CTO of Healthcare IT Leaders: Reliability beats Cutting Edge

Reliability Beats “Cutting Edge” — Scaling Healthcare Engineering w/ Paul Cannon, CTO @ Healthcare IT LeadersWhat does engineering leadership look like when uptime matters more than hype?In this episode, Paul Cannon (CTO, Healthcare IT Leaders) breaks down how he’s scaling a high-growth services org supporting EHR and ERP platforms (Epic, Oracle/Cerner, Workday, UKG)—and why reliability often beats “cutting edge” in healthcare.We cover building a Kansas City Center of Excellence, hiring senior-heavy teams at speed, AI’s impact on interviews and code quality, and why transparency matters more in hybrid organizations.What you’ll learnBuilding a services engine: from staff augmentation to “continuous services” with a tech layer on topReliability beats novelty: why customers reward stability over bleeding edge techHiring at pace: networks, senior talent density, and when to introduce junior devsAI in the funnel: separating signal from noise when candidates use AI on take-homesTrust and AI: where copilots help (tests, docs) and where human judgment stays criticalLeadership shifts: transparency in hybrid teams and the IC→leader transitionKey takeawaysStability wins in regulated, mission-critical environmentsSpeed and quality can coexist—if you set standards and shorten the “prove it” loopEvaluate fundamentals, not just output—AI can mask real gapsTrain for smart AI use; don’t outsource understandingHiring strategy evolves: start senior-heavy, then layer in juniors with intentAbout our guestPaul Cannon is CTO at Healthcare IT Leaders, where he leads engineering for managed/continuous services across major EHR and ERP ecosystems.About the showTech Teams Today is hosted by Lucas Mendes, CEO & Co-founder of Revelo—helping companies build elite engineering teams and improve AI systems with expert data. New episodes weekly.