Category Archives: Healthcare IT
Introduction:
In healthcare IT’s evolving landscape, solutions that streamline operations, cut costs, and drive digital innovation are crucial for success and improved patient care. I recently sat down with Jackson Fiser of TSplus Group, an industry leader in remote desktop and application delivery software, to explore how their solutions are transforming the healthcare sector. Here are some highlights from our conversation.
Interview:
Inna: Jackson, TSplus has been making waves in the IT industry, particularly in healthcare. Could you share with us, in your experience, which healthcare organizations are ideally positioned to benefit from TSplus products and services?
Jackson: TSplus has provided value to all scales of healthcare companies. We’ve successfully worked with Doctor and Dental offices, Urgent Care providers, large hospitals, and healthcare software providers.
Inna: That’s quite a range. How does TSplus contribute to reducing IT costs in these organizations?
Jackson: Our approach is straightforward yet impactful. We offer perpetual licenses, which are more cost-effective than annual subscriptions from alternatives like Citrix or Microsoft RDS. This, along with our easy-to-manage web servers, significantly reduces finance expenditures and needed resources.
Inna: Regarding scalability, how does TSplus support business growth?
Jackson: TSplus facilitates the growth of healthcare organizations by offering flexible licensing options, ensuring smooth IT infrastructure scaling. Our system is designed for quick, secure workstation setup, tailored for essential groups like medical staff and administrators, allowing them to focus on their core work without system complexities.
Inna: Can you describe the implementation process for TSplus?
Jackson:Sure. Our clients appreciate the straightforward nature of our implementation. An admin can have web servers operational in about 10 to 15 minutes. This simplicity, along with our free trial period, minimizes disruption and eases the transition. This is one of key reasons our clients’ users have switched over from alternatives – simplicity. Our licenses are straightforward, implementation and management is easy, and we offer a free trial period to test the product, including what set-up would look like.
Inna: Most of the IT industry has focused on modernizing their technology platforms and stacks. How does TSplus assist a client in digital transformation?
Jackson: TSplus facilitates digital transformation by securely moving applications, including legacy ones, to the cloud. Our focus on robust security features, including compliance with standards like HIPAA, ensures a secure and efficient transition.
Inna: Can you share with us some of your clients’ feedback regarding TSplus?
Jackson: We’ve received overwhelmingly positive responses. Our clients value the affordability, user-friendliness, and exceptional support we offer. We’re committed to not just selling a product but to fostering lasting relationships and ensuring our clients feel supported and valued.
Conclusion: In the critical arena of healthcare IT, TSplus emerges as a vital ally, offering innovative solutions that prioritize patient data security and operational efficiency.
Their dedication to customer satisfaction and ease of use makes them a go-to choice in the market. Discover how TSplus can enhance your healthcare IT infrastructure by visiting TSplus Official ® | Remote Access Software Suite or reaching out to Jackson Fiser directly at jackson.fiser@tsplus.net.
About the Interviewee: Jackson Fiseris a Sales Manager at TSplus who joined to focus on the U.S. efforts. He has spent his career in Cybersecurity and Healthcare IT, primarily serving private offices and the ASC industry. He believes software must make sense on both the front end business-wise, and on the back end for users and admins. He looks to provide logical solutions.
About the Author: Inna Berkovich, a CIO & Executive Management Consultant at Emerging Technologies, Inc., specializes in driving visionary solutions in healthcare IT. Her deep commitment to integrating technology in healthcare drives her to explore and share insights on how IT solutions like TSplus can revolutionize patient care and healthcare management.
Explore the transformative power of TSplus in healthcare IT with #HealthcareInnovation, #DigitalTransformation, #HealthcareIT, #RemoteAccess, #TechLeadership, #HealthTech, #ITStrategy, #CloudComputing, and #Cybersecurity.
