For healthcare organizations still relying on outdated Infor Lawson software, the pressure to modernize is growing to keep pace with today’s operational demands. Whether you’re considering moving to Oracle Fusion Cloud ERP or have already begun initial planning, this transition presents a strategic opportunity to enhance financial visibility, streamline supply chain operations, and modernize core HR and payroll processes.
This article provides critical insights for healthcare leaders, outlining the key considerations, best practices, and support resources necessary to ensure that your migration from Infor Lawson to Oracle Cloud establishes a foundation for long-term efficiency, scalability, and optimal patient care.
Considering a Migration to the Cloud
When planning a migration from Infor Lawson to Oracle Fusion Cloud ERP, a strategic approach that accounts for your organization’s unique business processes, requirements, system landscape, data structure, and internal capabilities is critical to a successful transformation. Evaluating current processes, operations, systems, and data helps healthcare organizations establish a strong foundation for an aligned Oracle Cloud environment.
Oracle has developed healthcare-specific capabilities within its Fusion Cloud Applications Suite, including Financials and Supply Chain Management (FSCM), to address the unique challenges and needs of the industry. This suite provides solutions for finance, supply chain management, and other key areas, enabling healthcare providers to streamline operations and enhance patient care.
Customization vs Standardization
Considering a move to a modern, cloud-based solution like Oracle Fusion Cloud ERP requires a careful evaluation of existing customizations. This evaluation helps users understand the new functionality in the cloud application and determine whether the customizations can be replaced with the new application or the new application can be tailored to address the business needs.
While some customizations can be reimplemented into the new Oracle Cloud landscape, it’s considered best practice to match core business processes with standardized Oracle Fusion functionality, rather than relying on customized features to manage data or complete tasks.
Here are a few best practices to consider.
- Align Processes to Oracle Best Practices: Review and adjust current workflows to fit Oracle’s standardized processes rather than forcing the system to replicate legacy customizations.
- Leverage Oracle’s Prebuilt Integrations and Analytics: Use Oracle-delivered data integrations and analytics along with integration tools where possible, and only build custom solutions when absolutely necessary for unique business requirements.
- Utilize Oracle Cloud Extensibility Framework: If customization is unavoidable, leverage Oracle-approved extension methods that don’t compromise future upgrades or system stability.
By conducting a critical analysis of current business processes within the Infor Lawson system, healthcare organizations can identify potential process improvements that can be implemented in the new Oracle Cloud system before migration, enabling a clearer understanding of the future state and improved system alignment.
Data Readiness
Accurate data cleansing is critical to the success of any ERP migration project. Involving subject matter experts (SMEs) from your project team in key data analysis and validation processes ensures better analysis for data quality and mapping across your existing system landscape.
By aligning skills assessments within the legacy Infor Lawson environment, healthcare organizations can allocate specific personnel and resources who understand both the data and workflows to key readiness assessment operations, leading to higher success rates and reduced reliance on support resources.
Resource Allocation
To ensure a cohesive and successful migration to a new, cloud-based Oracle environment, healthcare organizations must define the responsibilities for both internal staff and external resources throughout the project lifecycle.
Organizations must ensure that their chosen SMEs are assigned to the project to cover specific modules, like Core HR, Financials, or SCM, and have the authority to make critical decisions as part of the governance process. The functional leads for each area of the project should be power users who are not only open to change but also have established respect from their peers, helping to build trust, drive user adoption, and ensure alignment for a successful project outcome.
Before beginning the migration process, it is crucial to perform a skills assessment for defined leads to understand the key project areas that will require additional support, either from pre-built Oracle resources or external consulting resources. This enables organizations to plan effectively for additional support resources, ensuring that leads can successfully complete the requirements of each project stage.
Determining the Best Migration Approach for Your Needs
“Once you’ve made the decision to migrate to Oracle ERP Cloud, you need to determine who’s leading the migration. Ideally, this person will have expertise in the Healthcare industry and experience leading a migration from one portfolio of applications to another.” – Senior-level Oracle Cloud ERP consultant
Data Requirements
With experience in various Oracle Cloud implementation projects, implementing the Financials & Supply Chain Management (FSCM) product before HCM and Payroll often leads to unnecessary complexity and added costs from the heavy reliance of FSCM components on data housed within HCM/Payroll systems.
To avoid duplicative efforts and maintenance burdens, HCM/Payroll can be deployed alongside or before Financials. The parallel approach ensures data consistency, streamlines workflows, and reduces long-term costs across both critical product areas.
