Imagine a scenario. Kelly, a dedicated employee in a large hospital network, readied herself for another day of handling upset customers. As a member of the consumer relations team, she addressed escalated calls from patients who had been redirected multiple times. Her challenge for the day involved a potential Alzheimer’s patient seeking a second opinion from a different hospital network. Unfortunately, this patient was informed that Kelly’s network was unable to transmit medical records electronically, and instead may have to undertake a 90-minute trip to collect the records on a CD.
What’s Lost When Data Systems Don’t Communicate
Is “disconnection debt” costing your company?
October 11, 2023
Summary.
In every industry, many large corporations have teams that help bridge outdated, disconnected systems, and databases. Without them, there is no way companies can upgrade their technology without causing disruption to their operations. The problem is that running a company on disconnected or barely patched together systems affects employees at all levels. To understand what disconnected systems are costing companies — “disconnection debt” — the authors measured the impact of information silos arising from disconnected systems, on business outcomes in over 100 teams across companies.
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Accelerate your career with Harvard ManageMentor®. HBR Learning’s online leadership training helps you hone your skills with courses like Digital Intelligence . Earn badges to share on LinkedIn and your resume. Access more than 40 courses trusted by Fortune 500 companies.
Excel in a world that's being continually transformed by technology.