Part 3 of 3: Security in Any Space: LG and the Power of Partnership*

Security in Any Space: LG and the Power of Partnership

 

Jennifer Eley, Senior Federal Channel Manager, LG Business Solutions USA

Anyone can tell you that security is important these days but this is especially true for the federal government. With security standards constantly evolving to keep up with required mandates and ever-increasing cyber threats, the federal government having confidence in secure technology in order to accomplish missions is more important now than ever. LG is more than an electronics company, it’s a solutions company. Through providing technology, supporting the secure supply chain, and using the power of partnership, LG is bringing a variety of security solutions to market.

Technology

What role does hardware play in the security space? Well, a big one. If a computer or any digitally connected device is hackable, then it’s important to have the ability to lock it down and make sure it’s secure from data breaches. LG offers a wide range of endpoints suited to any environment in which security is required:

  • Non-Wi-Fi series – removes vulnerability, decreases the risk of hackers and protects sensitive data and information being reviewed in SCIF and SCIF-like environments that require minimal risk of interference or interception
  • Digital displays – including video walls, high brightness and interactive capabilities for command and control, conferencing, secure meeting and training environments
  • Medical displays – including surgical monitors, digital X-ray detectors, and clinical review monitors for our federal medical personnel
  • Cloud VDI Endpoint devices – a necessity in the day of cloud computing and storage that enables centralized device maintenance to securely work from home

Supporting the Secure Supply Chain

LG is one of only 11,400 certified partners spanning the breadth of the trade community in the CTPAT program (Customs Trade Partnership Against Terrorism). Customs Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (CTPAT) is but one layer in U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) multi-layered cargo enforcement strategy and through this program, CBP works with the trade community to strengthen international supply chains and improve United States border security.

LG is committed to working with CBP to protect the supply chain, identify security gaps and implement specific security measures and best practices. As part of this voluntary but rigorous program, LG addresses a broad range of security topics to align security throughout the supply chain.

The Power of Partnership

To provide such a suite of security, having the right partners that understand the requirements to make this happen is paramount to LG. With a strong network of 142 global operations, LG partners with suppliers who meet stringent DFAR and FAR regulations, including NDAA Section 889, while ensuring their products maintain the standard of quality that is required in today’s digitally collaborative world. Value-add solutions providers help to bring the hardware and software to both commercial and federal markets, and specialized market and application consultants assist federal customers with any resource gaps or optimization. Working together allows for a strong offering for federal government personnel that helps allow them to accomplish their mission, maintain security and keep the public safe.

For more information on LG’s products click here. To learn how Iron Bow can collaborate with you to create a tailored business solution, please contact them.

*Originally posted on the Iron Bow TechSource Blog

Part 2 of 3: How Flexibility is the Key Approach for Learning in Any Space for LG Business Solutions*

Part 2 of 3: How Flexibility is the Key Approach for Learning in Any Space for LG Business Solutions*

 

Victoria Sanville, National Sales Manager, Public Sector, LG Business Solutions USA

A large part of 2020 was everyone’s scramble to meet the demands of remote working and learning. In particular, higher education and K-12 school systems had to navigate the enigma of successfully transferring every single student to a learn-from-home environment essentially overnight – no small feat. This included purchasing new hardware like tablets, laptops, desktops and learning screens but also expanding network accessibility and security so information stayed confidential and connected throughout the school day. What started as reactionary buying of hardware and software is now going to shift in 2021 to more preemptive purchasing as K-12 school systems and higher education institutions start putting together their strategies for the remainder of the pandemic and what the permanent changes upon their campuses will be.

For LG Business Solutions, they not only had the hardware and software partners at the ready for when the mass buying happened to accommodate learning from home, but now they have gone beyond the tactical provision of products to a strategic mindset in which their main question for customers is: what kind of ecosystem do you want to provide? If you want it, they help you design it.

As educational organizations clarify how they want to move forward, LG is differentiating themselves from the rest of their market by taking the corner on flexibility. LG is able to strategize with their customers, in this case higher education and K-12 institutions, and offer them flexibility when it comes to solutions, products, and budget, so no matter what these organizations need, LG can help them optimize that specific environment.

