Catching up with Keystone Technologies

Inspired by CEO Eric Humes’ experience helping his mother carry paper medical records to all of her doctor appointments a few decades ago, Keystone Technologies was born out of the need to solve healthcare’s interoperability problems. Today, 300+ electronic medical record systems (EMRs) store important medical information in unique and secure ways. Additionally, there are many separate systems that store health information such as prescriptions or images for X-rays and MRIs. To obtain a holistic view of a patient, the challenge is gathering all that data from multiple systems and data silos in a HIPAA-compliant manner.

Growing with Ingram Micro Cloud

To meet this challenge, Keystone Technologies architected, developed and hosted their own cloud infrastructure based on best-in-class technologies in 2009. As a small business, however, they struggled with the cost of maintaining their own data center and storage capacity upgrades.

“I'll never forget the day when Amazon Web Services (AWS) started embracing HIPAA,” said Humes. “And thank goodness because we had identified AWS as a superior cloud technology. The next challenge was trying to understand the AWS world in all its complexity, as it was an enormous, fast-growing company that was innovating on technologies faster than most other companies could keep up with.”

Last fall, Humes and his team met with Ingram Micro Cloud. Recognizing Keystone Technologies’ depth of expertise in the healthcare industry was the spark that led to a very successful partnership.

Partnering for Growth

“When we made the decision to partner with Ingram Micro Cloud, our growth accelerated,” said Humes. “I think the Ingram Micro Cloud team (Jason Singer, Mike Clark and Lisa Varela-Schutes) recognized our depth of talent and introduced us to people and in meetings with specific executive leadership at AWS. I can't thank Ingram Micro Cloud enough for not only helping to open those doors, but also plugging us into the executive leadership at AWS.”

For Humes, the core of success begins with having hope. Challenges are guaranteed to come your way, but with the right partnership, you can continue to push the limits of innovation.

“If you're a company trying to find your way, don't be afraid to take risks and never lose hope,” he said. “There are individuals around you who will go out of their way to help you. Be candid. Be honest about your failures and never be afraid to admit when you've failed or when you've got a particular challenge.”

The ability to be open and honest about challenges allows all parties in the partnership to continually build trust, as well as help solve problems through a larger community. These relationships help everyone increase the exponential effects of their businesses with their customers.

Achieving Success

“It’s been a whirlwind,” said Humes. “Starting in 2018, Keystone's partnership with AWS has resulted in a 400% increase in Keystone's cloud-based revenue. Since partnering with Ingram Micro Cloud, Keystone’s cloud-based revenue has grown an additional 120% in the last 12 months.”

Through our partnership, Keystone Technologies has seen rapid growth in their business. They attended our annual channel event of the year, Cloud Summit 2022, where AWS Vice President of Worldwide Channels & Alliances, Ruba Borno, highlighted their impact within the healthcare industry. As early as 2015, Keystone Technologies had already been recognized as the third fastest growing company across all industries in St. Louis by the St. Louis Business Journal.

Keystone Technologies continues to enhance patient care through innovative technology solutions. As the healthcare environment embraces the power of technology and change, we are proud to stand by their side and push the future of healthcare modernization, together.