To lease or not to lease? That is the question when considering your options for your network IT equipment. On the Internet, you will find arguments on both sides, but for a dental practice there may be considerations that other small and mid-sized business don’t need to worry about, such as the ability to protect patient data. As it turns out, there are many reasons why you may NOT want to buy your network IT equipment and opt instead to subscribe to a hardware-as-a-service option.
With hardware as a service (or HaaS), rather than incurring the cost to purchase and support your networking hardware, you can pay a monthly fee to an IT provider that will provide, maintain, and monitor all of the essential network IT hardware and services for you.
TechCentral by Henry Schein One offers a perpetual lease hardware as a service option called OmniCore. OmniCore is an all-in-one “network in a box” solution. For one low monthly cost, not only do you get the hardware you need for a dental office network, but TechCentral will completely manage and maintain it so you don’t have IT budget surprises.
This is a unique approach to your dental IT network that you may not be familiar with, so here are the top 5 reasons you may want to go with HaaS rather than purchase your network IT equipment.
1. The challenge of finding the right equipment at the right cost
In a busy dental practice, you probably don’t have the time to compare and price out network IT equipment. You might not even know what equipment you need. It’s different than when you’re shopping for an at-home computer because you need to make sure your network IT equipment works with your essential dental office technology and protects the information you receive from patients.
Key difference: When you choose OmniCore, you’re essentially hiring TechCentral to provide a solution that meets your requirements as a dentist. Rather than pay for each component individually, you pay one low monthly fee and the guesswork is removed.
2. The liability of owning your own equipment and supporting/updating it
When you buy technology equipment, you’re responsible for it. You’re also responsible for replacing parts and upgrading the software, and all the unexpected time and costs associated. When something goes wrong—unfortunately, not a matter of “if”—you have to figure out how to fix it.
Key difference: With OmniCore, TechCentral retains ownership and is thus responsible for supporting the equipment and making sure it’s up to date. It’s important to know that someone has your back should you experience a failed server or a network outage. OmniCore is a service that provides all of the essential hardware for your dental office IT network plus they assume the responsibility of maintaining, updating, and replacing components automatically as they become out-of-date or damaged.
3. The lack of continual monitoring
It's important that a HaaS provider continually monitors your hardware each day. A small local IT company, although skilled at installing hardware, may not have the support team and resources to provide unlimited technical support.
Key difference: TechCentral support can monitor daily operations using third-party software to see how each component of the network IT is working. They can see if it's failing, on the verge of failing, or if it’s not operating correctly. They can also remotely support the hardware, saving your practice onsite service fees that a local IT company might charge. Moreover, their monitoring and support service can extend beyond OmniCore to all workstations on the network.
4. The risk/responsibility of patient data security
Patient data security goes beyond the simplicity of updating antivirus software. Unfortunately, as the attacks have become more sophisticated, dental practices and other healthcare providers have needed a layered defense. This includes encryption, firewall protection, and a comprehensive backup strategy. You should have the ability to restore your data, malware-free, if necessary.
Key difference: TechCentral OmniCore has several security layers working cooperatively to dynamically detect, block, and report on malicious traffic. The data is encrypted using Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) 256-bit encryption, and the TechCentral Hybrid Backup Service stores multiple backups automatically, both locally and in the cloud. If you ever lose access to your data completely, the Hybrid Backup Service is designed to help recover your practice management software and data.
5. The cumulative, hidden costs
A study by the Gartner Group puts the annual cost of owning and managing your onsite IT system as being up to four times as costly as the initial purchase. Consider the cost of an IT network failure for a server that wasn’t properly backed up or the cost of emergency maintenance that can be potentially exorbitant.
Key difference: OmniCore packages start at $500/month for one easy-to-budget monthly payment and comes with full support, maintenance, and hardware replacement provided by TechCentral.
Are you ready to be stress-free and get rid of your network IT concerns in 2019? Find out if OmniCore is right for your practice by requesting a free technology assessment. Visit www.HSTechCentral.com/Lease or call TechCentral at 844.206.1228.
This article is paid for by TechCentral. Certain components of the products or services described above are provided by third parties. Henry Schein One and its affiliates are not responsible for, and expressly disclaim, all liability for damages of any kind arising out of the use of those third-party products or services.