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| | these systems can help
maximise business
functionality and
eventually lower the
total cost of ownership.
"Considering the
global trend of
improving value for
money, future upgrade
capabilities and support
expenses, vendors will
have to incorporate a
full product portfolio
or at least have the
capability to integrate
modules from other
vendors," notes Frost &
Sullivan Healthcare
Analyst Konstantinos
Nikolopoulos.
"Quantifiable benefits
to business processes
and justifiable return
on investment are other
factors that hardware
vendors need to
highlight."
Healthcare budgetary
allocations continue to
be squeezed and the cost
of hardware
installations, repairs
and upgrades in the
healthcare industry are
rising. In overcoming
this restraint, the use
of financing options
could make technology
and more complete
solutions available
sooner, although at a
greater final cost. | |
|
| | Vendors have to keenly
consider this balance as
it has the potential to
shift the market either
up or down.
The European
healthcare environment
is largely public
sector-driven and
hardware vendors will
need to adapt their
business practices to
accommodate different
public sector demands.
In the past, vendors
have lost out on
contracts due to their
inability to adhere to
deliverables both in
terms of timeframe and
systems capabilities.
Hence, they have to be
realistic in committing
deliverable schedules.
Further, they will need
sufficient knowledge of
the tender processes in
different countries and
be able to negotiate
hard with decision
makers and implement
their solutions quicker
and on a larger scale.
As healthcare IT
systems continue to
progress, major
initiatives such as
government-sponsored
modernisation plans and
mandates to adopt IT
systems, as stipulated
by the European | |
|
| | Commission, are expected
to have a positive
influence on the growth
of the healthcare IT
hardware, networking and
data storage systems
markets in Europe. The
German healthcare IT
hardware networks and
data storage systems
market accounts for a
predominant 35.1 per
cent of the market share
and the major projects
that could see Europe
leading the way in the
global healthcare
information systems
arena are the electronic
medical record
programmes in the United
Kingdom as well as the
e-health initiative
across major European
countries.
The segment of the
healthcare IT industry
that is currently
witnessing maximum
activity is the data
storage segment. Over
the last couple of
years, data
characteristics have
changed and in many
cases, within the modern
healthcare environment,
large volumes of data
will need to be stored
for many years. This,
combined with the need
to access, distribute | |
|
| | and share this data will
function as a healthy
driving force for
market. Also, clinical
systems such as the
electronic medical
record (EMR) and the
computerised physician
order entry (CPOE)
system are generating
considerable interest.
The European markets
for healthcare IT
hardware, networks and
data storage systems are
demonstrating a healthy
growth rate and revenues
are expected to touch
USD 923.0 million by
2008, up from the
current USD 564.5
million.
"The ability of
vendors to compete on
price, without
sacrificing quality and
services is one of the
most important factors
in the highly
competitive European
markets for healthcare
IT hardware, networking
and data storage
systems," says Mr.
Nikolopoulos. "Those
that can leverage their
past experience and
demonstrate real value
for money will most
certainly place
themselves in a
competitive position."
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