When you think of Digital Transformations you are probably thinking of the cool stuff:
- AI
- Cloud
- Enterprise level software
- Customer facing systems
This has been the case in the NHS as a whole for some time. The government gives directives of ‘Cloud First’ and paperless hospitals which Trusts strive to meet. They invest heavily in expensive solutions like Electronic Patient Record (EPR) Systems or Imaging Systems which in theory should meet these objectives and deliver value to the Trust. However most hospitals were built before the invention of computing and associated networking therefore without serious consideration to the design of the underlying technology value can never be realised. When The Stig drives a Ferrari around the track all eyes are on the car not on the racetrack itself. Nobody is going to watch a programme about building a racetrack but the track is critical to the car displaying its optimum performance, nobody wants to see it crash.
Looking at the technology transformations that enable the digital transformation. Looking at:
- Network
- Legacy systems
- Ancillary systems
- End User Devices
- Operating Systems
You will realise value only if the transformation considers all of the conditions for optimum performance.
A Ferrari will go fast on a racetrack but until you address the underlying technology you are driving it off-road.