In my recent engagements with various healthcare companies during their 2024 budgeting process, I’ve noticed a pivotal shift: a critical re-evaluation of investments in Information Technology. Amidst rapid technological advancements and changing pricing models, it’s become clear that traditional IT strategies are falling short. From these observations, it’s evident that companies aiming for success must urgently realign their budgets to focus on cloud-driven solutions, integrated systems, and digital patient engagement. This shift represents not just an upgrade, but a strategic imperative for staying ahead in the evolving healthcare landscape.
As we explore the shift in healthcare IT strategies and the heightened focus on innovation, let’s pinpoint the specific outdated IT trends that demand our attention and understand where companies are redirecting their efforts.
- The Ongoing Legacy Systems Enhancements
As healthcare companies confront the challenges of enhancing legacy systems, a significant shift is underway. These systems, once the foundation of healthcare IT, are now recognized as impediments to innovation. Their design, while effective in the past, now presents challenges in terms of rigidity and compatibility with newer technologies. This is particularly problematic as the demand for real-time analytics and efficient data management grows. The limitations of these outdated systems often result in operational inefficiencies and slow responses to business needs. Consequently, many organizations are now pivoting towards cloud-based, modular systems for 2024. This move, essential for improved interoperability and scalability, enables organizations to quickly adapt to evolving technologies and client needs. For company leadership, adopting digital solutions that facilitate this transition is crucial, ensuring that their services stay competitive and are not impeded by the limitations of legacy systems.
2. Spreadsheet and Paper-Based Processes
In an era where data accuracy and efficiency are crucial, continuing to rely on manual spreadsheets and paper-based processes has become a hindrance. These traditional methods, time-consuming and error-prone, lack the advanced analytical capabilities essential for modern data management. As we look towards the upcoming year, a notable shift is expected towards digital workflow and data management tools. These tools go beyond mere digitization; they utilize AI and Machine Learning to dynamically adapt and evolve. This transition streamlines operations and significantly enhances data integrity and accessibility. It reduces reliance on subject matter experts, turning routine data handling into a vital component of the company’s intellectual property. Embracing this change in data management is fundamental to informed decision-making and improving patient outcomes, placing healthcare organizations at the vanguard of technological progress.
3. Stand-Alone Electronic Health Record (EHR) Systems
Stand-alone EHR systems, while foundational in digitizing patient records, now pose a challenge in the integrated healthcare landscape. These systems often lead to data silos, limiting the exchange of patient information across different platforms. In 2024, healthcare providers need to shift towards integrated EHR systems that support bidirectional data flow. Such systems enhance interoperability and provide a complete view of patient health records, crucial for delivering coordinated and effective patient care.
4. On-Premises Data Centers
The traditional approach of maintaining on-premises data centers is becoming increasingly unsustainable, due to financial investment in infrastructure, security, DR and staffing shortages. These centers demand significant capital investment, constant maintenance, and are not as scalable as their modern counterparts. As the volume and complexity of healthcare data grow, cloud storage solutions emerge as a more practical choice. They offer scalability, enhanced security, and cost-effectiveness, addressing the limitations of traditional data centers. The shift to cloud storage in 2024 will not only reduce overhead costs but also provide organizations with the agility to respond to evolving data needs. Additionally, exploring Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) should be a key consideration for organizations looking to move away from dedicated data center operations.
5. Traditional Patient Engagement Methods
The reliance on traditional, often in-person, patient engagement methods limits the reach and effectiveness of healthcare services. As digital literacy and technology usage continue to rise, incorporating digital channels for patient engagement is becoming essential. This includes telehealth, mobile health apps, and online patient portals. The 2024 budget should embrace these digital channels to enhance patient engagement, offering convenience, personalized care, and a broader reach.
Charting the Course Forward
The healthcare IT sector stands at a crucial juncture, where embracing change is not just advantageous but essential for the sustained success of organizations. For financial leaders and key executives, the call to action is clear: reallocate 2024 budgets towards addressing these evolving strategies. By doing so, organizations can significantly boost operational efficiency and patient care, ensuring they remain at the forefront of a rapidly changing healthcare technology landscape.
