DataFirst
DataFirst is a privately held U.S. healthcare technology company that builds the Silverback enterprise imaging workflow engine, combining DICOM routing with an integrated HL7 engine, and provides data migration services for hospitals, health systems, imaging centers, and radiology practices.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1989
- HeadquartersRaleigh, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What DataFirst does
DataFirst is a privately held healthcare technology company founded in 1989, headquartered in Raleigh, NC (Research Triangle Park), with a U.S.-based engineering and R&D team operating from Melbourne, FL. The company builds the Silverback Workflow Engine — an enterprise-grade platform combining DICOM routing with a fully integrated HL7 engine — to orchestrate imaging data movement across PACS, VNA, RIS, EMR, and EHR systems in multi-vendor, multi-site environments. Silverback is sold in two editions (Enterprise and Pro) and extended with optional modules including the Intelligent QC Module, Silverback Archiver, SCO-to-BTO Converter, Dynamic Migration Engine, and H/A Automatic Failover. Alongside the software platform, DataFirst runs a professional services business executing large-scale PACS, VNA, and EHR data migrations, reporting 2B+ studies migrated, 100+ health systems integrated, 250+ migration projects annually, and 1,000+ Silverback deployments.
The platform is augmented by AI features (anonymization, smart quality checks, predictive reporting) and embeds natively with major healthcare technology vendors including Fujifilm, GE Healthcare, Siemens, Philips, AGFA, Cerner, Konica Minolta, and Dell Technologies. DataFirst holds ISO 27001, ISO 9001:2015, HIPAA, GDPR, EU/U.S. Data Privacy Framework, NHS DSPT, and Astra Security A+ certifications. Its customer base spans academic medical centers, integrated delivery networks, community health systems, teleradiology providers, and radiology practices, with named customers including Kaiser Permanente, Stanford Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Penn Medicine, NewYork-Presbyterian, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, WVU Medicine, BayCare Health System, MemorialCare, Providence Health, Dartmouth-Hitchcock, Inova Health System, and Everlight Radiology.
DataFirst's revenue model combines recurring subscription licensing of the Silverback platform (quote-based, multi-year contracts) with professional services revenue from data migrations and implementation support. Go-to-market is driven by direct enterprise field sales led by a Global VP of Sales, supported by event-driven demand generation through SIIM and RSNA conferences, content marketing, and recently expanded strategic partnerships with Konica Minolta (co-developed Exa product line), Radiology Partners (exclusive migration services), Gradient Health (AI data ecosystem), and TeleRay (AI imaging integration). The company remains founder-led and independent after 35+ years, with no disclosed venture or private equity backing.
DataFirst firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- DataFirst
- Legal name
- DataFirst Corporation
- Website
- https://datafirst.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1989
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- DataFirst is a privately held U.S. healthcare technology company that builds the Silverback enterprise imaging workflow engine, combining DICOM routing with an integrated HL7 engine, and provides data migration services for hospitals, health systems, imaging centers, and radiology practices.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
DataFirst industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Healthcare Imaging Interoperability Software
- NAICS
- Computer Systems Design and Related Services (54151), Computer Systems Design and Related Services (5415), Custom Computer Programming Services (541511), Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (51821)
- SIC
- Services-Computer Integrated Systems Design (7373), Services-Computer Programming Services (7371), Services-Computer Processing & Data Preparation (7374), Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Medical Device Connectivity & Interoperability Middleware (MDI, EHR/HL7/FHIR Integration) (HLACAPAJ)
Keywords
Where DataFirst is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Raleigh
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
DataFirst business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Silverback Workflow Engine Licensing: DataFirst generates revenue primarily through licensing their Silverback Workflow Engine platform to healthcare organizations. The platform is offered in Enterprise and Pro versions with different capability tiers. Deployment options include cloud, on-prem, or hybrid configurations.
- Data Migration Services: Professional services revenue from enterprise imaging data migration projects including PACS, VNA, DICOM, and legacy system transitions. The company provides end-to-end migration solutions with dedicated specialists.
