This piece was originally published in the August 2021 issue of Policy & Practice magazine.
Configurable platform solutions promise greater speed, tighter alignment between business and technology, continual access to updates, and the ability to be more flexible and agile in responding to challenges and opportunities.
But is a platform approach suitable for health and human services agencies?
During the COVID-19 pandemic, using platforms was the only way to respond appropriately. As the pandemic raged, there was no time to follow traditional approaches for selecting, building and deploying technology. Organizations had to roll out new solutions in record time, at incredible scale, and with life-and-death stakes.
Looking back, we can see that the pandemic served as a massive stress test for configurable platforms, and these solutions proved they can deliver. Now is the time to explore the power of platforms in solving other challenges—including the increasingly urgent need to migrate away from costly and limited legacy solutions.