St. Anna Children’s Cancer Research Institute Protects Their Sensitive Patient Data

Customer overview

The St. Anna Children’s Cancer Research Institute (CCRI) is one of Europe’s leading centers for research into children’s cancer. Using the latest technologies, interdisciplinary research groups seek to improve the treatment quality and chances of recovery of children with cancer. The research institute, founded in 1985, is based in Vienna.

The team of the St. Anna Children’s Cancer Research Institute consists of researchers dedicated to combating children’s cancer. They all put their heart and soul into their research, sometimes working from home and on weekends. According to Dominik Achleitner, Head of IT & Digital Transformation at the St. Anna Children’s Cancer Research Institute, that was one of the chief challenges:

“In the field of research, people are active and travel a lot – they fly to conferences, give presentations, or have meetings in person to exchange ideas with other oncology specialists. They’re in contact with a lot of tools and platforms. As a result, researchers have a long list of passwords,“ explains Achleitner.

Ingomar Schmickl, IT manager at the St. Anna Children’s Cancer Research Institute, confirmed this. He sees the issue as even farther-reaching: “A further challenge for us was the topic of data security and how to ensure it.”

“Our staff use not only their company laptops, but also their private devices. In some cases our researchers are working with sensitive patient data – of course we don’t want staff running around with their passwords stored in their browser or, even worse, leaving their laptop open somewhere.“ The two IT experts knew it was time to take action. Achleitner and Schmickl were looking for a tool to ease the day-to-day work of their colleagues. They also wanted to raise the researchers’ awareness of the topic of security.

The solution: a password management tool. The clear choice was the LastPass Business identity and password management solution.

Solution

LastPass Business ushered in a new era of data security for the St. Anna Children’s Cancer Research Institute. IT manager Schmickl wanted a web-based tool that was still secure. “That combination was extremely important to us because the researchers work not only in the office but also at home – that’s something that we can’t and don’t want to prevent.”

“If a researcher has a groundbreaking idea on a Saturday, you don’t want to put obstacles in their way by saying: ‘Now you have to travel to the office and log into your computer.’ They can just note down everything – digitally and securely!”

“Thanks to LastPass security has increased overall,“ confirms IT expert Achleitner. “Security always requires resources and effort. LastPass relieves us of a great deal of the burden,“ he notes. The St. Anna Children’s Cancer Research Institute can now work more securely and more conveniently – especially for to its IT team. “The integration of LastPass didn’t place an additional burden on our help desk,“ says Achleitner with satisfaction. “On the contrary, we had significantly fewer queries.”

That does not surprise Ingomar Schmickl. The IT manager explains that usability is a powerful point of LastPass: “A system is only adopted by staff if it can be used quickly and easily. That is definitely the case with LastPass. The tool can be integrated across platforms and has been well accepted even by staff who are not well versed in technology.”

Achleitner sums up the advantages of LastPass: “In essence, LastPass means we have a password management tool that works, can be well integrated, and is easy to use. What more can you want?”

While LastPass is user-friendly, support and service were always critical factors for the two IT managers. In every respect, they were impressed by LastPass, in collaboration with Colited Management Consultancy. “We actively got in touch with LastPass to make inquires and had a very positive impression right from the start – they were very pleasant, capable and not pushy at all. Ultimately it’s about people working together – even the best tool in the world is of no use to me if I have to deal with unpleasant sales staff.”

In essence, LastPass means we have a password management tool that works, can be well integrated, and is easy to use. What more can you want? Head of IT & Digital Transformation, St. Anna Children’s Cancer Research Institute

Results

Thanks to LastPass, the researchers can fully concentrate on their primary task: investigating the causes of cancer in children to markedly improve diagnostics, treatment, and the chances of survival. LastPass brings the staff greater convenience and flexibility – without jeopardizing the cybersecurity of the research institute. “Since our researchers also work remotely, LastPass gives them the flexibility that they need. The staff can use the tool both for their work and privately,” concludes Achleitner.

By integrating LastPass, the St. Anna Children’s Cancer Research Institute successfully accelerated its leap into the digital and secure Working World 2.0.