Hamad Medical Corporation uses Microsoft Sentinel as part of its commitment to patient safety

Managing 15 world-class hospitals in Qatar, Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) provides safe and effective care to its patients. Ahead of the anticipated event season in Qatar, the leading healthcare provider lacked executive-level cybersecurity visibility. HMC started to use Microsoft Sentinel, a scalable, cloud-native solution for threat detection, visibility, and proactive response. The team also natively incorporated Log Analytics, a tool for interactively analyzing patterns, identifying trends, and generating insights from raw data.

Today, HMC provides executives and department heads with 24/7 updates and visibility over cybersecurity. “Microsoft’s cutting-edge cloud technologies help us automate threat mitigation. We've seen an increase in proactive cybersecurity responses,” says Ahmed Samy, Director of Operations at HICT - HMC.

With a more intuitive platform and easier access, HMC has also lightened the load on its employees. “Our supporting staff can now access information quicker,” said Richard Storey, Executive Director/ Acting Chief of Health Information and Communication Technology at HMC. “Now that our team can spend significantly less time creating reports or gathering information, they can focus on other activities that help HMC achieve its mission. Our employees are excited to learn more about how to maximize the benefits of the solution.”

A complex challenge, a dedicated team

Anticipating peak demand during the World Cup 2022 season, HMC needed a strong, reliable partner to quickly and efficiently deploy the solution. “Microsoft stood out as not just a technology provider but also a partner of the Qatari government, and we were pleased to be able to leverage this relationship and ensure that our needs were met,” recalls Ahmed Samy. “We also had very clear requirements and Microsoft Sentinel ticked all the boxes. Due to the time constraints, we needed a partner who would be able to step up. We knew that Microsoft’s local team was available to provide support on the ground in a timely manner. Given the evolving healthcare landscape, this was also an immense long-term benefit.”

Microsoft, together with partner Mannai, deployed a dedicated team to implement Sentinel on selected critical devices across the organization, taking into account all the necessary customizations. With daily meetings, nonstop collaboration, and a determination to ensure the safety of thousands of patients, Sentinel was up and running in one month, with over 291 devices sending logs for analysis and threat mitigation. “Because of the scale, the project was split into phases,” explains Richard Storey. “With a project of this scale, the implementation was bound to be challenging, but with the right team in place, we were able to overcome the challenges and close the first phase successfully.”

The next phase entails onboarding even more devices onto Sentinel for broader visibility. This includes medical devices, the safeguarding of which could reduce the risk of mortality. “This is a new experience for the whole team,” concludes Ahmed Samy. “Seeing the outcomes of the first phase gives us a lot of confidence in what can be achieved moving forward. HMC and Microsoft are learning every day from each other—just as you would expect from a strong partnership.”