Major Czech hospital achieved NIS2 readiness with ALVAO

About the organization

FN Brno is one of the largest hospitals in the Czech Republic. It operates dozens of specialized workplaces that provide unique medical care throughout the entire republic's healthcare system and in many areas rank among the top European institutions. 

Challenges  

The hospital’s asset and software inventory was scattered across multiple spreadsheets and partially stored in the ERP system. The existing request management tool was outdated and confusing for users, leading to delays, errors, and unnecessary administration.

“We lacked a single point of contact, our asset inventory wasn’t sufficient, and communication across departments was difficult," reflects Marian Cihon, Cybersecurity specialist.

Solution

Maintaining clear asset inventory across distributed locations 

One of the first steps in implementing ALVAO Asset Management was the asset tagging (pasportization) of the hospital's intricate structure, which includes buildings, floors, specific rooms, and entire campuses. Thanks to the support for different data formats, the IT team was able to quickly import over 30,000 different objects into the inventory, which, besides locations, included medical technology and key infrastructure elements. Integration with Entra ID makes it easy to manage more than 8,000 employees and external workers. 

“Instead of thousands of confusing spreadsheets, we now have everything unified in one place," says Marian Cihon, Cybersecurity specialist.

Consolidated view of software products and licenses

The hospital’s daily operations rely on hundreds of IT systems that IT must manage and keep inventory of. ALVAO consolidated software and license management so IT always has an up-to-date view of installations, versions, and approved applications. This makes it easier to respond quickly to new vulnerabilities or risks. 

"We often get alerts from CESNET about software vulnerabilities. ALVAO gives us an immediate overview so we can quickly check if we’re affected," explains Marian Cihon, Cybersecurity specialist.

Real-time network data through SCCM integration 

Although ALVAO offers its own network agent, FN Brno chose to integrate with its existing System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM). Infrastructure data syncs into ALVAO automatically, eliminating manual updates and ensuring accuracy. 

Managing compliance with new cybersecurity legislation  

The organization falls under the strictest requirements of the new security directive, which is why ensuring compliance with the new security legislation was one of the main goals when introducing the new system. This includes: 

• Inventory of primary and supporting assets: All key systems, infrastructure components, and their relationships are recorded, including risk parameters such as vulnerability levels, severity and asset value. 

“Under the new legislation, ALVAO has made managing supporting assets, such as medical technology, IT infrastructure, equipment and information systems, much easier," notes Marian Cihon, Cybersecurity specialist.

• Roles and responsibilities: Security roles (primary asset guarantor, supporting asset guarantor, technical guarantor, administrator, etc.) are recorded for assets using links to users, which is crucial for access and responsibility management. 
• Supplier management: The hospital works with dozens of IT vendors. ALVAO centralizes supplier details, contracts, SLAs, and automates processes like NDA renewals 
• Full auditability: Every change, incident, and approved request is automatically logged with timestamps. 

The centralized asset inventory also supported the creation of new technical documentation, which is now directly linked to the particular assets. During outages or incidents, staff no longer need to search for information because everything is in one place. 

“ALVAO has also significantly improved how we assign and track security roles, as the legislation requires," says Marian Cihon, Cybersecurity specialist.

Single point of contact for the entire hospital  

The hospital relies on ALVAO Service Desk for managing dozens of services and processes. Thanks to its intuitive interface, it is no longer just an IT tool. Today, users can find services for purchasing, finance, and communication with suppliers in the service catalog – all clearly and simply. The mobile application also allows issues to be resolved from anywhere. This includes: 

• Service catalog: The intuitive and easily customizable service catalog contains dozens of services for various departments and agendas. Simple operation also ensures that each department can manage its own services without IT assistance. 
• Custom forms: Service managers can easily create their own forms for services with various types of fields and information – all without the need for any programming. 
• Workflow automation: The system unified processes across departments and streamlined approvals. Requests are automatically routed to specific teams or support agents, so requesters are assured that nothing gets lost and everything is handled in a standard manner. 
• SLA: Each service has a clearly defined resolution deadline. Users always know exactly when their request will be resolved, and the solver team immediately knows what to prioritize. 
• Integration with security tools: Tools like Bitdefender, Zabbix, and Greenbone automatically create incidents linked to the affected assets. 
• Current news: Every outage, construction modification, or change is reported not only via email but also directly in the service desk interface. This prevents users from unnecessarily creating requests for known problems. 

“ALVAO is fast, clear, and user-friendly. Compared to our previous system, it’s a much better experience," comments Ondrej Machac, IT administrator.

Summary  

By implementing ALVAO, FN Brno has gained a centralized platform for service management, asset inventory, and cybersecurity operations. IT and other departments now work more efficiently with standardized, auditable processes, and the organization is well-prepared for NIS2 compliance. ALVAO has become a critical system for both daily operations and long-term security management.

"ALVAO has unequivocally become a key system for the university hospital, covering both the Service Desk and Asset Management,” says Marian Cihon, Cybersecurity specialist. 

Interested in how ALVAO can transform your hospital's operations? Schedule a demo with us today.

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