Athenahealth Inc. (NSDQ:ATHN) is weighing whether to adapt its cloud-based physician practice management software to include web browsers other than Microsoft Corp.’s (NSDQ:MSFT).
That means Athenahealth’s offerings aren’t available on a number of high-profile platforms with growing user bases, such as Apple’s (NSDQ:AAPL) iPad, iPhone and MacBook products. If Athenahealth does pull the trigger on adapting its software for platforms made by Microsoft’s bitter enemy, one executive said, it could come at a steep price.
John Lewis, a regional vice president of sales, told a group of industry professionals this morning that Athenahealth is “definitely considering being able to adapt to Safari [and Mozilla] browsers,” but doing so would require a “big chunk of additional cost in research and development.”
Athenahealth currently spends about 7 percent of its annual revenue on R&D, according to regulatory filings. In comparison, companies like Microsoft and Google Inc. (NSDQ:GOOG) spend 13 percent to 15 percent of total revenues on R&D.
Athenahealth isn’t talking about how much it might cost to make the move, according to director of corporate communications John Hallock, who demurred when asked about the price tag by MassDevice.
“I can’t speak to that,” Hallock told us, adding that the company’s suite of cloud-based programs — athenaCollector, athenaClinicals and athenaCommuinicator — are all hosted on a central web-based system called athenaNet, which the company’s 27,000 physicians log on to and enter data.
The system operates exclusively on an Internet Explorer platform, but can be used with other operating systems if the user downloads security software made by Citrix (NSDQ:CTXS). Athenahealth is looking for ways to make it easier for clients to use the product on the iPhone, Hallock told us, and is weighing its options on several other applications.
But he stressed that any such move would be made cautiously, considering the sensitive nature of the health data the system it collects.
“Security is paramount,” Hallock said. “Everything that touches the network platform or device is as secure as it can possibly be.”
If the company makes the decision to add there won’t be any problems getting it out there to its new target users.
“When we make any change we only have to do it once,” he said.
So far the Internet Explorer limitation hasn’t exactly been a problem for Athenahealth, which has posted a nearly 250 percent increase in sales of its software products since 2006.
Part of that is because Microsoft is still the biggest dog in the pack. Most web users rely on Internet Explorer for all of their Internet use — 57 percent of all users, according to a recent article in Time magazine.
But the Microsoft standby has seen a dramatic increase in competition in recent years from Mozilla’s free, open-source Firefox browser and Apple’s Safari, which runs on all of the computer giant’s mobile devices (iPod, iPad and iPhone).
Microsoft just released a new IE version at the South by Southwest indie music, movie and tech confab in Austin, Texas. That might not be enough to dissuade the hipsters from the prevalent belief that the old, grey mare ain’t what she used to be.
Lewis said the limitation hasn’t affected Athenahealth’s sales — which are growing at a boffo 30 percent annual clip.
Still, for a company that likes to operate lean — Lewis said 100 percent of the company’s sales are done via conference call and webinar — a significant addition to its R&D line might be a little tough to swallow.