Flexible in Solutions

Being able to apply LG hardware in different settings opens doors for customers looking to optimize their investments. While we learn to navigate the new space between in-person learning and remote learning, LG offers the ability to provide for blended learning; that is, a mix between remote and in-person. For example, educators can be teaching with in-person students and have their lessons displayed from their laptop onto an interactive display board in the classroom while that same content is streamed on a desktop monitor, for visibility, and displayed through a conferencing technology to students at home at the same time. Blended learning supports what educators are calling synchronous learning because no matter where the student or teacher is, the learning is live. Prior to the pandemic, this way of conducting education wasn’t a popular or even functional option for a lot of education institutions, but after partnering with LG and utilizing their solutions, schools are now able to offer their students value regardless of location.

Another solution LG is providing for is in the Esports environment. Esports is the world of competitive, organized video gaming. Popular gamers/players are watched and followed by millions of fans all over the world who attend live events or tune in on TV or on Twitch. K-12 schools are starting to adopt Esports as an addition to traditional sports in hopes of engaging a broader population of students that wouldn’t otherwise be plugged into a social or extracurricular activity. Schools have their own leagues, summer coding camps and competitions that give students a way to connect with their peers.

For higher education, Esports is having a productive purpose, as well. Students are increasingly taking coding courses to learn how to write and develop games. Architecture students are able to make course projects out of developing arena layouts and are taking entire courses on how to build mobile arenas that are set up and broken down for the sole purpose of one- or two-day Esports competitions. Some students are able to learn the production and broadcasting side of Esports, as well.

While LG products have always been used in an educational setting, the company is seeing a direct correlation between the rise of Esports and campuses requesting more video walls, projectors and accessories to be used for this purpose. Having technology and hardware that serves both is intuitively appealing to decision-makers.

Flexible in Budget

Budgeting and spending dollars wisely is a top concern amongst organizational decision-makers since the pandemic brought a head-spinning change to how some industries generate revenue. The higher education industry is now facing a new struggle because of loss of matriculation rates. Without the dollars that come with tuition and fees, schools may struggle with things like professor salaries and building improvements. 2021 is predicted to see a mass return of students back onto their campuses. Using a blended learning or synchronous learning approach made possible by LG products, colleges and universities can not only allow students to live in their dorms, but also learn in their dorms. Benefits to this approach are twofold: it increases likelihood of slowing the COVID-19 spread but it also provides students the flexibility to have the best of both worlds – being close to school resources and the freedom to learn in their dorms when the need arises. This compromise has potential to be a big revenue generator for colleges and universities who are looking to resume normalcy as soon as possible.

When deciding on technology for their campuses, university decision-makers know their limits and their budgets. LG meets their needs by offering a “good, better, best” scale to provide quantity while not sacrificing quality. The ultimate flexibility of the LG products serves both the student population and the administrative side as well.

Flexible in Products

When you think of flexibility, you think of having options. And when campus leaders are looking for technology and hardware vendors, they want the decision-making process to be as simple, efficient and cost-effective as possible. LG provides a spectrum of products so that customers only have to choose one vendor as a source of almost everything they need. From small format products like individual desktops, laptops, and projectors to large format products like flat panel displays and video walls, LG’s options provide a simple and efficient way for campus decision-makers to access everything they need. LG products include interactive displays for in-classroom learning or mobile cart application, video teleconferencing solutions for collaboration efforts in safe spaces on and off campus, powerful PCs and cloud technologies to secure communication, and high-resolution ultra-wide desktop monitors to support the use of study areas in libraries to huddle spaces in specific campus buildings. This kind of flexibility is invaluable when considering how to bring students back to campus safely during the pandemic.

In addition to their various products, LG allows space for maximizing investments because these products can be used for multiple purposes. For example, the Esports monitors and equipment for one student group can be repurposed and used by graphic designers and engineering students to conduct their courses. Video walls can be used for campus-wide communications that can alert students to emergencies or announcements and can be used to broadcast in the hallways for such things as learning tools from the librarian or after-school activities. For business schools that hold conferences or televised meetings, the video wall and interactive portfolios serve as effective tools to communicate to a large audience at once.

