Ochsner Health saves $60M while boosting VDI performance 100%

Serving some of the most underserved communities in the U.S., Ochsner Health needed an IT foundation that could scale healthcare provision without adding cost or complexity. Working with Omnissa, Ochsner modernized end-user computing by moving from device-heavy endpoint management to centralized virtual desktops—doubling its VDI performance, strengthening security, and simplifying operations for thousands of users. The result is $60 million in projected savings over five years and a more resilient digital foundation that supports Ochsner’s evolving care models and enhances clinicians’ ability to deliver high‑quality care.

Bringing care to every community

Although Ochsner serves major cities such as New Orleans, Lafayette, and Shreveport, many surrounding communities are rural and historically underserved. These so-called “healthcare deserts” have contributed to outcomes below the national average in critical areas, including maternal health and cancer diagnoses. Addressing these disparities became a top priority for Ochsner’s leadership, and resulted in renewed focus on expanding access to care —particularly in rural and underserved communities—through digital innovation.

Scaling care across legacy systems

When Aaron Buck joined as CTO, his arrival allowed Ochsner to take a fresh look at its technology foundation. Buck immediately started a comprehensive review of Ochsner’s entire infrastructure. With a background in corporate IT rather than healthcare, Buck approached the review with a completely open mind: data centers, networking, and end-user computing all came under review. 

His assessment revealed an end-user computing model without a holistic approach. The company relied heavily on powerful physical devices to run critical workloads.  Despite operating at significant scale across hundreds of locations, device management was fragmented. IT teams relied on legacy, disconnected tools with limited visibility and control and which required significant hands-on management. As a result, they lacked a consistent way to track, secure, and manage devices at scale, increasing operational overhead and making it harder to enforce standard policies.

Ochsner did have some VDI workloads running in Azure, but the environment did not deliver the performance required. Across this fragmented environment, performance and user experience varied by device and location, making it more difficult for clinicians and staff to consistently access the apps essential to patient care and daily operations.

The model came with real resiliency risk. In a region frequently affected by hurricanes, endpoint-based compute coupled with a VDI architecture that was not optimized for recovery made it harder to guarantee continuity of care during outages or disruptions.

“We were very client-heavy, which resulted in extraordinarily high device costs,” Buck says. “But it also created operational strain and risk. To close healthcare gaps and prepare for the future, we needed a partner who could help us rethink how we deliver end-user computing at scale—one that was easier to manage, more consistent for users and more resilient by design.”

Transforming IT to empower clinicians

To support modernization at scale, Ochsner partnered with Omnissa on a unified VDI and endpoint management strategy. Through workshops, demonstrations, and proofs of concept, the teams aligned on a shared vision. “Once we met the Omnissa team and leadership, we decided that this was going to be a true partnership,” Buck says. 

Oschner deployed Omnissa Horizon® to move compute away from expensive endpoints and into a modern VDI environment. As part of this shift, Ochsner began transitioning toward thin client devices, reducing reliance on high-cost, high-maintenance hardware. The organization also repatriated VDI workloads from Azure to a modernized on-premises architecture designed for performance, scalability, and resilience. Clinicians quickly saw the difference through faster, more consistent access to the clinical apps they rely on throughout the day.

“Deploying Horizon has given our clinicians, frontline workers and administrative staff secure, role-appropriate access to desktops and apps from any location,” Buck says. “VDI performance has improved 100%, and the user experience is dramatically better as a result.”

Alongside this transformation, Ochsner implemented Omnissa Workspace ONE® UEM to help centralize inventory, gain granular visibility into device health, standardize delivery of approved apps, and enforce compliance across all locations.

By simplifying operations and reducing blind spots, Workspace ONE is helping Ochsner to strengthen security and consistency across its environment. “With Omnissa Workspace ONE, we have a better understanding of what devices exist, where they are, and what state they’re in. That level of visibility is critical for a large, geographically dispersed healthcare system like ours,” says Buck.

Better care, lower costs, stronger security

The impact of the transformation has been both financial and human.

“We expect to save approximately $60 million in end-user computing costs over five years by standardizing on thin clients and the Omnissa platform,” says Buck. “Those savings help us reinvest in technology that expands care access into healthcare deserts. We’ve also improved the experience for clinicians and seen greater productivity from the new setup.”

Centralizing compute and app delivery has also strengthened Ochsner’s cybersecurity by design, reducing reliance on distributed endpoints and limiting exposure of sensitive data. “Healthcare is the most targeted industry on the planet right now, so security had to be part of this transformation,” Buck says. With Workspace ONE UEM, Ochsner can now enforce consistent security policies without slowing clinicians down. 

The modernized strategy for digital workspaces enables new care models, including modular clinics in pharmacies and grocery stores, where remote consultations and faster interventions help close healthcare gaps. It also improved resilience in rural and disaster-prone areas, ensuring availability and continuity of care where it matters most.  

“The Omnissa platform directly supports better patient outcomes, and our infrastructure is more resilient so we can better serve rural and disaster-prone areas,” says Buck—for whom the project has been deeply personal. After decades in Fortune 100 companies focused on quarterly results, he now measures success by enabling doctors and nurses to deliver better patient outcomes. 

“Working with Omnissa goes beyond IT modernization. It helps us get care to people who need it most, and that has a real impact on lives,” he says.

A foundation for AI-enhanced care

Although Ochsner has not yet deployed AI at scale, the organization is laying the groundwork for responsible adoption in the future. Modernizing its digital workspaces, standardizing access, and improving performance and resiliency sets the stage for autonomous workspaces and AI-enabled capabilities as they mature within healthcare. 

“This transformation prepares us for what’s next,” Buck says. “Omnissa is helping us build an environment that’s secure, resilient, and ready for the future of healthcare.”