Here are the essential steps healthcare IT leaders should follow:
Modernize Apps in Line with Healthcare Business Objectives
First, healthcare organizations should conduct an assessment of their application portfolios to determine which apps are eligible for modernization, whether that be through containerization, cloud migration, refactoring or another route. This can help IT leaders prioritize which apps to upgrade. It also gives teams a comprehensive picture of the entire application portfolio: performance, health, average age, security gaps, container construction and more.
“Having an inventory of all of your applications can help you avoid duplicative investments and paint a clearer picture of how that application fits into your organization’s long-term strategy,” says Greg Peters, founder of the Strategic Application Modernization Assessment (SAMA) at CDW. “By assessing the current state of applications and aligning them with business goals, organizations can prioritize modernization efforts based on their potential impact.”
For example, a healthcare organization hoping to reduce operational costs might prioritize moving legacy applications to the cloud, as this lowers data center expenses from the balance sheet.
Once IT leaders have goals established, experts at Microsoft recommend assessing the financial and technical health of each application. From there, teams can finalize modernization plans for each workload and budget the resources required for success.
Get Healthcare Stakeholders on Board Early
It’s also critical to get stakeholder buy-in from different leaders across departments, teams and users involved in the process. Doing this early on helps foster collaboration and minimizes resistance to change. Stakeholder involvement promotes transparency, enhances decision-making and ultimately increases the likelihood of successful modernization.