LG partners with companies like Iron Bow Technologies to augment customer service, provide technical expertise, implementation assistance and fill resource gaps the campus may not have in-house. The value-add for these services can make the process of digitizing campuses easier and simpler so campus leaders can focus on keeping their student body safe and keeping their resources within their budget.

The flexibility between LG’s solutions, budgeting and products gives it a unique draw to the higher education and K-12 market – especially now after the adjustments of the pandemic demand agility as the US keeps up with the constant change of lifestyles. To learn more about LG’s products, visit the website. To learn more about Iron Bow’s value-add services, or how to procure on the OMNIA Partners Contract vehicle please contact them.

*Originally posted on the Iron Bow TechSource Blog

Part 1 of 3: Training in Any Space: LG Business Solutions’ 3 Pronged Approach for Security for the Federal Government*

Part 1 of 3: Training in Any Space: LG Business Solutions’ 3 Pronged Approach for Security for the Federal Government*

 

Jennifer Eley, Senior Federal Channel Manager, LG Business Solutions USA
Victoria Sanville, National Sales Manager Government and Education, LG Business Solutions USA

When the COVID-19 pandemic turned everything on its head earlier this year, practically every industry was affected, and the federal government was no exception. Many agencies were forced to look teleworking in the face and learn how to step into that environment more quickly than ever before. Two of the biggest challenges to making the mass exodus to remote work were continuity of operations and security. The federal government can’t risk any gaps in operations or a lapse in security. Partners like LG Business Solutions (LGEUS) are among the many organizations that jumped into action to assist the federal government to help minimize disruptions in productivity and maintain their security mandates.

LG is by no means a newbie when it comes to providing hardware and electronics to the world. Established over 60 years ago, LG is considered one of the leading consumer electronics companies in the world. It aims to be the number one manufacturer of choice for government agencies and contract holders to deliver IT and AV solutions to meet strategic goals, budget performance, and mission-critical requirements. When it came to providing the US federal government with the capabilities it needed to make the large switch to working remotely, LG was ready with its secure supply chain of essential TAA-compliant hardware, including virtual desktops, ultra-wide displays and video conferencing solutions, to help the government meet the challenge successfully. “The pandemic has driven a more rapid shift to remote work for government agencies; manufacturers have a responsibility to make available the right technology for this unique remote workforce: technology that protects valuable data and assets without disrupting daily mission-critical communication,” says Victoria Sanville, National Sales Manager Government and Education.

LG’s strategy for the federal government is three-fold:

  • Enabling Collaboration and Connectivity
  • Creating Flexible Spaces and Optimizing Use of Space
  • Designing Resilient Solutions for Business Continuity

Enabling Collaboration and Connectivity

Being able to connect to any device from any location is intuitively the essence of being able to work remotely. LG provides products that suit safe and resilient government facilities, virtual training and meeting environments, command and control centers, secure on-site or WFH (work from home) environments. This spectrum of options allows for great connectivity and opens the door for collaboration, which is critical when working from various locations.

Creating Flexible Spaces and Optimizing Use of Space

Every organization and its needs are different. In addition, federal agencies require that every need is met while being done safely and securely. LG’s capabilities allow federal leaders to design their own spaces to help make sure that every agencies’ requirements are met.

“Two thirds of our focus for the federal government is our VDI (virtual desktop infrastructure) environment and our virtual training centers. We developed technology specifically for secure training rooms and meeting environments so that government employees and active military personnel can train and accomplish their missions from wherever they are,” explains Jennifer Eley, Senior Federal Channel Manager for LGEUS. “An example of this would be from our application of a virtual training center for United States Military Academy West Point. Cadets were able to take the same training in several different environments that would normally happen on a video wall but are now being done socially distanced.”

