Novell Nsure is the Remedy for Password Ills at North Broward Hospital District

North Broward Hospital District in south Florida is the fifth largest public healthcare system in the United States, treating nearly a million patients each year. To effectively serve so many, the NBHD staff needed access to numerous clinical and business applications - but that in itself created another problem: Physicians, nurses and administrators were required to juggle as many as 10 user IDs and passwords in order to access the applications they needed.

That process not only wasted precious time, it also presented a security risk and was incredibly expensive, with hundreds of thousands of dollars spent on password management and help desk support each year. After evaluating a number of options, NBHD deployed a Novell® Nsure™ secure identity management solution to get the right resources to the right people, without the password management headaches.

"Juggling too many passwords had become a real drag on productivity, not to mention a security risk," said Dennis Cheek, manager of Information Services at North Broward Hospital District. "A typical North Broward employee can need daily access to a wide range of applications, from Novell GroupWise® to mainframe applications to healthcare-focused apps like Lawson. With so many passwords to remember, our help desk was spending a third of its time resetting passwords, which was not only costly but it limited the productivity of our support staff. Now, with the Novell Nsure solution, we have almost eliminated those password-reset calls; and we've enhanced network security by eliminating bad methods of password management - like writing them in planners or on sticky notes. With just one password, there's no need."

NBHD chose Novell Nsure over a number of other identity and access management solutions, including offerings from Netegrity and Corechange. Novell's multi-platform approach and unbeatable reputation in the industry for reliability and security gave NBHD a comprehensive solution that met their needs without requiring a rip and replace of existing systems.

The Novell Nsure solution, a customized blend of software and services, gives users single sign-on access to the applications they need, while dramatically cutting support costs. NBHD expects to free up hundreds of thousands of dollars annually that can be put into other IT projects.

Allowing users to access the applications they need with a single login has also tightened network security. Previously users were overwhelmed by the number of IDs and passwords they needed to remember and often had to write them down, potentially compromising security.

"Novell Nsure is helping North Broward Hospital District move from a world of difficult-to-manage application and system silos to one Net - where it all works together," said Dave Stevenson, Novell vice president of Secure Identity Management solutions. "In the end, Novell takes care of passwords, system access and the administrative overhead, so North Broward Hospital District can focus on what matters to its business - the patients."

About Novell

Novell, Inc. (Nasdaq: NOVL) delivers Software for the Open Enterprise™. With more than 50,000 customers in 43 countries, Novell helps customers manage, simplify, secure and integrate their technology environments by leveraging best-of-breed, open standards-based software. With over 20 years of experience, more than 5,000 employees, 5,000 partners and support centers around the world, Novell helps customers gain control over their IT operating environment while reducing cost. More information about Novell can be found at http://www.novell.com.

Novell and GroupWise are registered trademarks, and Nsure is a trademark of Novell, Inc. in the United States and other countries. *All third-party trademarks are the property of their respective owners.