Few industries have endured unique recent challenges yet encountered greater opportunities than the healthcare industry, particularly in cloud computing. According to a recent study, the healthcare cloud computing industry forecasts a $25.54 billion increase by 2025.  

Part of this growth is a collective move from investing big lump sums into localized IT departments, including the space, equipment, and maintenance they require, to more budget-friendly cloud-based software subscription models. 

In a volatile economy, it’s a solid move. But as more companies turn to cloud technology to help navigate the often unknown arena of cloud computing, many see the need to modernize their workflow processes but lack the vision to transform their infrastructure to maximize efficiency in patient services and encourage higher profitability. Studies show a whopping 72 percent of CIOs feel their cloud platform is underutilized, notably in terms of cost, ROI, and Cloud strategies. 

In the recent Dreamforce Roundtable, guest speakers Joanne Berrios, GM, health and life sciences, at Salesforce, and Jayneel Patel, PhD., SVP, industries, at Simplus, addressed these challenges with business strategies that help define objectives that work with cloud adoption and create methodologies that move operations forward. 

Here are some discussion highlights:

 

Place business before technology 

One critical point for companies to understand is that the business comes first. It’s what drives the kinds of programs you need. When planning a major technology adoption, always start with the company. Prepare for digital transformation by first considering the following:

• Strategy
• Operations
• Methodologies

Lead with the business, then follow up with the technology. 

When implementing technology, push to exercise best practices, then leverage the tools that come with your platform.

• Avoid building single-use cases 
• Avoid unnecessary custom development  

 

Define business strategy

When working with platforms that connect with many different aspects of your business, ask first: 

Why does your service exist? 

How do you deliver value? 

What do you do to deliver value?

Evaluate how cloud technology can support these strategies with solutions and implement new business operations. 

 

Define new business operations 

Define and build your new operation and let the technology solutions guide new workflow processes for your business.

• Build end-to-end flows. Hint: follow the data. 
• Capture exceptions and external interactions
• Define what success looks like 

Then, ensure these processes align with the business methodology. 

 

Clear a path for business success

Ensure that your organization has clearly defined a path for success. Methodologies are commonly paired with successful cloud adoption.  To encourage a seamless transition, three areas may need a more modern approach: 

Governance: Do you need to update business operations and management?

Agile: Do you need to adjust project management models?

Data-driven: Does data play a role in business decisions?

 

Best practices for cloud implementation

• Leverage as much out of the box as possible (objects & tools)
• Launch incremental changes
• Plan for & incorporate Salesforce releases, updates, and new capabilities
• Be data (analytics) driven and reduce technical debt

 

Thank you to our speakers who shared valuable insights with healthcare companies to maximize cloud adoption and accelerate digital transformation. 

For more information on customized cloud features or to ensure you’re getting the most value from your cloud investment, let’s talk!