Case Study: IPA Reduces Site Visits With Remote Device Management

Our client, IPA, chose Canopy to enable remote monitoring and automation

IPA logo

Situation

IPA is a leading provider of automated linen and specialty uniform distribution solutions. Today, IPA has more than 9,000 linen distribution machines deployed to more than 1,000 different healthcare facilities.

IPA services the machine’s software and hardware on behalf of its customers, using a centralized in-house contact center for remote support and approximately 350 third-party repair technicians for onsite support.

IPA scrubs in hospital

Complication

Before Canopy, our client faced two significant challenges:

  • IPA was looking to make innovative improvements to their remote device operations capabilities. Specifically, IPA wanted enterprise-level visibility to all endpoints and the ability to deploy software and firmware patches on machines remotely without requiring an onsite visit by a technician.
  • IPA planned to leverage this remote action technology to reduce their dependence on physical site visits, allowing them to perform reboots and firmware updates remotely versus dispatching a technician to the hospital site.
"We wanted to take a proactive and data-driven approach to remote device operations so our support efforts would become even more efficient."
— Steve Blomberg, Director of
Product Development at IPA

Action

Our client deployed Canopy to gain visibility into their entire fleet of automated
linen and specialty uniform distribution machines.

Canopy screenshot

IPA partnered with Banyan Hills Technologies to incorporate Canopy’s cutting-edge technologies into their solution to further expand IPA’s product capabilities and improve customer experiences.

"We looked at developing this tech ourselves but realized leveraging Canopy’s off-the-shelf software and industry expertise would provide the best results," said Steve Blomberg, Director of Product Development at IPA.

So far, IPA has deployed Canopy’s remote device operations SaaS to approximately 4,400 units across 700 healthcare facilities to enable their IT system admins and customer support team to manage their machines more efficiently.

Once installed, IPA instantly gained full endpoint connectivity, device-level data capture and the ability to execute remote actions (firmware upgrades and reboots) remotely.

"Canopy gave us visibility to devices in the field that were previously not connected,” Blomberg said. “That enabled us to start capturing data easily and has opened up a new world of opportunities for us."

Results

Canopy has helped reduce site visits by running more than 10,000 automations on more than 4,400 units at 700 healthcare facilities.

To date, Canopy’s SaaS solution has run nearly 10,000 remote actions (i.e., remote firmware upgrades and remote reboots) on IPA’s units, which historically would have required the physical support of a field tech, saving IPA from making some incremental onsite visits.

"Canopy is an exciting product that we are barely scratching the surface of today,” said Jenn Gunter, VP of Customer Service at IPA. “We are working towards unlocking all its capabilities as we build the future of service delivery."