Pros:
- Faster overall go-live timeline
- Better integration between HCM and Financials data and operations
- Single change management and training cycle for user groups
Cons:
- Higher resource strain for teams supporting multiple workstreams at once
- Greater risk if issues arise during go-live since multiple modules are involved
- Complex testing and coordination needed for key data sources
By implementing Oracle HCM and Financials in a serial approach, organizations can reduce project risk and limit the burden on internal teams through one transformation at a time. This phased method also allows lessons learned from the first phase to inform and improve the second, leading to smoother adoption and fewer disruptions across departments.
Pros:
- Lower risk with staggered go-live dates
- Easier to allocate resources and focus on one product area at a time
- Lessons learned and areas for improvement to improve next phase implementation
Cons:
- Longer total project duration
- Potential for disconnected data and processes between HCM and Financials
- Requires multiple rounds of training and change management for user groups
Consolidation
When planning and navigating an Oracle Cloud migration, healthcare organizations should consider consolidating their HCM/Payroll data with Finance data to avoid complications, inefficiencies, and data inconsistencies. By bringing them into production together, these organizations can ensure better financial processing, accurate reporting, and cohesive business operations. Other supporting modules, such as Talent, Compensation, or HR Help Desk, can be phased in after the foundational systems are fully implemented and stabilized.
System Complexity
“Customers need to get more comfortable using the standardizations in their new Oracle system, rather than trying to recreate their old Lawson system with more customizations than they can realistically handle. Less customization, less overhead, less headache, and lower ongoing support costs.” – Senior Oracle Project Manager
For healthcare organizations with highly customized Infor Lawson environments, system complexity can present a significant challenge during migration to Oracle Cloud. As part of the project, teams should focus on reducing unnecessary complexity by evaluating and eliminating outdated customizations wherever possible.
Resource Availability
Healthcare organizations preparing for a complete cutover migration to the Oracle Cloud must clearly understand the key requirements for successful data validation and testing. Achieving a smooth transition to the new Oracle system requires comprehensive support and dedicated resources at every phase of implementation, particularly during critical testing and validation stages.
Navigating Common Cloud Migration Challenges
Migrating from a legacy system, such as Infor Lawson, to Oracle Cloud presents unique challenges that impact data integrity, system functionality, and user adoption. Addressing these issues early in the migration process helps ensure a smoother transition, stronger alignment with critical needs, and higher user engagement post-go-live.
Complex Data
Correctly mapping historical and transactional data from the outdated Infor Lawson system to the right structure in the Oracle Cloud ecosystem is often a critical challenge that healthcare organizations face throughout the migration process.
By establishing a clear understanding of Infor Lawson data, like payroll earnings and deductions for current employees, these organizations can better define core operations in Oracle and effectively map fields from Infor Lawson to Oracle.
Loss of Customizations
Some customizations built into the legacy Infor Lawson system may not translate directly to the new Oracle Cloud System, requiring additional configuration and design to ensure compatibility within the Oracle landscape.
To combat the loss of critical customizations, project teams should view their migration project as an opportunity to redesign business processes rather than trying to rebuild the same customizations in the new system. This focus on process redesign empowers modern healthcare organizations to unlock similar functionality from their legacy systems in their new Oracle Cloud environments without requiring additional customizations to be built.
User Resistance
“In navigating a migration to Oracle Cloud, the user group typically defaults to a ‘This is how I did it in the old system, and it worked.’ mindset. Sometimes, you just have to take away their Linus blanket and force them to work within the confines of the new application.” – Senior-level ERP subject matter expert
When healthcare organizations undergo a transformation from a familiar Infor Lawson system to a new, modernized Oracle Cloud system, some employees may struggle to understand, navigate, and accept the transition.
By engaging key stakeholders, such as company executives and integral business users, in the project from the initial planning phase, these organizations can expose the right employees to the relevant product areas and reduce the risk of resistance to change.
Connecting the Old and the New
Automation tools
To promote effective data migration across critical business systems, project teams can leverage intelligent automation tools directly within their enterprise landscape. System implementation consultants and teams can access HCM Data Loader (HDL), HCM Spreadsheet Data Loader (HSDL), Fusion Data Intelligence (FDI), and File-Based Data Import (FBDI) tools to convert historical data after it has been mapped to the future state format.
