{"id":3399,"date":"2021-09-20T09:00:55","date_gmt":"2021-09-20T09:00:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/version1.thinktankdev.org.uk\/en-us\/?p=3399"},"modified":"2021-09-20T09:00:55","modified_gmt":"2021-09-20T09:00:55","slug":"nel-nhs-azure-data-migration","status":"publish","type":"case-studies","link":"https:\/\/version1.thinktankdev.org.uk\/en-us\/case-studies\/nel-nhs-azure-data-migration\/","title":{"rendered":"Transforming the NHS with NEL \u2013 Azure Data Migration"},"content":{"rendered":"

NEL engaged Version 1 as part of a co-funded project with South West London (SWL) to migrate a number of shared datasets to Microsoft Azure.<\/h2>\n

This project would enable NEL\u2019s clients (such as South West London) to access the same datasets from multiple sites simultaneously and securely. As a result, NEL now has a more secure, transparent and accurate source of data for patients and caregivers alike.<\/p>\n

Challenge<\/h2>\n

From hospitals through to primary care GPs, NEL<\/a> covers a population of 16 million people across 42 clinical groups and manages more than \u00a310bn of NHS Contracts. NEL\u2019s client SWL (South West London) engaged NEL to carry out this project, as SWL was aware of inconsistencies and challenges with the current data set-up.<\/p>\n

The existing methods involved ageing technologies and cumbersome data processes for managing and storing data. This was costly to maintain and manage, and quite inflexible to change. It was clear that data might be pushed 30-40 times or more. Data Flow Specialists could find themselves pushing over 3000 flows to multiple databases, with the same or filtered versions duplicated over 30 times. This was time-consuming and threatened to introduce inaccuracies to the data \u2013 and by definition, it meant data was out of date by the time it reached the end-user. There was no leeway for human-error because corrections would have to be repeated the same number of times. This wasn\u2019t sustainable for NEL, and maintenance was very difficult.<\/p>\n

Solution<\/h2>\n

NEL engaged Version 1 to migrate a number of shared datasets (refactoring SQL)<\/strong> to Microsoft Azure. This would enable NEL\u2019s customers (such as SWL) to access the same datasets from multiple sites simultaneously and securely.<\/p>\n

Working in collaboration with NEL, Version 1 began by migrating the shared datasets to Microsoft Azure, creating a single point of access for multiple sites across the NHS. This also came with benefits to security, access right and device agnosticism.<\/p>\n

The project was run Agile \u2013 in Agile development, testing is integrated during the cycle, which means that there are regular check-ups to see that the product is working during the development. This approach enables the product owner to make changes if needed and the team is aware if there are any issues.<\/p>\n

The NEL team was working in a Waterfall style and were aware that the Agile approach would be much more efficient and effective. NEL worked with Version 1 to set up the project team with the knowledge and skills to implement this methodology across the organisation.<\/p>\n

Learn more about data migration services<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Real Difference, Delivered<\/h2>\n

NEL now has the capacity to scale its services to support multiple NHS sites from the same solution, including, but not limited to:<\/p>\n