In my own experience, it’s essential to continuously evaluate and update our approaches to technology. Being adaptable and forward-thinking is key to ensuring that healthcare IT not only meets the current demands but is also prepared for future challenges and opportunities.
What other outdated Health IT trends have you encountered, and how are you steering your organization toward adopting more advanced technologies?
In my role as a strategic advisor in the healthcare sector, I’m always exploring innovative solutions that can significantly benefit my clients. Today, I’m spotlighting Trustmi, a leader in B2B payment security. Their mission to enhance and streamline payment protection is particularly relevant in the complex financial landscape of healthcare. With global business payment fraud causing an estimated $300 billion in annual losses and an average of $150,000 per incident, the importance of Trustmi’s approach in detecting and addressing transactional anomalies cannot be overstated. Their strategies, adept at tackling both intentional fraud and common payment errors, are redefining the standards of payment security, positioning Trustmi as a key asset in the healthcare industry.
I recently had the chance to discuss these advancements with Shai Gabay, Co-Founder and CEO of Trustmi. Our conversation delved into how Trustmi is reshaping payment security in the healthcare industry. Let’s explore the insights from this informative discussion.
Inna: With the variety of payment security solutions out there, I’m curious about what sets Trustmi apart, especially in the healthcare sector. Could you elaborate on that?
Shai: At Trustmi, we focus on B2B payment security, an area often overlooked in favor of B2C solutions. This is particularly important in the healthcare space, where the scale is larger, systems are more complex, and there’s often a reliance on older technologies. These factors can lead to significant events such as security breaches that might not be immediately obvious. Our approach is designed specifically for this challenging environment. We aim to address the unique issues in B2B transactions, especially in healthcare, where accuracy and security are critical. Trustmi’s solution is tailored to ensure that transactions are not just secure, but also precise, making it a valuable tool for the healthcare industry.
Inna: Given the critical importance of data privacy in healthcare, how does Trustmi ensure the security of sensitive financial data? And in this context, does Trustmi utilize AI-driven machine learning to detect unusual transaction patterns?
Shai: In healthcare, where data privacy is crucial, Trustmi adopts a thorough approach to safeguarding sensitive financial data. We utilize a blend of advanced technologies as well as the collective intelligence of our Trust Network powered by a self-learning AI engine. The Trust Network captures data of all vendors and companies within the network and verifies their identities and detects fraud incidents that occur, alerting everyone of any attacks. This technology collects anonymized and tokenized data from our clients, forming unique ‘fingerprints’ of their vendors’ information and behaviors. Our approach is vital for effectively spotting unusual patterns in vendor transactions. It’s similar to how the Waze navigational application identifies traffic patterns by crowdsourcing information from its users. In much the same way, our system adds a dynamic and intelligent layer of security by gathering information on payment patterns across millions of vendors and organizations to detect anomalies within our Trust Network. We’re focused on more than just protecting data; we’re actively on the lookout for potential threats. Such proactive measures are key to upholding the financial integrity of the healthcare sector.
Inna: Are Trustmi’s operations and solutions aligned with HIPAA compliance to ensure regulatory adherence?
Shai: Trustmi is carefully designed with security and privacy at its core, ensuring that we meet HIPAA compliance standards. We take our customers’ privacy seriously, so we don’t collect any Personally Identifiable Information (PII). Our approach is to build security into every part of our system from the start. We place a lot of emphasis on following all the best practices in the industry and have SOC2 Type 2 certification, which shows our dedication to meeting high security and compliance standards.
Inna: Integration with existing systems is often a key concern. Can you walk me through how Trustmi integrates with existing systems, ensuring minimal disruption?
Shai: At Trustmi, our core philosophy is that enhancing security shouldn’t necessitate altering your existing business processes. We achieve this by seamlessly integrating with our clients’ current financial systems and tools. Our approach involves adding a sophisticated layer of security that functions unobtrusively yet effectively. This ensures that every vendor payment is correct, secure, and goes to the right place on time. Our goal is to strengthen financial processes without interrupting the usual way of doing things, giving clients better security and enabling their operations to run smoothly.
