How Extreme Fabric Helps HMC Standardize and Scale Hospital Networks

Haaglanden Medisch Centrum (HMC) is a hospital group in the Haaglanden region of the Netherlands with over 4,500 employees across three sites: Westeinde Hospital, Bronovo Hospital and Antoniushove. The organization was brought together as a single group around ten years ago, but day-to-day IT remains challenging: three sites with their own dynamics, supported by one IT team tasked with safeguarding network continuity and security.

By moving to Extreme Fabric, HMC is building one consistent network foundation across the three environments, making operations and changes more predictable and enabling the network to scale with the ongoing digitalization of healthcare. “Infrastructure is the common factor for us, because if you want to digitalize, the foundation has to be right,” says Ron Herman, Coordinator for the Server, Storage and Network staff cluster at HMC. HMC’s digital ambitions are significant, with programs focused on modernizing buildings and expanding IoT and smart hospital capabilities. “That puts extra pressure on infrastructure, because the network has to be future proof and manageable,” Herman adds.

HMC operates two data centers and deliberately continues to host many systems on premises, in part because of its critical role in regional acute care. Against that background, HMC chose Extreme Fabric as its target network architecture. On 1 February 2026, the new core and data center networks were put into production as the first major milestone. The migration covers HMC’s entire fixed network infrastructure: both data centers, the DWDM rings, and the complete Core, Distribution and Access networks across all three sites. Replacing network authentication is also within scope, for both wired and wireless networks.

“We were looking for a solution that is fit for the future, but that you can also apply in day-to-day operations,” says Herman. “It can’t depend on one or two people who know everything.”

For Extreme Networks, this is exactly the kind of environment where the fabric approach is designed to add value. Paulo Ferrada, Senior Account Executive at Extreme Networks, explains: “In a hospital, it’s all about continuity. Extreme Fabric helps HMC reduce complexity and make management more predictable, with a strong focus on availability.”

According to Herman, the trigger for the renewal was a combination of end-of-life equipment and the need for a future proof foundation. “In the existing situation, the network had become complex, which made changes difficult to execute and quickly required a lot of resources and, above all, time. That doesn’t fit a hospital environment where changes can come unexpectedly and need to be implemented quickly.”

He adds that it was becoming increasingly difficult to properly assess the impact and potential consequences of vulnerabilities. “With cyber threats increasing, we had more work to do in investigating risks and implementing appropriate measures. Network expertise is scarce these days, so greater manageability and standardization becomes strategically necessary,” Herman says.

During the selection process, HMC evaluated multiple vendors and scenarios. Moving to Extreme was not an obvious step, but a combination of factors proved decisive: the fabric approach as a route to simplification, and the proven collaboration with implementation partner Conscia. “We considered multiple options, but they fell short on manageability, roadmap, partner fit or timing,” says Herman. “The combination of Extreme Fabric and the way Conscia could deliver it gave us the most confidence.”

The migration itself was complex. Unlike a new building where you can start clean, a hospital must remain fully operational right up to the last moment. That requires parallel environments, phased cutovers, and a troubleshooting period in which it is not always immediately clear whether an issue originates from the old or the new network. “At some point you have two networks running side by side. When something happens, the first question is whether it’s the old network or the new one,” Herman says.

HMC started by migrating the core and distribution layer, followed directly by the data centers.

“One of the tensest moments was connecting the VMware gateways,” Herman recalls. “During that phase, we temporarily had three ‘types’ of networks running, which made it more complicated to analyze effects and dependencies. That part has now been completed. The next milestone at the end of March is the move to Extreme’s NAC solution. After that, phase two starts, where the access switches will be replaced step by step per site and per SER.”

A key part of the decision was the operating model. HMC wants to handle daily operations as much as possible in-house and sees itself as the functional owner of the network. Conscia remains involved to ensure the specialist layer is covered, without forcing the internal team to carry every complexity themselves.

“Daily operations should primarily run through us,” says Herman. “The more complex configuration and routing remain with Conscia.” This division fits the reality of healthcare IT: speed and predictability for everyday changes, supported by a clear escalation path for design work and complex changes.

By putting the new core and data center networks into production on 1 February 2026, HMC now has a uniform foundation across the three sites. That foundation enables further standardization of operations and more consistent change execution, while the healthcare environment continues to demand speed and reliability. The full Fabric architecture will be available once the access layer is also completed. That is when HMC expects the most visible impact in day-to-day operations: less variation, less time spent investigating, and a more predictable change process.

Herman summarizes that objective as follows: “The goal is to spend less time in daily operations on figuring things out and being dependent on specialist knowledge. You want changes to be logical and repeatable, and for the network to move with you.”

Ferrada points to the phase after go live: “Go live is an important milestone, but the real benefit for HMC comes afterwards: standardization, easier changes and a foundation that can scale as healthcare continues to digitalize.”