The recommended approach is to update the source system to align with the future state of the ERP system, create and mirror values within the ERP and source systems, and outline a well-defined resource plan and workflow to facilitate effective integrations and system maintenance over time. By effectively managing the core integration layer mapping through these automation tools, functional and technical integration associates can align data and operations from the source system to the future state, facilitating better system maintenance.
Integration considerations
- Data Mismatches: Different data structures within the Infor Lawson and Oracle Cloud systems may require additional transformation to align core formatting requirements.
- API Compatibility: Outdated third-party applications used to augment an existing Infor Lawson system may not support functionality through Oracle Cloud APIs, requiring additional assessment for core integrations and compatibility with new systems.
- Processing Types: Transitioning from batch-based processing, where data updates occur at scheduled intervals, to real-time processing, which enables instant data flow across systems, requires careful review and redesign for core integrations and workflows to eliminate data inconsistencies.
- Security and Compliance: When transitioning from an outdated Infor Lawson system to a modern Oracle Cloud landscape, ensure data transfer protocols meet regulatory standards to avoid compliance risks and maintain data integrity across the system landscape.
- Testing and Validation: To ensure data consistency and integrity across both legacy and cloud-based systems, facilitate continuous testing and assessment of all critical business data and systems.
Sensitive HR data management
- Masking and Encryption: Implement robust encryption and data masking strategies to ensure sensitive healthcare data is protected both at rest and in transit, aligning with HIPAA requirements and modern security best practices.
- Role-Based Security Controls: Establish access controls and role-based security to ensure that only authorized personnel can view or modify sensitive patient, financial, or HR data, reducing risk and maintaining compliance with healthcare privacy standards.
- Compliance: Ensure compliance with industry regulations, including HIPAA, GDPR, and SOX, through comprehensive data governance, audit readiness, and system configurations that align with the latest healthcare and financial compliance standards.
- Audit Trails: Enable detailed audit trails to maintain traceability of data changes, support regulatory compliance, and provide visibility into activity for security and operational oversight.
- Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA): Strengthen access security by adding an extra layer of protection, ensuring only verified users can access sensitive healthcare and enterprise data in the new Oracle Cloud environment.
Understanding Limitations in the Oracle Cloud Landscape
Understanding key limitations in the Oracle Cloud environment allows your team to plan strategically, adjust expectations, and ensure a transition that maximizes the long-term value of your Oracle Cloud investment. Here’s a closer look at a few key limitations in the cloud.
Standardized, best-practice driven processes
While a standardized approach streamlines operations and improves system consistency, it can also limit customization flexibility. Healthcare organizations that have tailored workflows and screens within Infor Lawson may require operational change management strategies to align existing processes with the cloud-native model in the Oracle landscape.
Approval workflows
Oracle Cloud comes with a set of predefined workflows that don’t always map directly to an organization’s current structure. This may require reevaluating or reconfiguring certain approval chains or rethinking internal policies to align with system constraints, especially for processes involving finance, procurement, and HR.
Reporting and analytics
When it comes to reporting and analytics, Oracle Cloud offers robust capabilities, but healthcare organizations with more complex or specialized reporting needs may require additional business intelligence tools or integrations. This is particularly relevant in healthcare, where reporting often spans clinical, financial, and operational data across multiple departments and systems.
Oracle Analytics Cloud
Oracle Analytics Cloud connects directly with other Oracle Cloud Applications, like ERP, HCM, and SCM, giving healthcare organizations real-time, secure access to financial, HR, and supply chain data. With built-in dashboards and healthcare-relevant KPIs, it streamlines reporting and supports compliance without complex integration requirements.
Third-Party Applications
Third-party tools like Power BI or Tableau let healthcare systems blend Oracle Cloud data with legacy systems, EHRs, and other external data sources. They offer flexible visualizations and help maintain existing reporting formats during the transition from Infor Lawson to Oracle Cloud.
Integration constraints
Integration with legacy or on-premise applications can present some roadblocks. Not all existing integrations will translate directly to the cloud, and some may require redevelopment or replacement using modern APIs or middleware solutions. This makes early planning and a clear integration strategy critical to ensure continuity across your healthcare technology ecosystem.
Improving Change Management Across Key Business Units
Things to Consider:
- Facilitate stakeholder buy-in and user engagement early in the implementation process to improve overall engagement and sentiment for a migration.
- Emphasize the importance of executive sponsorship and leadership advocacy for the proposed migration.
- Leverage the knowledge and experience of subject matter experts to better understand customer-facing operations and optimize decision-making processes.
- Identify and define the key resources involved in the design, execution, and validation of data and configuration to ensure proper allocation.