Inna: Moving from integration to the broader picture, does your service involve identifying financial vulnerabilities within an organization and providing support in addressing these weaknesses?
Shai: Yes, our service involves a comprehensive analysis of an organization’s financial transactions. We use the organization’s past payment data to train our AI system. This training helps us track how payments have been processed in the past, and enables us to spot any unusual patterns or behaviors in the future. This process does two important things. First, it makes our system more intelligent and accurate. Second, it helps us find areas where there might be risks, past fraud incidents, or mistakes in payments. Our goal is to not only make our AI better but also give organizations useful insights. In this way, we can spot and fix any issues early on, making sure their financial operations are both secure and efficient.
Inna: Human error can be a significant factor in payment fraud. How does Trustmi’s solution specifically address this element to reduce risk?
Shai: Trustmi tackles the issue of human error in payment fraud by improving the usual manual checks with automation. Nowadays, fraudsters are using more advanced tools like AI Voice impersonations and deepfakes, which makes manual processes more prone to mistakes. Our solution fits right into the systems clients already have, adding automatic checks that greatly lower the chance of errors that could lead to fraud. This means financial teams can work more securely and efficiently, staying ahead of the latest threats and ensuring better protection against payment fraud.
Inna: Scalability is a critical factor for healthcare organizations of varying sizes. How does Trustmi’s solution cater to this diversity in scale and complexity?
Shai: Our solution is built to fit healthcare organizations of all sizes and levels of complexity. Whether it’s a small clinic or a large hospital system, our platform can adapt and scale to meet different needs and requirements. We have a proven track record of successfully implementing our system in large enterprises, handling extensive scales with efficiency. We’re well-equipped to work with various types of healthcare organizations, making sure our solution can grow and evolve along with their business.
Inna: How quickly can an organization expect to see results?
Shai: Within 10 business days, organizations will start seeing a reduction in fraud risks and errors in payments. Our system’s proactive detection of anomalies means potential threats are identified and addressed quickly, enhancing financial security. This immediate impact on operational efficiency and financial integrity is a tangible benefit we deliver swiftly to our clients.
Inna: Lastly, how does Trustmi measure the effectiveness of its solution in real-time, and how is this communicated to the client?
Shai: Trustmi’s effectiveness is demonstrated in real-time through our comprehensive dashboard, which shows the value we deliver, including savings from fraud prevention and corrected payment errors. Additionally, our monthly reports aggregate these metrics, providing a clear view of trends and improvements in financial operations, equipping decision-makers with actionable insights for their payment security strategies.
As our conversation with Shai Gabay wrapped up, the role of Trustmi in revolutionizing B2B payment security became clear. They are not just addressing payment fraud; they are preempting it with precision and foresight, crucial in our complex financial environment. Their approach combines real-time effectiveness, seamless integration, and scalability, transcending mere impressiveness to become truly transformative.
Leveraging emerging technologies, Trustmi proactively addresses the latest security vulnerabilities, ensuring client protection before fraud occurs. The insights from Shai and his team at Trustmi exemplify the impact of innovative solutions in tackling financial and security challenges.
Recognizing the unique challenges and struggles faced by healthcare companies today, it’s clear that Trustmi’s innovative approach is well-suited to meet the dynamic needs of this sector. For those in my network aiming to enhance their payment security strategies, Trustmi stands as a model of proactive and advanced security solutions.
If you’re ready to see the difference Trustmi can make, I encourage you to reach out to me or explore more at Trustmi’s website.
How we assisted clients deciding on the Fix vs. Build vs. Buy/License vs. Hybrid/Customize direction
This a follow-up to our original article on steps we took to help a company decided on Buy vs. Build of their software assets.
