Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/1469972
14 Covetrus | ph: 855.724.3461 | fx: 888.329.3861 | northamerica.covetrus.com What to demand from cloud or any new veterinary technology One of the biggest perks of adaptable technologies (many of which are cloud-based) is that when things change, the technology seamlessly changes as well. When users make requests, report bugs, or offer relevant suggestions, those improvements can be made to the system and can swiftly be rolled out to users in new version updates. Taking a step far, far outside of healthcare, when we look at users of cloud-based marketing software, despite ever-evolving regulations, spam-traps, and audience preferences, a handful of marketers (a million or two worldwide), have been able to produce an estimated cadence of 319.6 billion business emails on average… per day as of 2021. It's not exactly an endearing contribution to modern society, but it is a testament to technology-enabled productivity. When technology is adaptive and easy to use, it can make its users a force to be reckoned with. And again, an adaptable platform should be easy enough to allow you to focus on the details of providing care. You should not have to worry about how to complete a workflow without getting a system error every time. In our study, 61% of respondents said a system's ease of use was most important when considering a PIMS, while 52% said it must improve workflow and processes. An adaptable platform also needs to be secure and reliable. It should save time and eliminate redundancies. Your time and attention is already precious, and likely in short supply. The less you have to worry about just to carry out the other parts of your role, the better. As it pertains to security, your technology needs to be adaptable to ever-evolving threats. In the case of on- premise solutions, while having a server in a locked room with a password encryption might seem like maximum security, that technology puts all the security responsibilities on you. All it takes is a single moment of an unattended workstation, a picked lock, or the click of a bad link to compromise your practice's data. With a cloud-based infrastructure, you and your practice personnel aren't the only line of defense; an army of IT security experts are able to defend and protect the integrity of your data. The technology needs to be an all-in-one solution, covering as much of the scope of work as possible, so that minimal time is taken jumping from solution to solution just to carry out multiple tasks within a single process. In an ideal setting, you will have a practice management solution that serves all vital business, practice, and communications functions – and is tied into one, integrated platform. Ultimately, your practice management technology should inspire your loyalty by delivering the maximum amount of service and utility to you. But should you need to switch solutions, changing cloud-hosted software is an entirely digital lift – you don't have to rip and replace servers or hardware. 61% of respondents said a system being easy to use was most important when considering a PIMS, 52% said it must improve workflow/processes. Make technology serve the people and processes at your practice One of the biggest non-secrets to success for some of the biggest companies like Google, Amazon, Apple, and many others is the simple, optimized interplay of people, processes, and technology together. Any business can harness this dynamic, but not every business does. In the veterinary world, people and processes have historically demanded the most attention, while technology has mostly been an underwhelming component of the general infrastructure for getting things done. The upside, though, is there is a massive opportunity for those practices who flip the script and demand technology that does contribute to people and process advantages as well.