Another example of the flexible space options is command and control (the third core focus for LG’s government portfolio). Government officials can leverage secure hardware, such as LG’s latest line of 0.44mm even bezel video walls and LED signage technology, to provide centralized monitoring, command and control of any situation which can make or break a mission. LG also provides non-Wi-Fi displays approved for SCIF (Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility) use so it doesn’t limit how officials put these collaboration tools into play. LG’s hardware is secure and TAA compliant to make adoption seamless for government use.

Designing Resilient Solutions for Business Continuity

“The crucial piece of all this is having the flexibility to design the right solution for each federal customer,” says Sanville. “If you have tailored technology for accomplishing your unique mission and meeting business goals, it creates a fluidity of operational continuity, and in today’s environment of constant change because of the pandemic, this is absolutely imperative for the federal government to have.

“Business continuity is more than just hardware. We are very successful working with teammates such as Iron Bow, a strong deployment and integration partner. Their decades of technology expertise and helpdesk support is critical to ensuring the investment goes above and beyond the piece of equipment. Iron Bow’s capabilities help optimize our products with the critical installation and integration know-how to help ensure an enhanced user experience with our technology.”

In summary, all three of these offerings overlap from an application perspective. You need all three in order to allow the federal government to make the most out of this remote workforce and telework environment we find ourselves in today. Pairing LG’s robust portfolio of government-mandated secure products with Iron Bow’s decades of technology expertise and services, the federal government can now realize not only a successful remote work place but also an efficient way to accomplish their mission-critical actions.

*Originally posted on the Iron Bow TechSource Blog

How Technology Can Revolutionize Outcomes-Based Care, Part 3

How Technology Can Revolutionize Outcomes-Based Care, Part 3

 

By Tom Mottlau
Director of Healthcare and Emerging Markets
LG Business Solutions USA

When a healthcare provider has the right infrastructure in place and a network of smart TVs, securely integrated with electronic medical records (EMR) and other systems, the hospital TV solution can help deliver a variety of patient amenities in support of outcomes-based care. In Part 2 we detailed entertainment and education; today we’ll conclude with real-time communication, patient comfort, access to hospital services, and providing a holistic, digital patient experience.

Real-Time Communication — Because a smart, hospital room TV integrated with EMR and third-party systems may be able to be set up for the patient and why they’re in the hospital, it can provide a platform for ongoing communication. “While the patient is watching a show, information can overlay on top of the program, telling them, ‘It’s time to take your medication now. The nurse will be in shortly,’” explains GetWellNetwork’s Cavanaugh. “Or a message can appear saying, ‘You received pain meds a couple hours ago. How are you feeling now?’ and the TV prompts the patient to rate their pain through the system.” The goal is to better monitor a patient’s experience and take real-time action to help ensure their stay has a positive outcome.

Patient Comfort — Smart TVs and interactive patient systems may also be integrated with building management automation systems so patients can control their in-room environments — another way to help boost satisfaction and comfort. “We have environmental control interfaces that can allow the patients to control the temperature, shades and lighting of their environment,” says SONIFI Health’s Gruenwald. And, in the interest of mitigating light and noise issues which can be problematic for hospitals at night, smart TV systems may be able to turn themselves off when not being watched. “We have an app that runs every night during quiet times, sending a message out to the TV and asking (the patient) ‘The TV is on, are you still watching TV?’” explains pCare’s Cortina. “If they don’t answer, we turn the TV off automatically. If the TV remains on, we lower the volume to a specified maximum level for night time.”

Access to Hospital Services — Smart TVs running patient engagement software may be able to be programmed to accomplish a variety of tasks. “We have the ability to let patients order meals on-screen, tailored to their diets,” says Aceso’s Mathur. “Based on the EMR and dietary system, they only see on the smart TV a menu of items they can eat or drink.” And increasingly, in-room smart TVs can support virtual visits from hospital staff. “We’ve created a module (Tele-Nurse) within our interactive platform to provide on-demand virtual nurse sessions to a patient,” explains Hassan Sharif, Technology Director at Cary, North Carolina-based TeleHealth Services, which designs and installs hospital display systems and offers its TigrPX interactive patient platform. “That ability to interface with a healthcare provider from the TV is seen as very valuable, especially now during the COVID crisis.”

