Microsoft’s Proposed Acquisition of Sentillion to Enhance Healthcare Connectivity
December 12, 2009
Microsoft Corporation has expressed its intention to acquire Sentillion Inc., in order to facilitate caregivers with the ease in delivering quality care through the combined offerings of Microsoft Amalga Unified Intelligence System (UIS) and Sentillion’s products. The merged expertise is likely to empower caregivers with streamlined access to discrete IT systems and patient information. The terms of the deal were undisclosed, and the acquisition is expected to close early in 2010.
With Microsoft planning to direct its resources towards the long-term development of the merged healthcare product portfolio, the agreement will see Sentillion continue to support and market its products to present and prospective clients from its Andover, MA-based corporate headquarters. Through the acquisition of Sentillion, Microsoft hopes to augment and accelerate its impact in health IT as well as global health.
Focused on improving care through its portfolio of healthcare solutions and services, Sentillion has been equipping the healthcare industry, since 1998, with identity and access management (IAM) technology. The company facilitates over 500,000 healthcare professionals in more than 1,000 hospitals, and hospital IT organizations across Europe and the North America, with the ability to incorporate and control disparate computerized automation into an interconnected workflow, which is safe, secure and protects patient privacy. In order to address the industry demands, the privately held company has adopted the strategic approach of combining healthcare industry insights with its patented technology, to deliver a comprehensive portfolio of solutions specific to clinical workstations, identity management, advanced authentication, sign-on, and desktop virtualization.
On entering into the merger-acquisition agreement with Microsoft, Sentillion’s CEO, Robert Seliger states that the company looks forward to further build on its strong foundation of product development and marketing, customer relationships, and excellence in execution. He continues to state that Microsoft proves to be the best partner in supporting its goal of enhancing healthcare and the worldwide resources, as well as Sentillion’s global expansion plan.
Microsoft intends on combining Sentillion’s single sign-on and context management technologies with its Amalga UIS, a real-time data accumulation solution. Employed in over 115 hospitals, the Amalga UIS helps integrate large volumes of administrative, financial, and clinical data from islands of information systems, and customizes it for use by analysts, laboratory technicians, and administrators, apart from nurses and physicians.
Peter Neupert, corporate vice president, Microsoft Health Solutions Group, considers the products and strategies of the two companies to be a “natural fit”, as they both visualize the enabling of a connected healthcare system backed by uninterrupted and rapid flow of data. He also believes that the provision of streamlined access to multiple applications in a hospital will augment the roles executed by physicians and nurses with better effectiveness, insight and speed.
Microsoft caters to the challenges faced by payers, providers, and consumers, as well as global social services, healthcare, and life sciences organizations. Working in close collaboration with its industry partners, the leading software and services company is working towards the realization of making unified health information readily available. Two such endeavors include the Amalga™ family of enterprise health solutions and the HealthVault™ patient health record (PHR).
Microsoft’s commitment towards global healthcare can be illustrated by its delivery of software innovation and its increased investments in the industry for over the last 12 years; the current acquisition being one of them. Some of the other recent investments, in the form of mergers, product launches, and partnerships, are depicted in the table below.
|
Strategic Move |
Year |
Product/Partner/Aquiree |
Details |
| Merger-Acquisition |
2006 |
Azyxxi™ |
The health intelligence software was acquired through an agreement with MedStar Health and Washington Hospital Center. |
|
2007 |
Medstory Inc. |
The acquisition of the privately held developer of healthcare intelligent Web search technology, marked Microsoft’s move into the consumer health search environment. |
|
|
2007 |
Global Care Solutions (GCS) Assets |
Assets such as software and innovative healthcare technologies were acquired with the interest of fortifying patient safety and workflow offering for the international hospital market. |
|
| Product Launch |
2007 |
HealthVault |
The PHR was launched as a software and services platform to collect, store and share patient health information. |
|
2007 |
Connected Health Framework Architecture and Design Blueprint |
The architectural foundation was introduced to help healthcare organizations in achieving solution interoperability and integration. |
|
|
2008 |
Amalga Family of Health Enterprise System |
The Amalga product portfolio includes clinical, operational and financial health information system solutions. |
|
| Alliances |
2008 |
SAP America Inc. |
The two companies signed a joint marketing agreement to cater to the industry’s cost and operational efficiency needs. |
|
2008 |
RelayHealth Corporation |
The alliance with McKesson’s Web-based healthcare communication division was inked to enhance online patient-physician interactions. |
|
|
2008 |
AT&T Inc. and Covisint |
The three IT giants signed a collaborative agreement for a national level health information exchange initiative. |
|
|
2009 |
Mayo Clinic |
Through a partnership with Mayo Clinic, Microsoft took the concept of the traditional PHR a step forward with the launch of Mayo Clinic Health Manager. |
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