Healthcare system modernizes network & security architecture

Background

A combined research and medical organization runs a main campus network alongside research facilities and satellite campuses. The infrastructure predated current cybersecurity standards, and clinical, research, and IoT devices all shared it with no policy separating them.

Challenges

• Aging infrastructure — the network no longer met current cybersecurity standards.
• No flexibility or mobility — staff could not move between the campus network, research facilities, and satellite campuses.
• IoT, BYOD, and guest access were under-secured — unmanaged devices landed on the same network as everything else.
• Declining trust in IT — recurring network access difficulties eroded staff confidence.
• No visibility — from users through to IoT devices, which made reacting to network issues slow and manual.

Solution

• 100 Gbps campus-wide fabric with Cisco Software-Defined Access and automated segmentation.
• Central policy management with Cisco ISE, with group policy enforced through Cisco Catalyst Center and ISE together.
• Cisco Secure Firewall for perimeter and inter-zone enforcement.
• A single management console in Catalyst Center, replacing per-domain tooling.
• Standardized infrastructure and security controls to best practice, so the estate stays consistent as it grows.

Outcomes

• Macro and micro segmentation in production — policy now follows identity, not cabling.
• Wi-Fi access improved across four large campus facilities, with consistent and reliable access to digital resources.
• Proactive monitoring replaced reactive troubleshooting, restoring confidence in the network.
• IoT and unmanaged devices integrated and segmented rather than tolerated.
• Workplace zero trust — the environment is future-proofed and the existing infrastructure was optimized rather than replaced wholesale.