- Conduct role-based, hands-on training sessions to streamline learning and improve user engagement with new technologies and processes.
- Clearly define and communicate the changes being made to existing software and processes to streamline change management and optimize user adoption.
Reasons for Failure:
- Insufficient training, preparation, and support for pre-, intra-, and post-Go-Live operations across impacted business units.
- Poor communication from the executive and leadership teams concerning the reasons for migrating from Infor Lawson to Oracle Cloud.
- Lack of alignment across all business functions on the implementation approach and timeline for each key Oracle product area.
- Lack of engagement and governance at the sponsorship level to ensure clear definitions of who can make decisions at what level across the organization.
- Incomplete data cleansing, mapping, and validation during the migration process.
- Lack of understanding of key project resources, impacting the productivity and performance of each respective module and project area.
- Partnership with a system implementer (SI) who does not understand the healthcare business process or the impact of the implementation on user groups and key operations.
Areas that Require Additional Support:
- System Configuration: Proper configuration of Oracle Cloud in a healthcare environment demands expertise in Oracle’s industry-aligned frameworks to support clinical workflows, shared services models, and complex organizational hierarchies.
- Data Migration and Cleansing: Migrating from systems like Infor Lawson means carefully validating and cleaning sensitive patient, provider, and employee data to avoid downstream errors in billing, payroll, and regulatory reporting.
- Custom Integrations: By leveraging multiple clinical and back-office systems, healthcare organizations often require reliable integrations with Electronic Health Records (EHRs), timekeeping systems, and third-party payroll or supply chain tools to streamline operations and enhance overall connectivity.
- Security and Compliance: The new Oracle Cloud environment must be configured to align with stringent healthcare regulations, such as HIPAA, ensuring patient data privacy and secure access controls for sensitive employee information.
- Change Management: With many employees across healthcare organizations balancing operational tasks and patient care simultaneously, targeted training and proactive change management play a crucial role in minimizing disruptions and ensuring strong user adoption across internal teams. Here are a few key change management considerations for better implementation and user adoption:
- Ensure executive buy-in of the project and key benefits for each functional area
- Define how to measure success with accountability across business teams
- Build a change network of impacted managers and “change champions”
- Develop or build a community of ‘super users’
- Establish a well-defined communication strategy with content, such as newsletters, video testimonials, town halls, etc.
- Outline a comprehensive training and documentation approach to maximize user participation and potential
How to Overcome Resistance:
Before beginning…
To lay a strong foundation for success, it is crucial to identify an executive sponsor who can help set the vision and business needs for the migration. Healthcare project teams should involve key administrative and clinical stakeholders early in the process. This includes prioritizing hands-on learning sessions and knowledge transfer for users across finance, HR, payroll, and supply chain functions, ensuring they’re equipped to understand and engage with the new Oracle Cloud environment from day one.
Additionally, proactive resource planning enables users to focus on critical patient care and back-office operations while still supporting key migration responsibilities.
During migration…
Identifying “change champions” across clinical, operational, and administrative departments is crucial. These champions help reinforce communication, promote adoption, and act as trusted resources within their areas throughout the transition.
Running pilot programs or phased rollouts, especially within high-impact areas like payroll or inventory management, also helps test real-world workflows and mitigate risk before full production deployment.
Post Go-Live…
Following deployment, healthcare organizations should encourage early adoption by offering targeted incentives and clearly defining success metrics. This helps boost morale, reinforces user buy-in, and accelerates widespread adoption.
Continued monitoring, training refreshers, and ongoing system health checks are also essential to maintaining performance, improving user confidence, and ensuring the Oracle Cloud system evolves with organizational needs and evolving healthcare requirements.
Partnering with Expert-Level Consultants
Surety Systems has over 20 years of experience helping healthcare organizations maximize the business value of their existing or new cloud ERP systems. Our senior-level consultants bring deep expertise and years of hands-on experience supporting healthcare organizations in their transition from Infor Lawson to Oracle Cloud.
From optimizing existing business processes, planning for an Oracle Cloud implementation, executing Infor Lawson data conversion and validation to Oracle Cloud configuration, and conducting post-go-live optimization, our senior-level ERP consultants guide you through every phase of the migration process.
With a proven track record of helping healthcare systems modernize their ERP landscape, our team helps minimize risk and unlock the full value of your Oracle Cloud investment.
Contact Us
For more information about our Infor Lawson or Oracle consulting services or to get started on a project with our team, contact us today.
