Modernizing a Multi-Location Radiology Group’s Imaging Infrastructure

How netMethods designed and deployed a hybrid private cloud and Azure environment — built on high-performance networking — to replace aging servers that could no longer keep pace with the demands of modern diagnostic imaging.

The Situation

A multi-location radiology group operating across three Orange County sites had built its imaging operations on aging on-premise servers that were increasingly unable to handle the demands of modern diagnostic workflows. PACS (Picture Archiving and Communication System) and RIS (Radiology Information System) platforms were running on hardware that struggled under peak imaging loads — causing slow image retrieval, workflow bottlenecks for radiologists and technologists, and growing anxiety about system reliability.

Storage was maxed out. Server hardware was past its serviceable life. Backup processes were inconsistent and had never been fully tested for recovery. And with no disaster recovery plan in place, a single hardware failure during peak hours would have meant patient care delays, lost productivity, and significant risk to the practice.

The group needed a modern infrastructure that could support high-volume imaging today, scale as the practice grew, and meet the security and availability standards that healthcare operations demand.

The Challenge

•       Aging on-premise servers failing under the data throughput demands of PACS and RIS workflows

•       Storage capacity exhausted with no scalable path forward on existing hardware

•       No disaster recovery plan — a single failure would have caused immediate clinical disruption

•       High-resolution imaging data requiring consistent 10Gbps+ throughput between workstations and storage

•       HIPAA compliance requirements across all three locations and all data flows

•       Migration had to be executed without disrupting active clinical operations

The Approach

Network Infrastructure First

Before any cloud or storage work began, netMethods redesigned the network backbone across all three locations. We deployed Meraki-managed switching infrastructure with 10Gbps connections at the workstation and server tier and 40Gbps uplinks at the core — providing the raw throughput that high-resolution DICOM imaging requires. Radiologists retrieving large imaging studies, technologists uploading from modalities, and referring providers accessing images remotely all depend on a network that doesn’t introduce latency into clinical workflows. The new backbone eliminated that as a variable entirely.

Wireless infrastructure was also upgraded across all three sites, with segmented networks separating clinical imaging traffic from general staff and guest access. Centralized management through the Meraki dashboard gave the netMethods team full visibility across all locations from a single pane of glass.

Hybrid Cloud Architecture: VMware Private Cloud + Azure

Rather than a full cloud migration — which would have introduced latency unacceptable for real-time imaging workflows — netMethods designed a hybrid architecture that kept performance-sensitive workloads on-premise while leveraging Azure for scalability, redundancy, and long-term archival.

A VMware-based private cloud environment was built on new server hardware at the group’s primary location, hosting the PACS and RIS platforms directly. VMware’s virtualization layer provided high availability, live migration between hosts, and the ability to allocate compute and storage resources dynamically as imaging volumes changed. For a radiology practice where no two days look exactly the same — and where a trauma call or a surge in screening volumes can spike demand instantly — that flexibility is operationally critical.

Azure was integrated as the secondary tier, handling encrypted long-term image archival, disaster recovery failover, and remote access infrastructure for radiologists reading from off-site locations. All data moving between the on-premise environment and Azure was encrypted in transit and at rest, fully aligned with HIPAA requirements.

PACS & RIS Migration

The PACS and RIS platforms were migrated to the new environment during a planned maintenance window, with the netMethods team on-site at each location to manage the transition. Prior to go-live, full environment testing was completed — including simulated failover to verify that the Azure disaster recovery tier would activate correctly in a real outage scenario. The migration was completed with no unplanned downtime and no disruption to the following day’s clinical schedule.

Security & Compliance

Every component of the new environment was configured to HIPAA standards — encrypted data flows, access-controlled clinical systems, audit logging across all platforms, and documented network architecture that satisfied the group’s compliance obligations. Remote access for radiologists and referring providers was secured through encrypted, authenticated connections with multi-factor authentication enforced at every entry point.

The Outcome

The multi-location radiology group now operates on an infrastructure built for the demands of modern diagnostic imaging. Image retrieval times dropped dramatically. Radiologists report no lag on large DICOM studies. Technologists no longer experience upload delays from modalities. And the practice has a documented, tested disaster recovery plan for the first time in its history.

The hybrid architecture also gave the group a scalable path forward. As imaging volumes grow or new modalities are added, compute and storage resources can be expanded within the VMware environment or shifted to Azure without another infrastructure overhaul. What was a liability has become a platform.

Results at a Glance

•       10Gbps/40Gbps network backbone deployed across all three locations

•       VMware private cloud hosting PACS and RIS with high availability and live migration

•       Azure integration for disaster recovery, long-term archival, and remote read access

•       Zero unplanned downtime during or after migration

•       Tested and documented disaster recovery plan in place for the first time

•       Full HIPAA-compliant architecture across all locations and data flows

•       Centralized network management across all three sites

About netMethods

netMethods is a managed IT services provider headquartered in Lake Forest, CA, with over 25 years of experience supporting organizations across Orange County and Southern California. We specialize in managed IT, cloud infrastructure, IT security, and practical AI solutions for healthcare, manufacturing, public sector, and professional services organizations.

netmethods.com   |   info@netmethods.com   |   949.309.2941