Perficient’s cloud prescription for healthcare companies

August 26th, 2013

Peter Nolan

It’s sort of ironic that I first heard about Perficient because of a Salesforce.com implementation that it handled, when the company has such a tight relationship with Microsoft.

In fact, it was named in July as both the software developer’s U.S. Partner of the Year and also as its top provider for delivering healthcare solutions. It capabilities center on Microsoft’s cloud computing technologies including Office 365, Azure, Lync, Yammer, SharePoint Online, InTune and Dynamics CRM.

Examples of some of Perficient’s recent deployments including a massive project with one of the largest healthcare providers to integrate Office365 services with Active Directory; optimizing an electronic healthcare records system from Epic with a business intelligence solution using SQL Server and SharePoint; and developing a SharePoint 2013 portal that allows healthcare providers to communicate with patients using Web access methods or mobile devices.

“Perficient’s dedicated national health practice delivers innovative and intelligent solutions for hospitals and health systems deployed on familiar Microsoft technologies such as SharePoint, Lync, SQL Server and Dynamics CRM,” said Steve Aylward, general manager of U.S. Health & Life Sciences, Strategies and Solutions, Microsoft. “These solutions allow healthcare organizations to leverage their investments in the Microsoft platform that provide instant access to patient and clinical information, streamline core business processes such as eligibility, referrals and claims, and significantly improve interactions with patients/members, physicians and administrators.”

When I spoke with Eric Roch, Perficient’s principal executive for service-oriented architecture (SOA), Cloud and Mobile solutions, he said the St. Louis-based integrator’s long-time experience with data compliance and security issues has helped it carve out a large vertical practice in this area. “We are focused on how companies can use technology to continously improve their processes,” Roch said.

As such, Perficient becomes closely aligned with overall business strategy of its clients, not just the IT plan, which makes for long-term relationships. “Your CFO really wants these economies of scale, the agility that cloud brings and the cost-savings,” he noted.

Perficient got its start in 1998 as a company primarily focused on Web hosting and portable development, and it has been aligned with Rackspace for many years. It doesn’t list its technology partners prominently on its site, but its processes are really what matters. That said, aside from Microsoft and Salesforce, it works closely with some of the better known enterprise software players such as Informatica, Oracle, IBM, EMC and TIBCO.

In early August, the company reported a 15 percent increase in revenue to $94.2 million for its second quarter ended June 30, 2013. Its services revenue for the quarter was $80.4 million. The company’s full-year guidance calls for revenue in the range of $362 million to $382 million, with earnings per share in the range of $1.03 to $1.05.

During the quarter, Perficient bought two smaller cloud services companies: Clear Task of San Francisco, which is focused entirely on the Salesforce platform and related applications; and TriTek Solutions of Boston, which specializes in enterprise content management. It also signed contracts with companies including Texas Children’s Health Plan, Vitamin Shoppe, Marathon Oil and Stryker.

Source Article from http://www.zdnet.com/perficients-cloud-prescription-for-healthcare-companies-7000019844/