Enabling Washington Health Benefit Exchange’s transition involved setting some initial objectives. First, it had to simplify its operations so its IT platform could handle automated processes while integrating with other partners using different types of protocols. It also needed the capability to handle sharp increases in volume without compromising performance while meeting tight budgetary constraints.
The Exchange worked closely with Deloitte and Red Hat Consulting to help deploy its new platform together with Red Hat Integration – a set of agile, flexible technologies for application programming interface (API) connectivity and management with real-time messaging to integrate existing and new applications, data, processes, and policies. Red Hat products aligned its solutions to the business and technical challenges the Exchange faced and provided access to a suite of other open source products. They also ensured availability on and compatibility with Azure Government cloud.
The Exchange also engaged Red Hat Training to build the skills required for transitioning to Red Hat OpenShift containers from traditional bare-metal servers. Red Hat Training provided critical support for the installation of OpenShift products so that teams who were new to containers were able to quickly learn the basics and best practices for day-to-day operations.
The legacy software used previously by the Exchange was proprietary, so getting training and support presented a challenge. With Red Hat’s solutions, training, and support, the Exchange’s IT staff can keep the Healthplanfinder portal up and running so residents can sign up, check their premiums, and get the support they need.