Orion Health

Orion Health, a profitable technology company focused exclusively on the healthcare IT market, has had over 40 per cent year-on-year growth over the past five years as it begins to reap the rewards of its global expansion.

Established in 1993, Orion Health started exporting in 1995. Today 85 per cent of its revenue comes from international sales, with its major market the USA – the largest healthcare IT market in the world. Other key markets currently are Canada, Europe, Australia and New Zealand.

Spokesperson Megan Tobin-Jones says Orion Health’s application software provides clinicians and healthcare IT professionals with the tools to better manage their patients’ care and improve the quality of people’s lives. She says the company is recognised as one of the leading providers of clinical workflow and software integration technology for the healthcare sector.

Orion Health’s product range includes Symphonia, a messaging toolkit for IT professionals; Rhapsody, an integration engine for healthcare organisations; Concerto Medical Applications Portal, a clinical portal for healthcare organisations; and Concerto Clinicals, a clinical workflow suite for healthcare organisations.

Today Orion Health has more than 1000 clients in 20 countries with customers including John Hopkins Hospital, New York State Department of Health, New South Wales Health and the New Zealand Ministry of Health. In Australia its subsidiary HealthLink operates Australasia’s largest health information network, connecting over 4000 health organisations.

New Zealand remains an important market for Orion Health, in part because it is a nation of early technology adopters. Many of the leading edge solutions it has developed with clients in this have been successfully taken to the international market.

One of Orion Health’s most successful products is the Rhapsody™ Integration Engine which coordinates and streamlines the exchange of messages between multiple healthcare applications, databases and systems, in any format, across virtually any platform. The award-winning Rhapsody often becomes the ‘central nervous system’ of a healthcare organisation’s IT network, allowing other Orion Health applications to be introduced.

As it expands its global footprint, Orion Health has grown staff to 260 around the world, including over 150 in its Auckland office, which is responsible for all technology development.

The company believes Orion Health’s people are its greatest asset and its approach to recruitment is to get the best and the brightest in every department.

“Our staff are very motivated and proud that they are developing technology that improves the lives of physicians and patients. This drives our passion for what we do – it means something to each of us that Orion Health is creating innovative solutions that will save lives.”

The company also believes Orion Health’s Kiwi ‘can do’ attitude is a key success factor for the business.

“This translates globally into an attitude of creative problem-solving and the willingness to do what it takes to get the job done for customers. Our customers are aware we are willing to go above and beyond the call of duty. We have a very high level of responsiveness and that dovetails into our product development. We are constantly looking at ways to improve our products.”

Orion Health is aiming to become a $1 billion company by 2010 and to be seen as a global leader in healthcare and technology. With its innovative approach and can-do attitude, the company is now poised to take a leadership role in the North American and European markets.

“We have the advantage of having developed a vertically-targeted solution with a healthcare industry focus that larger competitors find costly to replicate. And we have been offering customers our innovative software and services for several years and have built a substantial number of key customer reference sites.”

Driving sales through key reference sites allows customers to sing Orion Health’s praises on its behalf as it establishes a name and a profile in the market.

“As a small company initially working and selling remotely via our website, having excellent customer reference sites and recommendations has helped us ‘cross the chasm’ to the mainstream global healthcare markets.”

Once Orion Health identifies a market is a good strategic fit, it typically establishes a direct sales presence in the market, followed by service staff and then an office. This is the model it followed in Canada, the USA, UK, Spain and Australia. Once established in a region it typically expands into countries outside the regional base through a combination of direct selling and reseller relationships.

“Over the years we have learnt to evaluate new market opportunities carefully and to really measure the opportunity and make sure that we have the capability to support them, and to walk away when we can’t,” says Ms Tobin-Jones.

She says there’s always a risk when entering a new market – personal, professional, financial and cultural, but without the risk, you’d never get the rewards.

Image: Ian McCrae, CEO, Orion Health.

Contact:

Megan Tobin-Jones
Orion Health Marketing USA
Phone      +1 310 526 4049
Email:      megan.tobin-jones@orionhealth.com
Webiste:  www.orionhealth.com