Global Healthcare Crisis: Legacy Systems Continue to Cause Pain for IT Decision Makers
Yet, 97% of IT decision makers report that their organization has legacy technology.
Mississauga, CANADA – June 10, 2025 – Healthcare organizations are on the verge of a breakthrough. By modernizing their IT infrastructure and leveraging new technology such as artificial intelligence (AI), patient care can improve drastically.
According to SOTI’s latest healthcare report, Healthcare’s Digital Dilemma: Calculated Risks and Hidden Challenges Exposed, 60% of IT decision makers use AI to process and analyze medical data, 59% to update patient records, and 40% to diagnose medical conditions. Notably, AI has become more than just an admin support tool.
“While technology adoption is advancing and AI is surging in the sector, our latest report shows significant challenges around patient data security and device management being experienced. Legacy systems hinder tech integration and create compliance issues,” says Shash Anand, SVP of Product Strategy at SOTI. “To reduce patient risk and improve outcomes, the sector must invest in strong Enterprise Mobility Management solutions for full device visibility, operational intelligence and remote troubleshooting, to help close the technology gap.”
A Surge of AI in Patient Care
AI use in healthcare organizations jumped from 61% in 2024 to 81% in 2025, signaling a dramatic shift in budget prioritization (found in SOTI’s 2024 report). What’s more interesting is how AI is being leveraged across various facets of healthcare.
| In which of the following ways does your organization currently use AI in patient care? (Asked to those using AI in patient care) | Global | |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | |
| To process and/or analyze medical data | 60% | 60% |
| To update patient records | 59% | 56% |
| To plan the best course of treatment | 46% | 47% |
| To personalize treatments | 45% | 44% |
| To fulfill other administrative purposes | 45% | 20% |
| To diagnose conditions | 40% | 38% |
“To benefit from innovative technology, healthcare organizations must have strengthened backend systems to enhance productivity and security – which we learn is not the case for many healthcare organizations,” continues Anand.
Legacy Systems Are Limiting Technology’s Value and Raising Security Concerns
Globally, 96% of IT leaders reported challenges with legacy systems, IoT and telehealth. Nearly all IT decision makers (99%) indicated that their organizations utilize some form of connected devices or telehealth solutions. Telehealth helps support patients remotely, increasing accessibility, saving time and enhancing communication.
However, close to two-thirds (65%) of organizations are using unintegrated, outdated systems for IoT and telehealth medical devices. This was the highest in Australia at 77%, the UK at 73% and Canada at 71%. This impacts interoperability such as accessing real-time patient data all in one place and increasing security vulnerabilities. Globally, 59% of organizations face downtime/tech issues, and 45% say legacy systems make networks vulnerable to attack.
Integrated EMM Solutions Must Be The Way Forward
Globally, IT decision makers face several obstacles in device management due to legacy technology. IT staff cannot deploy and manage new devices/printers (38%), cannot support devices remotely/get detailed information on device issues (38%) and spend too much time fixing issues (39%).
Research also found that UK (47%), Canada (46%) and Australia (43%) had the most issues with deploying and managing new devices/printers – above the global average. This is where the current Mobile Device Management (MDM) solutions in place are failing, and the enhanced Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) solutions are making a groundbreaking impact.
Data security is the top concern for 30% of healthcare organizations and 13% say that managing the security of shared devices was their top challenge. Together, almost half (43%) report a security-related issue as their top IT concern. For example, in France, a security related issue was rated the top concern by 25% in 2024 and 51% in 2025. Same for these countries: in Canada, it rose from 39% last year, and is now for 53%, in Australia it jumped from 39% to 53% and in Germany from 24% to 41%.
“Managing shared device security remains a leading IT issue. Basic MDMs no longer meet the demands of today’s complex digital environment,” concludes Stephanie Lopinski, VP of Global Marketing at SOTI. “With more devices, users and field workers, healthcare must adopt EMM solutions for centralized deployment, security and management. Only then can IT leaders ensure scalable, secure and compliant operations.”
Healthcare organizations are heading in the right direction. But to fully capitalize on emerging technology, they need to refocus and reallocate time and resources to upgrade their IT infrastructure.
Download SOTI’s latest report, Healthcare’s Digital Dilemma: Calculated Risks and Hidden Challenges Exposed, here.
Report Methodology
SOTI’s 2025 healthcare report surveyed 1,750 IT decision makers across 11 countries to uncover key insights into the evolving healthcare landscape. The core markets included 200 respondents in the U.S. and the UK, and 150 respondents in Canada, Mexico, Germany, France, Sweden, the Netherlands, Australia, Italy and Spain.
About SOTI
SOTI is a proven innovator and industry leader for simplifying business mobility solutions by making them smarter, faster and more reliable. With SOTI’s innovative portfolio of solutions, organizations can trust SOTI to elevate and streamline their mobile operations, maximize ROI and reduce device downtime. Globally, with over 17,000 customers, SOTI has proven itself to be the go-to mobile platform provider to manage, secure and support business-critical devices. With SOTI’s world-class support, enterprises can take mobility to endless possibilities. For more information, visit soti.net.
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