After a few incredible (and exhausting) weeks at home with our newborn son, I’m back – and it’s time to kick off our next big initiative at Catalyst MedTech.
We’re going after the beast: Digirad’s legacy ERP system.
If you’ve ever dealt with an ERP that’s been in place for decades, you already know what we’re walking into. Digirad is currently running QAD – circa 2002. That’s not a typo. The same ERP that’s running our finance, inventory, manufacturing, and service workflows today is older than some of our new hires.
It’s deeply woven into every function of the legacy organization. And that’s why every attempt to replace it – and there have been many – has failed.
The Problem with the “Big Bang” Approach
Every time someone has tried to modernize this system, the same mistake is made: they try to replace the entire stack at once. A full swap. Rip out QAD and drop in NetSuite or some other modern ERP. It sounds simple on paper – just map the old workflows to the new ones, train the users, flip the switch.
But in reality? It’s a multi-headed monster. Each business unit – service, manufacturing, inventory, accounting – uses QAD differently. There are hundreds of edge cases and decades of duct tape holding it all together. When you try to replace it all at once, you’re not just swapping systems – you’re rewriting the DNA of the business.
It never works. It costs millions. It leaves organizations bruised and often worse off than where they started.
Our Plan: Break the Monolith
We’re not doing that.
Instead, we’re going to break this ERP down into isolated operations, and migrate one function at a time – service, then inventory, then maybe finance or manufacturing.
This is going to take time, and yes – it’s going to hurt.
But it’s the only real way forward.
Even if we don’t land on the perfect ERP in round one, even if we need a temporary migration layer, moving any piece of this stack onto a modern platform with a usable API is a win. It gives us breathing room, flexibility, and insight – and sets us up to evaluate the right long-term platform later.
The Hard Truth
Let’s be clear:
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This will cause disruptions
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It will cost money
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Things will get worse before they get better
But they will get better.
This is what it looks like to pay down massive technical debt. It’s never clean. It’s never free. But it’s necessary.
We’re done being held hostage by a 20-year-old system. It’s time to make hard decisions, build a plan that makes sense, and start pulling this foundation out from under us piece by piece – without the whole house collapsing.
Any win here is a push in the right direction. We’re taking this on with eyes wide open – and we’re ready.
– Vince