Rackspace surveys healthcare leaders' knowledge of tech

A new survey sponsored by Rackspace Technology has analysed how well healthcare leaders understand technology today, compared to  five years ago. 

Rackspace polled more than 1400 IT and non-IT decision makers in companies making over $300 million a year in six industries, one of which was healthcare. 

The survey asked healthcare executives about the changing role of technology in their area, including the dangers of falling behind, their knowledge of the role of technology, and familiarity with what technology can do to the bottom-line.  

The  majority (90%) say their appreciation for application technology has grown over the past five years, and 88% now have a better understanding of technology than they did five years ago. 
They were also asked about the ways technology helps drive corporate strategies. The survey found that: 

 * 62% say automation drives efficiencies 

 * 50% say they leverage innovative technologies like IoT and cloud native applications 

 * 48% say it allows greater employee collaboration 

 * 48% say it gives them real-time analysis/customer ‘pulse’ 

Among the technologies that benefit healthcare organisations the most financially i.e. generating revenue and reducing costs: 

 * 60% say AI/machine learning 

 * 61% say cybersecurity 

 * 56% say enterprise software 

 * 45% say e-commerce 

 * 44% say SaaS 

 * 41% say IoT 

Almost half of the respondents (44%) say that if legacy applications aren’t modernised in the next two to three years, healthcare organisations may lose their ability to compete. 
Other consequences of delaying modernising applications include: 

 * 56% say they wouldn’t be able to meet new regulations 

 * 46% say they wouldn’t be able to scale up IT to meet new demands 

 * 44% say customer service levels would be reduced 

 * 36% say they wouldn’t be able to integrate 

 * 33% say poor staff morale would result from inadequate systems 

 * 33% say there would be lost productivity  

Jeff DeVerter, CTO at Rackspace Technology, commented on the research: “The results of our survey are further evidence that modernising applications through a user lens is not just a ‘nice to have’ from a customer satisfaction perspective, but also delivers a wealth of tangible, quantifiable benefits to organisations.

“Applications are a foundation of customer experience, and it is encouraging to see an increased focused and rising enthusiasm for customer experience improvements.”