Ventana presents CareGiver remote support at 2013 DreamForce

TUCSON, Ariz., Nov. 26, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- At this year's DreamForce conference in San Francisco, California, Ventana Medical Systems, Inc. (Ventana), a member of the Roche Group, showcased its popular CareGiver remote support system that connects Ventana products to the company's support personnel and customers as a way to improve patient care.

DreamForce is a Salesforce.com annual event that this year attracted more than 135,000 people from around the globe eager to learn the latest advancements in cloud computing to benefit customers.

The CareGiver remote support system, supported by the Axeda^® cloud-based platform solution, is novel in its approach for collecting real-time functionality data from Ventana diagnostic instruments¹ located in pathology customer labs and conveying this data both to customers and Ventana sales and support personnel who can act on the information immediately. This translates into improved efficiency for lab directors and physicians and, most importantly, faster and more reliable results for patients awaiting diagnosis.

"Establishing effective, proactive customer service channels is critical in the diagnostics industry, and Ventana is leading the way," stated Michael Laposky, Sr. International Business Leader, Advanced Staining Platforms, Ventana Medical Systems, Inc. "The Caregiver system informs our support team in real time when a system experiences any relevant issues which allows our technical staff to respond often before the customer is even aware."

"Ventana has an enviable reputation in customer care, and our commitment to investment in CareGiver remote support will ensure we remain best-in-class in service delivery," says Adrian Ralph, VP, Lifecycle Leader, Primary Staining, Ventana Medical Systems, Inc.

"One of the things I like is that the connective product strategy is a journey. You're going to start incrementing on that connectivity, every product, every year," said Jeff Melvin, Executive VP, Worldwide Sales & Service, Axeda Corporation.  "It's very exciting because the world as we know it is going to change in the next 10 years. I know my fridge is going to tell me what's in it."

"Salesforce.com and Axeda recognize the service and support experience CareGiver remote support creates and invited us to share our story at Dreamforce," said Sean Casey, IT Director, Ventana Medical Systems, Inc. "As a global leader in cancer diagnostics, we are committed to driving innovation for our customers in the anatomical pathology lab, and CareGiver remote support is a great example of this. It was wonderful to witness the enthusiasm from attendees for this phenomenal solution."

¹CareGiver remote support is available on the VENTANA BenchMark ULTRA, BenchMark Special Stains, and SYMPHONY instruments.

About Ventana Medical Systems, Inc.
Ventana Medical Systems, Inc. ("VMSI") (SIX: RO, ROG; OTCQX: RHHBY), a member of the Roche Group, innovates and manufactures instruments and reagents that automate tissue processing and slide staining for cancer diagnostics. VENTANA products are used in clinical histology and drug development research laboratories worldwide. The company's intuitive, integrated staining, workflow management platforms, and digital pathology solutions optimize laboratory efficiencies to reduce errors, support diagnosis and inform treatment decisions for anatomic pathology professionals. Together with Roche, VMSI is driving Personalized Healthcare through accelerated drug discovery and the development of "companion diagnostics" to identify the patients most likely to respond favorably to specific therapies.

VENTANA, the VENTANA logo, BENCHMARK, and SYMPHONY are trademarks of Roche.

Visit www.ventana.com to learn more.

VMSI Media Relations

Jacqueline Bucher

Senior Director, Corporate Communications

Phone: 520-877-7288

e-mail: Jacquie Bucher

SOURCE Ventana Medical Systems, Inc.