Don't believe this has anything to do with Azure. What they intended to do was outlined in the Master Agreement entered into with NovaRad:
Sphere 3D and Novarad Enter Into Master Purchase Agreement to Deliver Virtualization Capabilities to 400 Healthcare Facilities
Agreement to Refresh Radiology Workstations Through the Deployment of Virtualization Technologies Will Allow for Enhanced Clinical Workflow to Empower Better Patient Care
SAN JOSE, Calif., May 13, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sphere 3D Corp. (Nasdaq:ANY), creator of the Glassware 2.0® container technology for application delivery, today announced it has signed a Master Purchase Agreement for virtualization products and related services with Novarad. This new agreement is in addition to the current agreement between the two companies.
Under the terms of the agreement, Sphere 3D and Novarad will establish a rolling 90 day schedule for refreshing healthcare facilities with virtualization technology throughout the United States. It is anticipated that the first sites will be implemented in the third quarter of 2015. The solutions to be rolled out will be configured to address the specific needs of each facility, and will include a combination of virtualization technologies including the award-winning V3 hyper-converged platform, Glassware 2.0, and SnapScale® and SnapServer® lines of storage products.
"This agreement is the largest multisite supply agreement we have entered into that leverages the advantages of our vertically integrated stack of virtualization and storage technologies," said Eric Kelly, CEO, Sphere 3D Corp. "We value our long-standing relationship with Novarad, and we look forward to contributing to their success as they implement new healthcare solutions for their customers."
Healthcare IT needs for enhanced security, coupled with demands for anywhere, anytime access to patient data, have challenged conventional workstation deployment models. Virtualization has been gaining traction in healthcare facilities, including hospitals and clinics, primarily as a result of its ability to meet these demands head on and to deliver increased accessibility to actionable data.
"We initially envisioned NovaGlass as a solution that will leverage our PACS and RIS solutions to give users access to full imaging features from additional endpoints. However, over the last 12 months, it has evolved to significantly more," said Tim Law, President, Novarad. "Today, having worked closely with the team at Sphere 3D and spent time canvassing our customers, we see NovaGlass as a platform that enhances clinical workflow and can increase our ability to positively impact patient outcomes."
The use of hyper-converged infrastructure to deliver virtual desktops and applications provides healthcare IT departments with a simple and predictable approach to adopting virtual workspaces. The use of virtual workspaces within healthcare settings allows IT to keep data in the data center and off the end user devices. This approach not only provides for greater data control and security, but improves clinical workflow, enhances accessibility to that workflow and reduces the cost of replacing dedicated workstations. In addition, it is designed to enable IT departments to reduce costs and complexity associated with maintaining patches, versioning and updating of software across their organization.
