Customer stories

Securing Sensitive Health Data for Southern Nevada Health District

Industry

Healthcare

Employees

800

Use Case

Healthcare data, 365 Governance

The challenge

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the agency faced unprecedented demands and were processing thousands of tests daily — all while having to protect massive amounts of healthcare-related data

As the leading public health agency in the Las Vegas area, the Southern Nevada Health District (SNHD) manages a wide range of critical services, including restaurant and hotel inspections, primary care, and regulatory public health actions. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the agency faced unprecedented demands and were processing thousands of tests daily — all while having to protect massive amounts of healthcare-related data, including PHI (protected health information) and PII (personally identifiable information).

Before deploying Concentric AI, SNHD relied on a competitor’s solution for data classification and security. While that platform provided basic visibility, it fell short in several areas:

Limited insights into sensitive data stored in shared drives and cloud environments
Inability to identify inappropriate access to sensitive data
Resource-heavy deployment requiring multiple servers and significant staff oversight
Lack of flexibility to adapt to new challenges, such as Microsoft 365 governance

The solution

SNHD approached Concentric AI because it needed a more agile and effective approach to data security

During the proof of concept (POC) phase, Concentric AI immediately identified significant risks, including unprotected PHI and PII in shared drives.

This initial success in the POC led to a full deployment that addressed SNHD’s unique needs:

Accurate discovery of sensitive data: Concentric AI’s advanced scanning capabilities provided visibility into data across on-premise servers, SharePoint, and Teams. The solution identifies sensitive data locations and access points, many of which were previously unknown or not visible.

Better data classification: Concentric AI autonomous categorization allowed SNHD to tag sensitive data accurately and streamline data governance processes.

Microsoft 365 governance: With granular permission analysis, SNHD gained better control over end-user sharing in Office 365, preventing unauthorized access to sensitive information.

Future-ready governance: SNHD is now better positioned to deploy tools like Microsoft Copilot, having established a solid foundation of access governance and data security.

From the customer

"We started seeing value in the product even during the proof of concept. It identified a lot of areas where we had sensitive data that we didn’t even know about. That was a huge eye-opener for us, and it really helped us clean up and secure our environment. Concentric AI is a more specialized tool compared to Varonis, and what Concentric AI does, it does better."

Jason Frame

Chief Information Officer, Southern Nevada Health District

Results

01

Robust security posture

The ability to discover and remediate any inappropriate access permissions significantly reduced the risk of data breaches.

02

Reduced overhead

Time spent on data classification and governance tasks decreased by over 75%*, enabling the small IT team to focus on strategic initiatives.

03

Easy deployment and resource optimization

The streamlined deployment saved costs on hardware and staffing, freeing up resources for other critical projects and reduced the number of dedicated servers from six to one.

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