A Holistic, Digital Patient Experience — Patient experience solutions aren’t confined to in-room TVs. These platforms may also support content and communications on digital signage throughout a facility; on digital versions of the in-room white board, where patients and healthcare providers can easily post and update information about treatment; on small, electronic signs outside the room; and increasingly, on the mobile devices of patients and their family.

Technology providers continue to innovate patient experience delivery over these platforms, based largely on the goals of healthcare providers. MDM Healthcare, based in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, has taken its Journey PX patient experience solution and deployed it in a HIPPA-compliant cloud, offering hospitals a flexible way to build a system, especially if their budget and technology infrastructure are limited. “It’s important, especially with COVID-19, to be able to provide more content outside the hospital,” says Themis Koumoutseas, MDM Healthcare’s Vice President of Technical Operations. “With a solution like this, hospitals can help improve patient satisfaction and reduce readmissions.”

Every provider’s goals might be different, which is why all these solutions can be tailored to deliver the needed outcomes. A pervasive smart TV infrastructure helps make it possible. “We take all the feedback we get from the healthcare systems we work in and share them with our technology provider,” says GetWellNetwork’s Cavanaugh. GetWellNetwork, Aceso, MDM Healthcare, SONIFI Health, TeleHealth Services and TVR pCare are systems integration partners of LG Electronics USA, working collectively to help improve patient outcomes through greater engagement. “These hospitals are spending time and money to create an environment that is welcoming to healing, as well as aesthetically pleasing. The TV can be central to that effort.”

How Technology Can Revolutionize Outcomes-Based Care, Part 2

How Technology Can Revolutionize Outcomes-Based Care, Part 2

 

By Tom Mottlau
Director of Healthcare and Emerging Markets
LG Business Solutions USA

Hospital room TVs have become interactive portals during a patient’s stay, and smart TVs can support a variety of healthcare solutions.

Smart TVs combine a traditional TV display with a built-in computing device and network connection. “They help eliminate external TV components, so they’re easy to install in rooms,” says Dennis Mathur, Senior Vice President of Technology at Boston-based Aceso, developer of digital solutions for delivering personalized content and services to patients. “For installation, all that smart TVs need is a network connection and power. At the same time, many can integrate with important in-room devices, such as pillow speakers.”

Companies like Aceso, GetWellNetwork, MDM Healthcare, SONIFI Health, TeleHealth Services and TVR pCare have helped reinvent the patient experience using the tried-and-true television system as a healthcare portal. Their comprehensive offerings vary, but when a healthcare provider has the right information technology infrastructure in place and a network of smart TVs — securely integrated with electronic medical records (EMR) and other systems— each solution can help deliver a variety of patient amenities in support of outcomes-based care, including:

Entertainment — Today’s smart hospital TVs can deliver a variety of on-demand entertainment that people have come to expect at home, in hotels, and elsewhere, helping patients relax and potentially boosting satisfaction marks on HCAHPS surveys. And because they’re flexible, they can also support legacy entertainment systems. “If a facility only has a coax cable system, or a hybrid environment with both coax and IP, we can leverage technologies that predate smart TVs and bridge that gap between what the smart TV can do and what its predecessors were capable of,” says Bob Gruenwald, Director of Technical Operations at Los Angeles-based SONIFI Health.

Education — Because smart TVs are effectively internet devices, they’re able to reach back into hospital IT systems and software platforms to deliver educational content tailored to patients and their care plans. “Our solution is very data-driven,” says Mark Cortina, Chief Technology Officer of New York-based pCare, which offers a comprehensive interactive patient system. “By tying into the hospital systems, the pCare solution can see all the patient orders — pharmacy, radiology and others — and act intelligently. For example, as care is provided, an education intervention is triggered and content is automatically sent to the patient’s smart TV in real time.” After a patient watches suggested content, it can be automatically documented in their EMR. If they don’t watch, a message can appear on the TV encouraging the patient to take action.

