Hospitals and health systems across the country are pursuing legacy data archiving initiatives, and cost reduction efforts are a driving factor behind these projects.
The cost-savings benefits of legacy data archiving are well established. Legacy systems drain resources due to a variety of reasons, including ongoing licensing and maintenance costs, storage and hardware fees, and reduced IT labor capacity. At a time when every dollar counts, these are crucial resources that, instead, could go toward funding innovation and strategic initiatives.
The cost-savings benefits of legacy data archiving are well established. Legacy systems drain resources due to a variety of reasons, including ongoing licensing and maintenance costs, storage and hardware fees, and reduced IT labor capacity. At a time when every dollar counts, these are crucial resources that, instead, could go toward funding innovation and strategic initiatives.
More Health IT Leaders Recognize Savings Potential of Legacy Data Archiving
Awareness regarding the ROI of legacy data archiving and system decommissioning projects is growing. Seventy-one percent of respondents to the CHIME survey said these projects create cost-savings opportunities. That’s up from just two years ago, when 58% stated these projects have cost-savings benefits.
Real-world data backs up the survey findings — with many hospitals and health systems experiencing ROI from legacy data archiving within the first year alone. One large health system, for example, saved $3 million to $4 million — annually — in maintenance costs after implementing an archiving solution.
Health IT leaders who have completed successful legacy data archiving projects also tout the cost-savings benefits. Sidney Dixon, Chief Applications Officer at Tower Health, shared how legacy data archiving delivered high ROI for his organization:
“We’ve had a significant six-figure ROI in hard dollars,” he said. “These are dollars we were paying for Microsoft licensing, legacy maintenance fees, server costs … That doesn’t even begin to look into the soft-dollar ROI — the efficiency gains, having one source of truth, single sign-on, easier for HIM to access for release of information.”
David Winn, VP of Parkview Connect & Corporate HIM Operations at Parkview Health, emphasized that multiple factors contribute to the financial impact.
“The ROI from legacy data archiving comes from two sources: direct cost savings from system decommissioning and operational efficiencies,” he explained. “HIM teams and clinicians save significant time when they can access all historical patient data from a single platform rather than navigating multiple legacy systems.”
What Cost Savings Can Organizations Expect from Legacy Data Archiving?
The ROI can be significant for hospitals and health systems, but the exact amount depends on several factors. Our team at Harmony Healthcare IT can work with you to calculate your unique projected ROI.
Factors that impact this projection might include:
- Volume and type of legacy systems archived
- Number of facilities in which those legacy systems were utilized
- Maintenance costs for those systems
- Labor costs for IT staff administrating those systems
- How static the data is
- Whether the solution is archived on-premises or to the cloud
- Volume of Release of Information requests fulfilled annually and the cost of the resources to fulfill them
- Whether Single Sign-On is available to the archive from the go-forward billing, EHR or other business (HR, payroll, general ledger, materials management, etc.) systems
| ROI-Focused Evaluation Criteria | What to Look For |
| Proven ROI methodology | Ask prospective partners how they calculate projected ROI. The best partners conduct thorough discovery to understand your current costs — maintenance fees, labor, hardware, storage — and provide detailed projections based on your environment. |
| Strong track record | Request references from organizations similar to yours in size and complexity. Ask about actual ROI achieved, implementation timelines, and ongoing support quality. |
| Deep technical and integration capabilities | Single Sign-On integration with your EHR (such as Epic, Oracle, or MEDITECH) is critical for clinical workflow efficiencies. Your solution should also support multiple legacy systems, offer flexible deployment options (cloud and on-premises), and provide robust search and retrieval capabilities for HIM teams. |
| Clear implementation methodology | Every month you delay decommissioning legacy systems costs you money in maintenance fees and labor. Your partner should have a clear implementation methodology that gets you to ROI quickly without disrupting operations. |
Ready to calculate your potential savings? Contact Harmony Healthcare IT to discuss your legacy data archiving project and discover your projected ROI.
FAQs
Why are more hospitals investing in legacy data archiving?
A growing number of health systems are pursuing legacy data archiving to reduce costs, improve data access, and strengthen security. A recent CHIME survey found that 57% of health IT leaders plan to launch an archiving initiative within the next two years, and 67% cite cost reduction as a top driver.
What cost savings can organizations expect from a legacy data archiving project?
Savings vary based on an organization’s size, systems, and environment, but the ROI can be significant. Many hospitals recoup their investment within 18–24 months. Some large health systems have saved $3–$4 million annually by retiring legacy systems and eliminating maintenance fees, licensing costs, and hardware expenses.
What contributes most to cost savings in a legacy data archiving project?
- Eliminating licensing, maintenance, and server costs
- Reducing IT labor required to maintain outdated systems
- Reducing risk exposure and compliance complexity
Soft savings are also substantial, and include efficiency gains, better workflows, and simplified access to historical patient data
How quickly can organizations see ROI from legacy system decommissioning?
Many hospitals achieve ROI within 18-24 months, depending on how quickly systems are decommissioned. Every month of delay translates to unnecessary spending on maintenance, hosting, and labor for legacy systems.
What factors impact the total cost savings from legacy data archiving solutions?
Your potential savings depend on:
- Number and type of legacy systems being archived
- Number of facilities that used those systems
- Existing maintenance/licensing fees
- Storage and hardware costs
- IT staff labor required to maintain legacy systems
- Whether the archive is hosted on‑premises or in the cloud
- Release of Information volume
- Availability of SSO and integration features from your new EHR or enterprise systems
What benefits do HIM teams and clinicians experience from legacy data archiving solutions?
Both groups see major efficiency gains:
- One login and one platform for all historical patient data (clinicians can easily access archived patient information directly from the EHR at the point of care)
- No more navigating multiple outdated systems
- Faster ROI request fulfillment
- More time to focus on high‑value work
- Reduced clinical workflow friction
These workflow improvements often translate to “soft savings” that are harder to quantify but equally important
How does legacy data archiving improve security?
Older systems often lack modern security features and require expensive upkeep to remain compliant. Archiving:
Centralizes data in a secure, modern environment
Reduces the number of systems vulnerable to breaches
Simplifies security updates and monitoring
Minimizes audit and compliance risk
What should I look for in a legacy data archiving partner?
To maximize ROI, choose a partner with:
A proven ROI methodology. They should calculate detailed, accurate projections based on your systems, fees, and environment.
A strong track record. Look for references from organizations similar in size and complexity.
Deep technical & integration capabilities. Including SSO to Epic, Oracle, MEDITECH, and other enterprise systems.
A clear, efficient implementation process: Speed to value matters — delays increase costs.
