Ciena is a networking system, services, and software company that helps healthcare businesses in several aspects of data management, including secure storage, delivery, and precision. Azz-Eddine Mansouri, General Manager – Sales at Ciena Middle East explains Ciena’s competencies to The Integrator.

Speak about the solutions Ciena introduced to transform the healthcare sector and their competencies

Healthcare is one of the most important sectors globally, and its demands are constantly changing. Since the explosive growth of medical data due to advanced medical imaging and the digital transformation of paper records to digital data files, global healthcare institutions cannot provide the best care for patients without a high-performance communication infrastructure.

This is where Ciena comes in, focusing on three key aspects of efficient data management: its secure storage, delivery, and precision. Our Electronic Health Record Network is built to handle massive capacities of data and respond to unpredictable bandwidth demands, aiming to refine the way that large amounts of medical information are stored and disseminated. Furthermore, its advanced medical imaging and digital video technology for telemedicine or telesurgery transporting high-bandwidth fMRI, CT scans, and genome sequencing— preserving every detail.

Experts say, “effective patient care requires efficient technologies.” Can you articulate the statement with the context of solutions that Ciena presented to the industry?

With the increasing quantity of data transferred to the digital world, the healthcare industry finds itself on the precipice of a massive data deluge. The security of information and disaster recovery are key, and Ciena plays a critical role in ensuring these demands are met.

Our infrastructure ensures constant availability to the server, meets compliance requirements, and provides off-site data storage backup and retrieval – all of which contribute to better care for patients, ensuring safe telemedicine and telesurgery, fewer medical errors, as well as the protection of patient data from cyber-attacks.

Tell us about the ongoing healthcare digitization projects of Ciena

Ciena is currently focused on developing cutting-edge technology to provide remote access to healthcare, recognizing the pivotal role that 5G connectivity plays in their efforts. From remote doctor’s appointments to conducting telesurgeries so that patients may receive treatment from the comfort of their homes, most developments in the digitization of healthcare are likely to come from an increased expansion of high-speed optical network connectivity and low latency 5G networks.

The organization also aims to provide large clinics and hospitals with a reliable ‘metro network infrastructure’ – or an interconnected network of smaller medical devices – to ensure quick, real-time transfer of information. These are further augmented by Edge centers, or small data hubs placed close to the hospital premises, enabling lower-latency data delivery and a more reliable network experience.

Ciena’s investment plans in the Middle East’s health sector for the coming years

Global telehealth and telemedicine are expected to reach USD 191.7 billion by 2025, due to increasing technology adoption. We can expect more edge data centers to be established throughout the region. Edge data centers are small data centers deployed closer to the end-user to ensure low latency in delivery and a more reliable network experience.

Ciena’s increased investment in the Middle East as a whole; reflects our commitment to the region and to creating a state-of-the-art infrastructure for the healthcare industry for the world to heal.