Healthcare
Seeing the Future: personalEYES Chooses Thrive for Security and Support
PersonalEYES is a leading Australian ophthalmology group operating 11 clinics and a day surgery, supported by a dedicated team of approximately 80 staff members. The organisation specialises in comprehensive eye care, from medical consultations to advanced surgical interventions including cataract and glaucoma surgery, as well as laser vision correction services. At the helm of this patient-focused business is Jennifer McNamara, Chief Executive Officer, whose responsibilities span the full breadth of business operations, from financial stewardship and profitability to the critical areas of regulatory compliance, systems security, and IT infrastructure management.
Managing Critical Infrastructure Without In-House Expertise
When Jennifer took a hard look at personalEYES’ IT landscape, the picture was clear: despite the organisation’s operational sophistication – complex diagnostic equipment, sensitive patient records, and a multi-clinic footprint, its infrastructure had fallen behind, and it needed attention urgently.
A single physical server, located 1,000 kilometres away, had become the backbone of operations. After five to six years of growth, that server was, by Jennifer’s account, “absolutely full to the brim.” Beyond capacity constraints, the infrastructure itself posed significant risks. The legacy systems created a security vulnerability that kept Jennifer awake at night. She knew that healthcare organisations frequently fall victim to cyber attacks, and personalEYES’ aging technology made them an inviting target.
The regulatory burden compounded these technical challenges. As Jennifer shares, “because we’re healthcare and medical, there’s a lot of regulatory compliance around our IT and our systems and security.” Compliance risk, she recognised, was the organisation’s biggest vulnerability. Without dedicated internal IT expertise and with increasingly outdated systems, personalEYES faced a concerning gap between its regulatory obligations and its technical reality.
To address her concerns, Jennifer engaged an external IT consultant to conduct a comprehensive audit. The consultant’s recommendations were clear; personalEYES needed a complete technology reset, one that would address security, compliance, technical capability, and ongoing support. This audit led to a formal request for proposal (RFP) process.
Choosing a True Technology Partner
It was through that RFP process that Thrive entered the picture. Jennifer’s consultant, having worked in the market, brought Thrive’s proposal to the table alongside other contenders. When all respondents worked from the same RFP parameters, a fair comparison became possible, and one element stood out immediately.
Jennifer recalls why Thrive rose above other proposals, “We just felt that their security was superior to the others we received.” Thrive’s comprehensive security covered users, devices, data, and network infrastructure. Proposed services included Microsoft 365, security monitoring, EDR, email and DNS protection, cybersecurity awareness training, managed patching, and Thrive-managed network security.
But there was more to the decision than security alone. For an organisation with no internal IT team, Thrive’s virtual Chief Information Officer (vCIO), a dedicated resource to guide strategy and roadmapping, proved crucial. Jennifer also valued Thrive’s flexibility. They were willing to work collaboratively with personalEYES during the process, shaping the proposal to fit the organisation’s
specific needs. That flexibility, as Jennifer would come to appreciate, extended well beyond the sales process.
Agility and Partnership in Action
When personalEYES signed with Thrive, the real work began. The engagement started with intensive onboarding and migration activities spanning several months. Jennifer worked closely with Thrive’s dedicated project team, meeting with them regularly to ensure the transition stayed on track and aligned with the organisation’s needs.
What proved most challenging during the transition was not Thrive’s performance, but the incumbent supplier’s conduct. Where cooperation might have eased the transition, obstruction made it difficult. This is where Thrive’s team commitment truly revealed itself. Rather than allowing outdated systems or uncooperative third parties to hold the business hostage, “Thrive was agile and flexible throughout that whole process and certainly didn’t leave us in the lurch,” says Jennifer. By working around obstacles and staying focused on personalEYES’ needs, Thrive demonstrated that the partnership meant more than simply delivering services on paper.
Within a few months, personalEYES had transitioned fully into steady-state operations. The modernised infrastructure was live and stable, underpinned by a hardened security posture: Microsoft 365 with organisation-wide MFA, continuous threat monitoring through Thrive’s SOC, and strategic technology direction from a dedicated vCIO. Follow-the-sun global support, anchored by on-site engineers in Sydney, kept the practice supported around the clock.
A Business Transformed
Today, personalEYES operates with a fundamentally different relationship to IT. The crisis mode has lifted. Jennifer reports, “It has been smooth for months now.” For a healthcare organisation, that stability is not a luxury, it’s foundational to being able to serve patients effectively.
Beyond stability, personalEYES now has capabilities it was lacking. The modern Microsoft 365 environment enables MFA and other security controls that were previously impossible. The vCIO works with Jennifer to ensure that personalEYES’ IT infrastructure evolves with the business rather than constraining it.
Regular account management, ongoing operational reviews, and rapid access to support, have helped embed Thrive into personalEYES’ daily operations. “I can get them on a call in less than half an hour, working through any issues we have,” Jennifer shares. Thrive’s engineers can reach sites quickly and collaborate closely with the vendors who supply the multi-vendor diagnostic equipment that feeds directly into patient records.
When asked whether Thrive feels like an extension of the existing team, Jennifer’s response is emphatic, “Absolutely, absolutely.” She sums up her experience with Thrive, “We’re very happy with our decision. Our teams are happy. Things seem to be running smoothly.” For Jennifer, clarity around knowing which challenges belong to Thrive’s domain, and which don’t reflects a partnership built on transparency and realistic expectations.
The Value of True Partnership
PersonalEYES’ journey with Thrive illustrates a fundamental truth about technology partnerships in healthcare: the best outcomes aren’t dependent on choosing the cheapest option or the biggest name, but they come from finding a partner who understands your constraints, shares your commitment to excellence, and stands by you when things get complicated.
For a multi-practice healthcare organisation with no internal IT staff, the right technology partner isn’t a luxury, it’s essential. Thrive’s combination of security capabilities, strategic guidance, rapid support, and genuine flexibility proved transformative for personalEYES. The infrastructure that was once a source of stress is now a platform for growth.
As personalEYES looks forward, with regular roadmapping conversations and a stable, modern technology foundation in place, they can focus on what they do best, serving their patients.
“Thrive is not just a vendor, they’re genuine partners in how we deliver eye care.”- Jennifer McNamara, CEO, personalEYES
About Thrive
Thrive is a NextGen 3.0 global technology outsourcing provider that empowers small and mid-market organizations to transform their technology into a strategic advantage. Offering a breadth of services from AI and cybersecurity to cloud, compliance, and traditional MSP/MSSP solutions, Thrive’s team of seasoned experts develop strategies that standardize, scale, and automate technology to achieve outsized ROI. From advisory services to a 24×7×365 SOC and NOC, Thrive provides end-to-end IT and cybersecurity management so clients can focus on innovation and growth. With Thrive, your business is always supported and always secure. Learn more at www.thrivenextgen.com or follow us on LinkedIn.