There’s more to come. In the concluding Part 3 we’ll address how smart TVs can help boost patient satisfaction and comfort, provide access to hospital services and deliver a holistic, digital patient experience. See you then.

How Technology Can Revolutionize Outcomes-Based Care, Part 1

How Technology Can Revolutionize Outcomes-Based Care, Part 1

 

By Tom Mottlau
Director of Healthcare and Emerging Markets
LG Business Solutions USA

Sometimes, big changes in how we work and live are driven by technology. Think smartphones, for example. At other times, social change and technological innovation dovetail perfectly to help us reimagine what we do.

In healthcare, over the last decade, the focus on outcomes-based care has coincided perfectly with advances in network-based communication to open a new world of patient experience solutions that produce results for hospitals and the public. And with the coronavirus pandemic upending various aspects of healthcare delivery, this new breed of solutions, built on a foundation of secure, integrated networks and smart digital devices, can help healthcare providers meet the challenge.

“This idea of better providing services to patients, helping them stay informed and engaged during the course of their stay — educated about why they’re there, how they can get services and, ultimately, empowering them to be active participants in their care — has become the foundation of our software development,” explains Robin Cavanaugh, Chief Technology Officer at GetWellNetwork, a Bethesda, Maryland-based company that offers a family of solutions, including GetWell Inpatient, which creates personalized, digital workflows to engage patients in their care. “We’ve found innovative ways to deliver that experience on devices in the hospital environment.”

Chief among those devices is the in-room television. Along with the ubiquitous pillow speaker, the hospital TV tends to become the center of a patient’s world during a hospital stay. Until recently, the TV was a one-way entertainment medium. Today, it’s a smart, networked internet display capable of much more: entertainment, for sure, but also personalized education, information, interaction, and — increasingly — face-to-face communication.

“For so long, you’ve had this old TV mounted in the corner, offering little information and keeping patients somewhat disconnected from everything around them,” Cavanaugh says. “We’ve spent a lot of time trying to improve that experience, first by deploying capabilities in set-top boxes and now by aggressively integrating networked patient solutions into a new breed of smart TVs.”

Stay tuned. Next time we’ll detail a variety of personalized patient amenities that are supported by smart TVs in hospital rooms.

LG Business Solutions USA Joins IGEL Partner Certification Program for Cloud OS Product Integration, Validation

LG Business Solutions USA Joins IGEL Partner Certification Program  for Cloud OS Product Integration, Validation

 

LG Business Solutions USA has been named an IGEL Ready technology partner for IGEL, a leading provider of next-generation edge operating system technologies for cloud workspaces.

As part of the partnership, LG has joined the comprehensive IGEL Ready technology partner certification program. The program opens up IGEL’s core enterprise software for tech companies like LG to integrate and validate its products. As a result of LG’s participation in the IGEL Ready program, this spring many of LG’s All-in-One thin clients will be preloaded with IGEL OS for out-of-the box use by mutual customers.

According to IGEL, now more than ever, providing customers and their employees with reliable, frictionless access to tools, applications, and services is critical for businesses continuity and growth. The IGEL Ready program ensures that partner applications are validated and shared, and that their customers have access to updated and secure software. This new ecosystem enables customers to consider compatible devices and partner applications that address a myriad of end-to-end cloud workspace solutions across a range of categories in the customer-facing IGEL Ready Showcase.

The broad feature set of IGEL OS supports remote access and reliable multi-protocol connectivity to VDI environments and cloud workspaces including support for Citrix, VMware and Microsoft via the LG Electronics family of All-in-One thin client solutions. Through the IGEL Universal Management Suite (UMS) software, users of LG’s endpoint cloud displays will also benefit from a robust and secure standardized endpoint security and optimization system that enables the cost-effective management of any terminal device running the Linux-based IGEL OS.

IGEL’s software-defined endpoint management solutions are changing the way enterprises approach end-user computing. Partnering with IGEL supports LG’s rapidly expanding enterprise business, and LG Business Solutions looks forward to teaming with its channel partners to provide their end-user customers with an innovative, secure and high-performing endpoint computing experience.

For information on LG’s thin client displays, click here.