By Alex Smith |
Forefront Dermatology has reduced manual reporting workloads by 85 per cent after modernising its data infrastructure with Microsoft Fabric and technology partner Formula5.
The US healthcare provider, which operates more than 300 clinics across 30 states and employs 700 clinicians, previously relied on disparate systems inherited through acquisitions. Data was spread across electronic health records, scheduling, finance and operations platforms, while reporting depended on legacy Microsoft SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS) and SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS) packages maintained by a central team. The fragmented environment made it difficult to establish consistent definitions for providers, locations and service codes, while requests for new reports often required intervention from the central team.
The provider therefore developed a three-year strategy to modernise infrastructure, strengthen security and establish a governed data platform before introducing AI capabilities. Forefront Dermatology selected Formula5, a Microsoft Security expert and Microsoft Fabric Featured Partner, to support the programme.
“Our goal is to provide exceptional patient care,” said John Weatherbie, chief technology officer at Forefront Dermatology. “From a technology standpoint, that means platforms that let our physicians provide care locally while we keep national scalability and reliability. We modernised our core technology while preparing for an AI-first operating model.”
Infrastructure was moved to Microsoft Azure, while identity management was consolidated on Microsoft Entra ID. The organisation retired Okta and a separate multi-factor authentication tool, bringing around 100 applications under Conditional Access, Microsoft Entra ID Protection and Microsoft Entra Identity Governance.
Microsoft Purview was introduced to support data discovery, classification, sensitivity labelling, data loss prevention and insider risk management. Microsoft Sentinel was also deployed to bring security signals from Microsoft Entra, Microsoft Defender, Microsoft Purview and infrastructure into a central detection and investigation environment.
The analytics environment was subsequently rebuilt on Microsoft Fabric. Its OneLake data lake unified information previously held in separate systems, while Microsoft Power BI enabled clinic managers, finance teams and operations leaders to access and analyse data independently. Much of the legacy SSIS and SSRS reporting infrastructure was replaced with native Fabric pipelines.
The programme also introduced a master data hub built on Microsoft Power Platform and connected to Fabric. Using Excel as its interface, the hub allows business teams to manage information about providers, locations and service codes. Changes are validated against governance rules before records are written back to Fabric, establishing consistent definitions across reporting and operational workflows.
“Microsoft Fabric appealed to us because it met us where we already were,” said Weatherbie. “My teams understood SQL, Power BI, and Azure-style pipelines, which let us deliver very quickly. Combined with Microsoft Entra, Copilot, and Purview, it gave us structure for our data and also identity, security, and governance.”
The consolidated environment has reduced the need for centralised reporting support, allowing clinic managers and finance teams to access their own data. Forefront Dermatology has also retired three identity and security vendors or platforms, reducing licensing and operational costs.
The architecture is designed to accommodate further acquisitions and new data sources without recreating the fragmented reporting environment that previously accompanied the organisation's growth.
Forefront Dermatology is now deploying Microsoft 365 Copilot and Azure-based agents across clinical and back-office workflows. The company is also preparing to integrate Microsoft Purview with Fabric, while Purview Data Security Posture Management for AI is being used to govern the information that Copilot can access.
“When Microsoft talks about frontier companies, that is exactly what John and the team have done at Forefront Dermatology,” said Pete Orologas, CEO of Formula5. “They set the strategy three years ago, laid down security and a governed data foundation, and now the sky is the limit for what AI can do for clinicians.”