Softway Medical, a software publisher, hosting provider and integrator, is enjoying success with its Hospital Manager solution. Its strong growth means it can look to the future with confidence and envisage rollouts outside hospital walls. Jean-Baptiste Franceschini, Director of Marketing, Communication and International Development, looks back Hospital Manager deployments and the Group’s successes.
DSIH: 2022 WAS A YEAR OF STRONG GROWTH FOR SOFTWAY MEDICAL. WHAT ABOUT 2023?
Jean-Baptiste Franceschini: Success is measured by the progress made. In 2019, we had 440 employees and revenue of €42 million; in 2023, we have nearly 900 employees and revenue of €100 million. Over three years, we have won 27 of our 35 hospital consortium bids: an exceptional proportion that means we are outperforming the market. We have taken 1,200 orders linked to the French government’s “Ségur” digital health roadmap. At this point date, we already account for 20% of the programme’s flows.
THIS PERFORMANCE IS ALL THE MORE REMARKABLE AS IT IS BASED ON A SINGLE SOLUTION, HOSPITAL MANAGER. HOW DO YOU EXPLAIN THIS SUCCESS?
Analysis of market share gains by different software publishers carried out by the KLAS Research institute over the period 2016-2020 shows that we are the second best performer in Europe. We are hot on the heels of the leader, with a single product and a single market: France! Three factors contribute to this success. The first is making appropriate technological choices (Java, J2EE, full web software). The second is the agility of our UX design approach, which involves our users and constantly challenges us. In this way, we achieve their objectives more quickly because we are not guided solely by what we think. The third factor is our deployment capacity and the quality of execution, which reassure healthcare institutions. Feedback confirms that we deploy twice as fast as other vendors on the market.
YOU WERE ONE OF THE VERY FIRST PLAYERS TO BET ON A HOSTING BUSINESS MODEL. WHAT ROLE DOES THIS PLAY IN THE COMPANY’S DYNAMIC?
This was undoubtedly a decisive turning point. Softway Medical stated its strong belief in the SaaS mode well before others, and explained why hosting critical data and applications was crucial. It is this choice of a sovereign cloud plus Health Data Hosting certification that reassures our customers, with the solution and the data hosted in France. 80% of our clients have chosen our hosting service, either from the outset or when the contract for their local infrastructures was up for renewal. Having a global commitment and a single point of contact often makes the difference compared to local mode.
YOU CONTINUE TO DEVELOP YOUR SERVICE, PARTICULARLY THROUGH PARTNERSHIPS. WHAT ARE THESE?
Our open approach contributes to our success. We form partnerships with sector players of all sizes, from start-ups to well-established vendors. We are driven by a single objective, namely that our users benefit from solutions that are fully in line with their business needs. Interoperability with other partners in the health sector offers our users service completeness without creating any dependence.
We are also pursuing a proactive policy. We have signed agreements with several artificial intelligence outfits such as Gleamer, Therapixel or Milvue to integrate AI into the daily routine of radiologists; Alicante, to enhance the value of data; and Posos to reduce prescription transcription errors.
YOU HAVE ALSO MADE ACQUISITIONS IN SPECIFIC AREAS, SUCH AS BIOLOGY.
In 2019 and 2020, we acquired Openxtrem and Idem Santé, which merged to become Xtrem Santé, an IT outfit serving continuity of care in the primary care-hospital pathway. The same philosophy saw Histone (specialized in SIL) become Softway Medical Biologie in 2022.
We aim to serve the health needs of entire populations and our Group intends to move beyond the walls of healthcare institutions and be present throughout patients’ care pathways.
Today, we are in the process of modelling our success and our ambition is to export this know-how internationally. We have already seen some successes in Belgium and Quebec. The Netherlands, Switzerland and Luxembourg are next on the agenda.
