Why keeping your IT systems up to date is important – Five benefits of planning for upgrades
New versions of Clinisys’ products come with the latest features and functionalities. But there are more reasons to make sure you’re running the most up-to-date version of GLIMS, CyberLab and DaVinci. Our product experts explain why you should keep pace with updates – and what Clinisys is doing to help.
The newest versions of your critical GLIMS, CyberLab and DaVinci systems come with the most recent features and functionalities, but ‘bells and whistles’ aren’t the only reason to upgrade. There are more fundamental advantages to making sure you’re always running the latest (or at least the penultimate) major version of our products – and for making updates part of your routine. Here are five…
One: Security
Healthcare is one of the industry’s most vulnerable to cyberattack . In 2023, the healthcare industry reported that data breaches cost an average of $10.93 million per breach , and can put patients’ lives and entire organizations at risk. Older or end-of-life software creates a cybercrime opportunity for hackers, as over time they can discover exploitable vulnerabilities.
Upgrading and patching software is a key part of good cyber hygiene, which helps improve cybersecurity. Our upgrades include the latest security patches, reducing your risk of being exploited through a known vulnerability that has been addressed.
Two: Compatibility
Our software sits on a technical platform that includes databases and operating systems based upon leading technologies – and compatibility is key. Oracle, Progress and Microsoft (to name a few) have rigorous upgrade and end-of-life processes for their systems, which have become industry standard.
Their changes are always included in our own upgrades, so using the latest version of GLIMS, CyberLab or DaVinci ensures you get all the benefits of running software compatible with that underlying technology.
Three: Better support
Regular software updates streamline the support process, making it more efficient and effective. With a simplified and strengthened process, you get more accurate, timely and effective support. And we can focus our resources on keeping our support staff up-to-date on the latest features and fixes, so they can deliver a higher quality of service to you.
Four: Focused development
Fewer versions of our systems means more focused and efficient development. Without the need to make new functionalities backwards compatible with older software, we can release better and more extensive functionalities to you, more quickly.
What’s more, we make sure that our products conform to the latest national initiatives, guidelines and regulatory standards. So running the latest (or penultimate) version, ensures you are in compliance, as well.
Five: Faster innovation
We are seeing a wave of innovation in areas such as image management, decision support and artificial intelligence – and we want laboratories to ride that wave, to improve efficiency and drive faster, more personalized testing for patients.
To make this happen, Clinisys also works with third-party suppliers. These companies invariably use the latest versions of our software. As a result, it may not be possible to enable the new technologies in a safe and effective way if you are using older or obsolete versions of system applications and environment.
Upgrades in a complex environment
Clinical laboratory IT is an increasingly complex environment in which to operate. Clinisys works with laboratory networks across the globe, all of which can have different electronic patient record systems that require significant time and resources to maintain.
Add in seasonal pressures, laboratory re-accreditation and holidays, and the window to update GLIMS, CyberLab or DaVinci narrows quickly. That’s why the best approach is to include deploying our updates in your ‘business as usual’ planning. You can decide which features you want to activate for your laboratory, and Clinisys will make sure the necessary resources are on hand.
User acceptance testing is the challenging part of this equation. Few laboratories employ testing professionals, which means they generally need to pull people from the frontline and generate test scripts for them to use. Clinisys is putting maximum effort into addressing these challenges.
One upgrade per year
To keep your upgrade planning smooth, we aim to deliver one major product release per year – which means one major upgrade for you (unless there are substantive issues or security vulnerabilities we need to address).
We have developed a strategic plan for these upgrades, so we know what we need to do, what you need to do, and how much testing is required.
The latest versions of GLIMS, CyberLab and DaVinci deliver new features and functionalities. But upgrading also helps enable security, conformity, enhanced support, compliance with the latest guidelines and standards, more focused development, and a faster route to innovation.
Plan to succeed
We want to ensure that you always have the best version of GLIMS, CyberLab and DaVinci, and that you have the testing resources required. Planning your upgrades as part of your ‘routine’ is a key step to making that happen.
With everybody on the latest version of our software, we can deliver benefits including better support, more focused development, a faster route to innovation, better conformity and security, compliance with the most recent guidelines and standards – and, of course, the latest functionalities.
