Zigwana Manifesto- Healthcare 

We are uncovering a better way to manage, migrate, and preserve healthcare data by building a more agile, adaptable, and interoperable approach to legacy system decommissioning.

Healthcare Data Archiving Agile Principles

  1. Patient ownership over institutional gatekeeping

  2. Working, adaptable infrastructure over complex, fragmented systems

  3. Open collaboration and interoperability over proprietary restrictions

  4. Healthcare demands over vendor-imposed constraints

Principles Behind the Healthcare Data Archiving Agile Manifesto

  • Our highest priority is to ensure continued access to critical patient data. Any application used for accessing patient care must provide long-term availability, security, and usability to data without reliance on obsolete applications.

  • Welcome changing regulatory and compliance requirements. Any application used for accessing patient data must not only adapt to HIPAA, state laws, and interoperability standards as they evolve—but also raise the bar for what those standards should be, setting new expectations for security, accessibility, and patient ownership.

  • Deliver real solutions frequently, with a preference for rapid, iterative improvements. Healthcare systems can’t afford to wait years for data migrations. Modular, phased implementations reduce risk and improve adoption.

  • Healthcare providers, IT leaders, and compliance teams must collaborate. Data archiving isn’t just an IT issue—it’s a patient care issue. Solutions must be built with input from clinicians, administrators, and technical teams.

  • Build projects around motivated individuals. Healthcare IT teams need tools and workflows that empower them to manage data migrations efficiently—not rigid, vendor-driven processes.

  • Clear, direct communication drives progress. The truth is known—healthcare data archiving is a fragmented, costly disaster. Progress requires open, honest acknowledgment of the problem, followed by real solutions. The best strategy eliminates confusion, ensures compliance, and removes barriers to data retrieval—not by hiding the issue, but by confronting it head-on.

  • Usability and accessibility are the primary measures of success. Data is only valuable if it is easy to retrieve, properly indexed, and formatted in a way that directly supports patient care, billing, and operational efficiency. This isn’t just about archiving—it’s about fixing healthcare by ensuring that information flows seamlessly, reducing administrative burden, and improving outcomes at every level.  

  • Sustainable, cost-effective archiving is key. Hospitals and health systems should not be financially burdened by excessive vendor fees or held hostage by legacy systems that force unnecessary maintenance costs.

  • Continuous attention to security, efficiency, and usability enhances agility. Security isn’t just protection—it’s the foundation of innovation. Without cybercriminals exploiting vulnerabilities, we could move faster, integrate more seamlessly, and unlock new possibilities in healthcare data. That’s why security must be prioritized—not as an obstacle to agility, but as the key to it

  • Simplicity is not impossible. The entire healthcare data ecosystem can be less complicated. The goal is to decommission legacy systems efficiently, eliminate unnecessary maintenance costs, and provide direct, streamlined access to archived patient data—creating a system that is easier to navigate, more transparent, and built for long-term usability.

  • The best archiving strategies emerge from self-organizing teams. Hospitals, IT teams, and compliance leaders must work together, rather than relying on rigid, vendor-driven processes that limit flexibility.

  • Continuous reflection and improvement drive long-term success. As healthcare technology evolves, the entire healthcare ecosystem must evolve alongside it—ensuring that new advancements are not just adopted, but fully integrated and made useful.