Software House and American Dynamics Insure Security Success for Aetna

Aetna Inc. is universally regarded as a world-class health care and life insurance company, but when it came to their access control and security requirements, they needed a solution for their incompatible security systems and reader types spread over nearly 100 field offices nationwide. The system was inefficient to manage because it required maintaining multiple records for each badge technology type, no direct interface to human resources or vendor database, and required more than 30 system integrators to support the program.

Aetna was able to create a state-of-the-art system during the past two years due largely to the work of Software House and American Dynamics, two business units within Tyco Fire & Security. American Dynamics manufactures, markets and supports multiplexers, digital video management systems, digital video recorders, matrix switchers, domes, video transmission systems and related products. Software House is a leading developer of access control and integrated security management systems software.

Using the innovative technology from Software House and American Dynamics, Aetna was able to develop a plan to address its needs. Over time, the company realized cost savings of approximately $1.3 million annually by consolidating control centers, improving management and administrative processes, and implementing product and training consistency.

Beneficial returns

Results to date have been impressive. Aetna's new Security Command Center in Middletown, Conn., has consolidated its security systems. Leveraging the integrated solution from Software House and American Dynamics, the 24-foot by 26-foot room is manned by two workers 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and allows the two security workers to monitor all of the company's field offices coast to coast and secure over 1,100 doors.

All told, the program cost Aetna about $1.4 million, which includes cost of technology migrations, replacement of new card readers and rebadging of employees. As a result Aetna is realizing a cost savings of $400,000 annually from consolidating their control centers, and enjoys $862,000 in annual savings in man-hour reduction administration spread over 60 sites nationally. "Everything that we have done has resulted in cost savings," said David Gionfriddo, System Design Manager Aetna Corporate Security, Hartford, CT.

Some other benefits include more efficient management, greater consistency with systems and products and training consistency. "We can develop one training program as opposed to several different ones," said Gionfriddo. "We can also manage all video systems from one location. AD168 Matrix switch and Intellex DVR's interfaced to C·CURE 800 using NetVue Actions/Cameras configured to allow the Command Center to access live or recorded video at any site and provide a central point for video administration."

Roy Murphy, Aetna's Corporate Security Director, points out the importance of internal acceptance of the system. "Our internal security team has really stepped up to the challenge of adopting and implementing the new streamlined system. Even the most simple system in the world won't be effective without the proper personnel behind it."

Few resources, many snags

Despite its recent successes with Software House and American Dynamics, it was not long ago that Aetna needed to correct its problems. As recently as 2002, Aetna was confronted with the need to reduce its selling and general administration expense (SG&A). These issues proved to be troublesome for Aetna, one of the nation's leading providers of health care, dental, pharmacy, group life, disability and long-term care products, serving more than 13 million medical members, 11.4 million dental members and 11.8 million group insurance customers, as of March 31, 2003. The company, listed on the New York Stock Exchange, has expansive nationwide networks of more than 562,000 health care services providers, including over 337,000 primary care and specialist physicians and 3,387 hospitals.

Before finding workable solutions, Aetna had an uphill battle. In 2000, Aetna's Corporate Security was placed under the company's Real Estate Services division, which had begun to seriously review the existing network. Although one company already handled security systems for the majority of Aetna's sites, company representatives still wanted to find one platform that was flexible enough to run on a corporate network while streamlining overall operations. "We needed to pick a system of record," recalled Gionfriddo, who at the time was managing more than 30 systems integrators.

Gionfriddo noted that one of the biggest problems was having the required resources to manage the company's multiple security systems. Aetna also wanted to consolidate its five control center sites to a single site, which they calculated could result in annual savings of $400,000.

There were a host of uniformity problems as well, as Aetna workers in different regions of country wore different identification badges bearing the names of Aetna-owned companies. For example, workers in the Blue Bell, Pa., region wore badges that read "U.S. Healthcare," employees in Largo, Md., had badges bearing the "Aetna" name and those in San Ramon, Calif., wore a vertically-shaped "US Healthcare" badge that did not resemble other US Healthcare badges. Very often, workers traveling to satellite offices carried up to five badges.

Clearly, Aetna officials said, the process had become cumbersome, difficult and costly to manage. Aetna also was faced with reducing its selling and general administration expense, which would mean employees would be laid off unless a suitable technology solution could be found.

Streamlining a solution

Aetna embarked on a request for proposal process, and three companies and four separate systems were considered. Gionfriddo, the system design manager, was thrilled with an existing system called C·Cure1Plus from Software House, a Lexington, Mass.-based product group of Tyco Fire & Security. Software House, one of the premier companies in the nation offering security products, was already equipped in 60 percent of Aetna's sites. Gionfriddo rallied support for C·CURE 800, a Software House security product that helps users control access and manage events for single or multiple sites worldwide.

"The first phase was to develop a system of record and a system that would work on the corporate network and run on Aetna Desktops and servers," said Gionfriddo. "The concentration at this time was determining the best fit system manufacturer. Several manufacturers were researched at the time; ultimately Software House was selected as the best fit for our environment.

"The key to our selecting Software House's C·CURE 800," he added, "was its ability to train users and its ability to distribute information over the corporate network relatively easily."

The migration march

The implementation process began in December 1999, when Software House's C·CURE 800 was brought in house and implemented in a small environment. There were initially some questions about the benefits of C·CURE 800 versus C·CURE 1Plus. However, Gionfriddo noted there was one overriding factor in choosing C·CURE 800. "The ability for it to reside on the Aetna Corporate Network using Standard Desktops and the intuitiveness of the software made it easy to train administrators over the phone with in-house talent," he said.

The project kicked into high gear in 2000 as the system migrated from C·CURE 1Plus to C·CURE 800, resulting in the rebadging of 12,000 workers in the Hartford, Middletown and Windsor offices and the replacement of some 400card readers. The rebadging of employees occurred in September and October 2000 as six badging stations were manned by Aetna representatives who worked 10-hour shifts for six consecutive weeks. The badging system also has other more practical purposes: Employees can use their ID badge as a debit system to buy lunch; they are scanned to show receipt of overnight mail packages; they are used to manage parking.

After completing the migration for its major facilities, Aetna starting migration of its approximately 100 field offices. To date Aetna has been able to successfully migrate 62 field offices to the C·CURE 800 corporate system with an anticipated completion of all its facilities by late 2004.

The consolidation march

Once a system of record was in place and migrations were well on their way, Aetna's concentration was on consolidating its five control centers and to create a single command center in Middletown. At that time, three of the sites were in Connecticut just 50 miles apart in Windsor, Middletown and Hartford. The fourth site was located in Blue Bell, PA, and a fifth in Cranbury, NJ.

In consolidating to a single site using a combined Software House/American Dynamics product, the challenge was to get all of the systems operating under one center and to upgrade from an analog to a digital recorder system and bring it over the network. Gionfriddo had seen American Dynamics' Intellex DVR interfaced to the AD168 Matrix switch using Network Clients and C·CURE 800 NetVue at last year's ASIS Show in Philadelphia and liked it instantly. "I wanted to be able to control the domes [cameras] from anywhere on Aetna desktops," said Gionfriddo. "This system enables us to do just that." Cameras are configured in the command center to allow access to video and provide a central point for video administration.

The consolidation and installation took place in 2002 and was completed in just five months.

In the end, Gionfriddo said the Software House/American Dynamics products have proven to be an effective tool for Aetna. They believe the products are unsurpassed in the industry. "We're extremely pleased with the results."