In the recent past ETI worked with a startup that was facing significant challenges with their legacy system and ability to support and enhance it in order to align with the changing needs of the business. The legacy CRM-based system was originally created and tailored for simpler tasks and processes. As the company business expanded and client base grew, approximately 80% of their operations deviated from typical case processing. This forced the client to highly customize their internal system. Staffing a very small IT organization with very specific skillsets, the company was also grappling with the departure of key IT personnel who held critical business process knowledge that was otherwise buried within the code. The allocated IT annual budget focused on supporting legacy system and no longer aligned with the rapidly growing company needs as well as multiple islands of unstructured information. High annual clerical personnel turnover, due in part to poor system performance, process complexity and a lack of automation, further compounded the company’s challenges. Process confusion, inaccuracies and low confidence in the system became more and more evident. The client brought in ETI and asked for an honest evaluation of the existing system vs business’ current and ongoing needs and requested recommendations going forward.
Analysis:
ETI performed multi-dimensional analysis of the client’s current and future operational needs, capabilities and alternatives. Below are some of the techniques used to asses and propose options. Please see Buy vs. Build for more in-depth list of analysis techniques:
Identify Core Business Needs: One of the first steps to begin analysis process was to identify and define the core requirements, and team competencies. We evaluated how the current assets match key business objectives and future needs of the client. One of the techniques we used was to MindMap (graphically map out) the entire business processes including all Business Process exceptions based on current business needs and compared it to how IT team understood and implemented it. Another was to understand the basis for decision making by management. We evaluated how the client collects and uses their data for making strategic and operational decisions. We evaluated and documented all integration between business and their clients and customers, creating a full visualization of the business to ensure we had correct understanding of the entire eco system.
Skill Gap Analysis: Concurrently we conducted an internal audit of IT and business personnel to identify if existing team has the skills and capabilities to successfully execute or manage the needed changes going forward. Through a series of in person interviews, review of recorded work, observations and detailed surveys we obtained a full understanding of current staff capabilities and potential as well as any skills that may be desired going forward.
Essential Customization Assessment: In the course of the analysis phase, we had to determine what aspects of the business processes were common to an industry and which were very specific to the business of the client. We created a fully distinguished quadrants of the need versus nice-to-have capabilities and separated them into common or unique industry features. This visualization helped us understand whether the client is seeking something that is potentially available in the marketplace or requires development and customization.
Budget Allocation Modeling: In order to determine whether the client had a realistic budget set aside for the initiative, we performed a detailed estimate for each of the options that were proposed. We broke the system into detailed features and provided an estimate model based on variety of variables including time to delivery, staffing size and costs, subsets of deliverables deemed of highest importance and other factors. The model inputs gave the senior leadership ability to understand what can be reasonably expected given either a total budget goal or approximate initial total cost if variables are adjusted,
Vendor Research and Market Analysis: Whether a company decides to purchase a solution or build its own, it must explore the available options, and perform due diligence in evaluating external vendors and products based on objective qualities and potential costs of each. We assisted the client with such effort by evaluating all options, given our own expertise in the field, experience working with vendors in the past, meeting with vendor representatives and interviewing them using the same set of criteria. We performed objective evaluation of internal talent to understand how it could be upgraded and enhanced through integration with additional or external resources. Aside from calculating anticipated costs of obtaining the desired solution, the potential time to going live and estimated cost of support, we also maintained Vendor Scorecards for each category of solution. This allowed us to present to client the order of preference and any benefits and drawbacks they need to consider when making their final decision.
Legal and Compliance Checks: Some of the most critical but often overlooked criteria to consider when making a strategic decision are considerations of whether the solution will address legality, industry compliance, potential risks, data security and software flexibility, maintainability and scalability. Often these topics take a backset to more operational aspects during the evaluation but could become major issues and roadblocks when the product is ready to be rolled out. We ensure that these are not overlooked when making the strategic decision based on the Vendor Scorecards.
Comprehensive TCO (Total Cost of Ownership): It is critical to know upfront what potential total cost of ownership is anticipated every year in order to properly budget and set realistic expectations. We assist the client in recognizing all of the anticipated costs and potential savings that each solution may provide. We identify those costs that are within company’s control and those that may vary from year to year. This gives management another key metric based on which ultimate decision will be made.
