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Reimagining Healthcare Through the Cloud at Kroger Health

How NRI helped Kroger Health modernize applications, enhance scalability, and rapidly deploy a nationwide COVID-19 vaccination scheduling platform.

Business situation

Kroger Health, Kroger Co.’s healthcare division, was already on a path to modernize its applications when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. When the Federal Retail Pharmacy Program selected Kroger Health to work with them, the modernization process needed to fast-track everything. To support vaccine scheduling across 2,500 locations, they needed a scalable, reliable solution. Modernization wasn’t just a long-term goal anymore. It was urgent.

Considerations

Modernize and migrate multiple on-premises applications to Microsoft Azure.
Develop a scalable, secure solution for COVID-19 vaccine appointment scheduling.
Maintain compliance with healthcare data regulations and security standards.

A Boost for the Future

To prepare Kroger Health for the cloud, NRI hosted more than 35 discovery sessions to deeply assess their application environment. The result: eight high-impact apps were selected for a full rebuild in the cloud. A tailored roadmap followed, complete with timelines and architecture guidance using Azure Data Lake, Azure SQL, Azure Synapse, and more—laying the groundwork for long-term scalability.

Then came a high-stakes challenge. As part of the Federal Retail Pharmacy Program during the COVID-19 pandemic, Kroger needed a vaccine scheduling tool—fast. NRI collaborated closely with Kroger’s e-commerce and digital teams to build new APIs and logic flows. The system, powered by Azure, could handle up to 300,000 appointments a day and was deployed across 2,500 locations in record time.

Our solution

Kroger Health worked with NRI to modernize their infrastructure, data, and applications in Microsoft Azure. After more than 35 discovery sessions, NRI recommended rebuilding eight core applications in the cloud, setting the stage with a detailed migration roadmap and architecture framework leveraging Azure Data Lake, Azure SQL, and Azure Synapse.
To standardize and govern Kroger’s data environment, NRI laid the foundation using Azure Databricks and Azure Data Factory, transforming three legacy on-prem databases into a modern Azure SQL DB environment. With the late 2020 pivot, NRI moved quickly to meet the moment. Working alongside Kroger’s e-commerce and digital teams, they built a centralized scheduling system powered by new APIs and Java-based logic flows—designed to support up to 300,000 appointments per day. As holiday deadlines loomed, the team worked tirelessly to resolve critical system disconnects and streamline legacy dependencies. The solution went live just weeks later, built and deployed on Azure’s full suite of services.

Capabilities Applied

Modern Applications
Intelligent Data & AI
Governance Risk & Compliance

Technologies Utilized

Microsoft Azure
Azure SQL Database
Azure Databricks
Web API
Azure Data Factory

Results

Through strategic planning and agile execution, NRI empowered Kroger Health to enhance its digital capabilities, respond effectively to a public health crisis, and position itself for ongoing innovation in healthcare delivery. NRI delivered a comprehensive solution that enabled Kroger Health to:
Modernize and migrate critical applications to the cloud, enhancing scalability and performance.
Develop and deploy a robust vaccine scheduling platform, facilitating millions of appointments across 35 states.
Improve data governance and integration through a centralized data foundation in Azure.
Lay the groundwork for continued digital transformation and application modernization efforts.

Ready to take things further?