FAQ
1. Are you related to ThinIdentity?
We are the company formerly known as ThinIdentity. We changed our name after making some very robust changes to our product offering.
2. Do you only work on thin clients?
No. Aventura works with any PC, laptop, or thin client that runs on XP, Windows 7, XPE or Windows Embedded Standard. We are in the process of adding additional platforms that we will support. Contact Internal_Sales@aventurahq.com to find out what other platforms we will be supporting in the near future.
3. What EMRs do you work with?
We’ll work with whatever you’ve got.
4. What back-end desktop virtualization software do you support?
We support Citrix XenApp, Citrix XenDesktop, VMware View and Terminal Services.
5. How is this different from what I can get from Citrix or VMware?
Citrix, VMware (and Microsoft) deliver the actual virtualization of the desktop and applications. Aventura lives between these technologies and the end user access devices to make your EMR perform for clinicians. The Aventura Architecture works with everything you have to deliver near-instant logins, immediate logouts, reliable printing for clinicians and dynamic computing capabilities–all pieces critical to the clinician experience and not available through existing desktop virtualization architectures.
6. How do I manage this desktop architecture?
From the Aventura Control Tower (management console), IT administrators can configure, monitor and manage the entire Aventura infrastructure from a single screen.
7. Do I have to use smart cards?
Aventura supports smart cards, proximity cards, and keyboard authentication (smart card and proximity card management software is built into our product). However, we’ll work with you to integrate the authentication method of your choice–including biometrics. The Aventura Architecture even allows for authenticating the same desktop session with multiple methods as a clinician moves through the hospital.
8. What is your sales/evaluation process?
Because we only work with hospitals, we’re in a unique position to guide you through the entire process. We make it easy for you to see Aventura in action, get doctors and nurses on board, evaluate the financial benefits and tailor the right pilots that work for your hospital.
9. What is the difference between a “static” and “dynamic” desktop?
A traditional (or “static”) desktop was never designed for workplaces like hospitals, where people are always moving and need different features, applications and policies depending on where they go. Aventura was designed to close the gap. Now your desktops are dynamic: depending on where they are and who is using them, they are always updated with the right policies, printers, access to applications, screen resolution and other requirements.
10. Near-Instant logins every time? OK, how is this even possible?
Aventura manages 100% of the process and systems that move your desktop session between end-user terminals, including session authentication, security, brokering and the application of dynamic policies and rules. Because we have this architecture, we’ve been able to design a solution from the ground up that delivers optimum performance, every step of the way.
11. Do you support dual-factor authentication?
Absolutely. We make it easy and fast to do dual-factor authentication from any desktop.
12. How does your solution handle logouts?
Using either a smart card or proximity card to tap out, logouts are instantaneous–no more security risks when clinicians rely on “time outs” to log out. When a session is logged out, the desktop session and corresponding applications are locked on a server and the session ceases to exist on the terminal the clinician was using.
13. What if a provider loses or forgets his or her smart card?
No problem. If a provider forgets their card, IT can quickly issue a temporary card for the day. If a provider loses their smart card, IT can quickly de-activate the lost card from the system and create a new card for that user. Losing a card doesn’t pose a security risk since someone would need to know the password or pin associated with that card to access the system.
14. We already have a single sign-on solution to reduce login times. Why do I need Aventura?
Single sign-on solutions help to re-launch applications when a clinician moves from one terminal to another. However, this process normally takes 30 to 60 seconds–way too long for any clinicians we know. Aventura’s Real-Time Mobility enables consistent near-instant logins and immediate logouts for any desktop, anywhere in the hospital.
15. We are currently testing a virtual desktop solution. Should we wait until we have completed the test run before taking a look at your technology?
Actually – this is a great time to get Aventura involved. The promise of a virtual desktop solution is that it’s going to improve patient care, be easy to manage and save you money. From our experience, the technology doesn’t deliver on its promise because it isn’t designed for the way clinicians work– access speed isn’t fast enough, context sensitivity isn’t smart enough and printing is still a nightmare. Aventura fixes these problems to transform your desktop virtualization solution into a usable and powerful piece of technology.
16. What if my doctors want to access their desktop from home?
No problem. Your IT department can work with your doctors to quickly install the AV Client on their home computers. Then through a secure VPN and the AV Client, the doctors will be able to access their desktop and applications from their home computer. When the AV Session Manager recognizes that someone is accessing their desktop and applications from an offsite computer, it will apply any rules that you create, for example, ensuring doctors cannot print out any patient information from home.
17. Can you enable smooth-roaming to iPads and other mobile devices?
Not yet, but we’re working on making it happen in a secure fashion.
18. What is Aventura’s approach to security?
Aventura uses a combination of hardware and software identifiers to create one of the most secure solutions in the industry today. Each terminal or device you designate is certified as an access point. When a user initiates a session using dual-factor authentication, all desktop traffic is protected to and from the server using certificates, thus preventing middleman attacks.
19. We are currently upgrading our EMR – doesn’t it make more sense to look at implementing your solution after we have completed this step?
No. Getting us involved early means your hospital will have a centralized, standardized desktop architecture that makes it easier to roll out new applications. Doctors and nurses will be more likely to begin using new applications when they can log in and out in a flash.