The list above was just a part of a full comprehensive analysis we performed for the client before presenting them with the options. Please see Buy vs. Build for more in-depth list of analysis techniques
Introduction
In the strategic landscape of ‘Buy vs. Build’ choices, think of each decision as a calculated chess move, not a coin flip. Each option you consider should resonate with your organization’s unique objectives, size, and operational nuances. Based on our extensive experience helping numerous companies through this critical decision-making process, we’re here to spotlight the methodologies that should either be embraced, fine-tuned, or abandoned to optimize your ‘Buy vs. Build’ assessments.
By diving into this article, you’ll gain actionable insights that go beyond the ordinary, arming you with strategies to make more informed and impactful decisions.
So, are you ready to unravel the complexities? Let’s get to it.
Continue: Strengthening Your Foundations
When it comes to current practices that are consistently effective, we’ve pinpointed several areas where organizations tend to excel. These methods often act as the cornerstone for making well-informed, strategic Buy vs. Build decisions:
Vendor Research and Market Analysis: Firms often thrive in scrutinizing potential suppliers and understanding market dynamics. This due diligence can reveal whether an off-the-shelf solution can suffice, thereby conserving resources.
Initial Budget Allocation: Many organizations are skilled at setting a foundational budget for the project, providing a financial framework for the entire decision-making process.
Stakeholder Involvement: Including key stakeholders from various departments early on ensures that multiple viewpoints are considered, contributing to a more successful outcome.
Identifying Core Business Needs: Companies generally do well at pinpointing their essential requirements before exploring solutions. This focused evaluation not only streamlines the decision-making process but also ensures that the solution you choose becomes a strategic asset, aligned with your key business objectives.
Time-to-Market Estimates: A lot of companies are keenly aware of this factor, often making it a key metric in their ‘Buy vs. Build’
evaluations. This allows them to align their choices with market opportunities and seasonal trends, ensuring they don’t miss the boat.
Legal and Compliance Checks: Companies are proficient at understanding the legal and compliance aspects of their options, ensuring
that the chosen solution adheres to relevant laws and industry standards.
Post-Implementation Support: Most have already integrated this consideration into their ‘Buy vs. Build’ decision-making, recognizing
that a solution’s life cycle extends far beyond the initial rollout. This ensures that the chosen solution continues to deliver long after it has gone live.
By consistently applying these proven approaches, organizations can streamline their ‘Buy vs. Build’ evaluations, mitigate risk, and align more closely with their strategic goals.
Stop: Rethinking Common Pitfalls.
While several aspects of the ‘Buy vs. Build’ decision process generally perform well, there are specific practices that often lead companies astray. Our in-depth consultations across numerous enterprises have highlighted these pitfalls to be aware of:
Ignoring Standardization: Over-customizing can lead to an unwieldy solution that’s hard to manage. It’s crucial to find a balance between customization and standardization.
Overlooking Outsourcing Options: In-house isn’t always better. Not considering outsourcing as a viable alternative can limit your strategic options and possibly increase costs.
Skimping on Risk Assessments: A casual attitude toward identifying potential risks can jeopardize the entire project. Rigorous risk assessment is non-negotiable.
Assuming Vendor Size Equates to Quality: Bigger isn’t always better. A large vendor may not offer the agility or specialized attention that a smaller or more niche provider could.
Tunnel Vision on Costs: Though upfront costs are important, a myopic focus can blind you to long-term expenses or benefits. A comprehensive look at ROI is essential.
Isolated Decision-Making: To ensure the solution aligns with overall organizational needs, the input should come from multiple departments, not just IT or Finance. Include stakeholders from HR, Marketing, and Operations for a 360-degree view.
Overlooking Scalability: Falling into the trap of choosing a solution that meets only your immediate needs can bottleneck your future growth. Always opt for a platform that can adapt and scale with your evolving business landscape.
By taking a hard look at these practices, you can refine your approach to ‘Buy vs. Build’ decisions, aligning more closely with your long-term goals while sidestepping common pitfalls.
