The Best Got Better

Published by Michelle Haupt on Apr 22, 2021

The latest release of Edge Cloud a few weeks ago was a pivotal release for our Edge Cloud customers.

In addition to the new features release, development time was also spent on building a new foundation to ensure Edge Cloud is the premier practice management software well into the future. Chad Kellner, Vice President of Development, said the three main focuses for the future of Edge Cloud include performance, transparency, and the focus of development on the patient experience.

1. Performance. Edge Cloud was one of the first practice management solution to use the power of the cloud. There has been a lot of advancements in technology in the last 11 years. In 2010, Apple’s iPhone 3 was the most popular phone; think of all the improvements and changes that have made the iPhone 12 what it is today. In translating that to Edge Cloud, Ortho2 has spent the last 11 years making the software the most robust it can be. The release of Edge Cloud 7 was the perfect time to re-evaluate the foundation of the software to ensure Edge Cloud can adapt to changes in the future. “With as many exciting things for our customers to see and touch and experience with Edge Cloud 7, there is just as much underneath that will allow us to build the next decade plus of management,” says Kellner.

To help achieve the new goals, the Product Development Team added new members throughout the past year, including Larry St. John, UI/UX Designer, and Spencer Herzberg, Senior Software Architect. Ortho2 has always received input from our customers, but with St. John’s role, customer feedback will be even more streamlined. St. John uses targeted user research and quantitative analysis to improve Edge Cloud as it is today, and to ensure future enhancements meet your needs. Herzberg’s experience in high-level software architecture helps set up automation and performance improvements within Edge Cloud.

2. Transparency. The Edge Cloud 7 release marks the end of waiting for releases to come. The development cycle and schedule has changed so that releases will come every eight weeks. You read that right – every eight weeks you will see changes and improvements to the software. The Product Development Team’s status page will be used to keep you informed of upcoming changes and enhancements. The smaller release cycle and working with customers to get a pulse on what needs to change means faster releases with improvements that matter the most to you.

Another change with Edge Cloud 7 is that release notes will be added to a new website, edgereleasenotes.ortho2.com. The webpage includes a description as well as images to guide you in implementing new features.

St. John’s position also plays a role within transparency. He works closely with Ortho2 customers to understand what’s needed most with in Edge Cloud, and takes that information to the Development Team to help shape what is highest priority on the development list. (If you’d like to work with St. John to provide feedback about the future of Edge Cloud, simply reach out to him at ux@ortho2.com.)

3. The Patient Experience. The COVID-19 pandemic has shown just how important it is to stay in contact with your patients. With that in mind, Ortho2’s focus is building up the patient experience you can provide to your patients. “Ortho2 has always done an awesome job of providing software for B2B. The next big frontier is to strengthen the B2C side, and this release sets us up to do that,” says Kellner.

Edge Cloud 7 opens the door to the future of our growing practice management software. We are excited to deliver more resources and more reliability with the help of our invested teams.