Staying on track is key to Sentillion's success, says Robert Seliger, CEO and cofounder of the company. "We are really good at establishing what we need to focus on, and then staying focused."
Sentillion — founded in 1998 and focused on identity and access management in healthcare — generated significant growth and expansion in 2005. Sentillion broadened its customer base, improved financial performance, gained 80 employees, increased its executive team and expanded into new offices.
Sentillion's original product was based on CCOW — the healthcare standard for single sign-on and context management — and enabled front-end access to disparate back-end applications. It remains a key component of the Vergence product suite, but now is complemented with provisioning, authentication, single sign-on and privacy-auditing offerings.
To overcome CCOW's limitation that it be embedded in the application, Sentillion created VergenceBridge technology as a non-invasive approach. Software adaptors and connectors enable end-users to build connections between the flagship Vergence product and other applications via point-and-click.
Sentillion's products aim to remove the barriers and enable caregivers to more easily access their computers in a way that is secure and protects patient privacy, Seliger says. For the most part, the products run in the background. "There is a visual presence to what we do, but the magic is running on the network side in our appliances or servers," he adds.
In addition to continuing expansion of its Canadian presence, Sentillion plans to add functionality to its Bridge product, along with additional new product introductions. Very large organizations are typical customers, but Seliger notes a shift in the typical customer profile. Whereas private and not-for-profit healthcare organizations have been typical buyers, for-profits have become active purchasers recently.
Even though research and development forms the largest group within Sentillion, challenges continue. Seliger comments, "It doesn't seem to get any easier. With all the people and wonderful talent and the experience we've gained; the more we are able to do, the more we try to do."