Start: Raising the Bar in ‘Buy vs. Build’ Decisions
Informed by hands-on consultations on ‘Buy vs. Build’ evaluations, we’ve pinpointed several underutilized strategies that could provide a significant competitive advantage. These are the key practices that many organizations overlook but would do well to start adopting:
Comprehensive TCO (Total Cost of Ownership): Extend your financial analysis to consider ongoing costs like maintenance, updates, and even exit costs.
Rollout Considerations: Decide on the rollout strategy in advance, whether it’s a “Big Bang” immediate implementation or a more cautious, phased approach.
Skill Gap Analysis: Prioritize an internal audit to identify if your team has the capabilities to successfully execute or manage the solution you’re considering.
Vendor Scorecards: Adopt a comprehensive scoring system that not only evaluates vendors on factors like reliability, cost, and support, but also rigorously assesses their cybersecurity measures.
Understand OOB (Out-of-Box) Features: This helps you assess how closely the platform aligns with your business needs without any modifications, allows you to identify the areas where you might require additional customization or third-party integrations, and offers a baseline for comparing different solutions. OOB features can also serve as a benchmark against which you can measure any additional customization costs, not just in financial terms but also in time and complexity.
Essential Customization Assessment: Distinguish between your “must-have” and “nice-to-have” customizations from the get-go, ensuring your chosen solution aligns perfectly with your non-negotiable requirements.
Pilot Testing: Before committing to a large-scale roll-out, launch a smaller pilot test. This not only identifies potential hiccups but also serves as a valuable platform for stakeholder feedback, ensuring your solution is technically sound and organizationally aligned.
Integrating these advanced strategies will position your organization for sharper, more calculated ‘Buy vs. Build’ decisions.
| 🚀Start | 🛑Stop | 🔄Continue |
|---|---|---|
| Comprehensive TCO Analysis | Ignoring Standardization | Vendor Research |
| Rollout Strategy Planning | Overlooking Outsourcing | Initial Budget Allocation |
| Initial Budget Allocation | Skimping on Risk Assessments | Stakeholder Involvement |
| Vendor Scorecards | Vendor Size = Quality Myth | Identifying Core Business Needs |
| Understand OOB Features | Tunnel Vision on Costs | Legal & Compliance Checks |
| Must-have vs. Nice-to-have | Isolated Decision-Making | Post-Implementation Support |
Since the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak as a pandemic more and more companies are asking employees to work from home. I’m happy to say that our company has been operating 100% remote for many years, as we have helped our clients transition their teams to a distributed work structure.
We get many questions about how we make it work and wanted to share some of the practices that we have implemented and are incorporating into our daily work routine.
- Provide remote team with the best suite of tools to be productive. These tools focus on software development, team communication and collaboration, knowledge management and project controls.
- Develop an outcome-based process with clearly defined and agreed to expectations of deliverables, timelines and quality of work, without the need for continuous monitoring of employees.
- Implement a continuous discipline for estimation of work, evaluation of deliverables and daily online team check-ins and updates.
- Incorporate security measures to protect systems and data
- Acommodate flexible work schedules, with the exception of mandatory core meetings attendance.
- Organize teams by feature/product based verticals to streamline remote collaboration of smaller and more targeted groups.
- On the technology side, use system architecture that support microservices and microsites for fully custom systems or PaaS (Platform as a Service) for Cloud based SaaS (Software as a Service).
- Utilize proper System Architecture to support quick and independent product/feature team releases to decrease feature to market times.
- Manage expectations and continuously improve business process by doing regular retrospectives. Don’t expect everything to work perfectly on day 1. There’s definitely a ramp-up period. Learn from your mistakes, improve your practices on a continuous basis, customizing the process based on composition of the team and needs of the business.
As we meet new challenges, taking advantage of available tools and skillsets allows us to help our clients to continue to grow and succeed.
What are some of your tips to make transition to remote work a success? What are your biggest challenges?