less work for customers, and expediting self help with a centralized heath summary.