One of the largest digital transformations in Dutch Healthcare
Behind the scenes of one of the largest digital transformations of Dutch Healthcare
Most people don’t realize what happens behind the scenes when a healthcare request is processed. A complex process is set in motion, requiring employees, healthcare providers, and multiple digital systems to work together seamlessly. When the technology supporting such a critical business process needs to be replaced, there is little room for error.
A Dutch organization responsible for administering statutory healthcare schemes faced exactly that challenge. Its existing system had served the organization for many years but no longer met today’s requirements. The decision was made to implement an entirely new platform based on Pega, supported by a modern document management system and various scanning solutions. This was far more than a system replacement: the underlying processes, integrations, document flows, and infrastructure were all completely redesigned.
From BPM Company, Maksim Khalikov (Senior System Architect) and Maarten Veger (Practice Lead) were involved in the program, each contributing from a completely different perspective.
“You don’t simply replace an application”
As a Solution Architect within the CIO Office, Maarten Veger represented the client’s interests. As part of the architecture team, he was responsible for safeguarding the quality of the solution.
“This wasn’t a standard software replacement,” Maarten explains. “It involved the organization’s core business process—a mission-critical process used to administer statutory healthcare schemes. The societal impact of a project like this is enormous: every day, thousands of citizens and healthcare providers rely on this process. That’s exactly why the transition had to be carefully planned. Business continuity wasn’t just desirable; it was an absolute prerequisite.”
The new environment had to support a high volume of daily transactions while remaining available to a large group of internal and external users. The system is not only used by employees; healthcare providers also submit applications through a dedicated portal. All of these users expect the service to be available at all times, regardless of their browser or device.
According to Maarten, the challenge extended far beyond implementing new software.
“There was a massive migration behind the scenes. Applications, infrastructure, documents, business processes, and integrations all had to be renewed or adapted. From my role, I continuously assessed whether the architecture was future-proof, identified potential risks, and determined how those risks could be effectively managed.”
That independent role was a deliberate choice.
“The client wanted the assurance that the right solution would ultimately be delivered. Especially in projects of this scale, it’s essential to have someone representing the client’s interests—someone who can critically assess the proposed solution and ask the right questions throughout the process.”
Building the new reality
While Maarten focused on architecture and quality assurance, BPM Company colleague Maksim Khalikov worked within the development team to build the new environment.
He joined the project as a DevOps Engineer when the organization was looking for Pega specialists with the right expertise.
“They wanted to replace their existing system with a solution that would be more stable, faster, and easier to scale. To achieve that, they needed people with specialized Pega knowledge.”
“I resolve incidents and bugs, develop new functionality, implement change requests, and continuously optimize the platform’s performance. That variety is exactly what makes this assignment so interesting.”
The first application has now been successfully deployed to production, and work is already underway on the next phase of the program.
“We’re currently working on a larger implementation in which an existing client portal is being integrated with Pega. Everything users do within the portal must be processed immediately by the underlying business processes. That integration is a key part of the next phase.”
Two perspectives on the same project
The combination of both roles is what makes this project unique. While Maarten safeguarded the solution’s quality, architecture, and risk management on behalf of the client, Maksim worked daily on the technical realization of that solution.
It is a strong example of how BPM Company supports organizations throughout complex digital transformation programs: by combining experienced architects who define the right strategic direction with specialized consultants who bring that vision to life.
An essential combination when the continuity of a socially critical business process is at stake.