- Implementation and Support Services: Deployment, configuration, testing, validation, and ongoing technical support for Silverback implementations. Includes project management and quality assurance services.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Multi-year contract | Silverback Enterprise - Advanced DICOM routing and workflow orchestration for complex multi-site environments |
| Subscription | Multi-year contract | Silverback Pro - Full interoperability services with integrated HL7 engine |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels8 records
DataFirst product offering
Product offeringCore offering
DataFirst develops and licenses the Silverback enterprise medical imaging workflow engine — a DICOM routing platform with an integrated HL7 engine that orchestrates image distribution, intelligent prefetch, and rules-based processing across multi-vendor, multi-site healthcare environments. The company complements the platform with turnkey data migration services for PACS, VNA, RIS, EMR, and EHR systems, and ancillary modules such as the Silverback Archiver, Intelligent QC Module, SCO to BTO Converter, H/A Automatic Failover, and Silverback Enterprise Management Portal.
Product overview
DataFirst offers a unified enterprise imaging workflow platform called Silverback, available in two editions: Silverback Enterprise and Silverback Pro. Silverback Enterprise provides advanced DICOM routing and intelligent image distribution, while Silverback Pro adds a fully integrated HL7 engine for unified DICOM and HL7 workflow orchestration. The platform is complemented by DataFirst's professional data migration services for PACS, VNA, RIS, EMR, and EHR systems, and optional modules including the Intelligent QC Module for data quality management, Archiver for legacy storage, SCO to BTO Converter for format standardization, and H/A Automatic Failover for high availability. The Dynamic Migration Engine enables large-scale system transitions. Together, these products provide end-to-end imaging workflow orchestration, interoperability, and data migration capabilities for healthcare organizations.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Silverback®: Enterprise-grade workflow and migration engine for healthcare imaging interoperability, DICOM routing, HL7 integration, and data migration. Available as Silverback® Enterprise and Silverback® Pro versions.
- Silverback® Enterprise
- Silverback® Pro
- Migration Engine
Products and services
- Silverback Enterprise Enterprise-grade DICOM routing and image distribution engine for multi-site, multi-vendor healthcare environments, with intelligent image distribution, scalable workflow orchestration, flexible archiving, cloud integration, and disaster recovery options. Sold as a subscription to hospitals, IDNs, imaging centers, and radiology practices.
- Silverback Pro Full interoperability engine that combines Silverback Enterprise's DICOM routing with a fully integrated HL7 engine for intelligent prefetch workflows, seamless data distribution, and unified enterprise imaging orchestration. Sold via subscription.
- Data Migration Services Professional services for large-scale PACS, RIS, VNA, EMR, and EHR data migrations, including custom solutions, turnkey migrations, file-share migrations, enterprise imaging migrations, data cleansing, and HL7 integration. Delivered by a 100% U.S.-based team of migration engineers and project managers.
- Dynamic Migration Engine Purpose-built migration engine supporting validated, secure, large-scale PACS, DICOM, and VNA transitions. Sold as an add-on/option on the Silverback Pro edition.
- Silverback Archiver Legacy imaging storage solution offering short-term, mid-term, or long-term storage of retired studies. Functions as a temporary archive during migrations or as a long-term holding archive for legacy data.
- Intelligent QC Module Quality-control add-on that lets PACS administrators review, adjust, and correct patient demographic data and study metadata, identifying discrepancies before studies are routed to designated targets.
- SCO to BTO Converter Proprietary format converter that transforms legacy SCO exams into the BTO standard for viewing and storage. Operates standalone during mass migrations or as part of the dynamic Silverback prefetch workflow.
- H/A Automatic Failover High-availability deployment option for Silverback that activates a secondary instance sharing the same database and cache; the secondary instance takes over immediately if the principal server fails.
- Silverback Enterprise Management Portal Centralized monitoring and governance interface providing real-time visibility into image network status, active alerts, and unified workflow management across the Silverback deployment.
Quantifiable outcome
- Customer went from 63% first pass success rate to 98% first pass success rate overnight after implementing Silverback
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use DataFirst
Customer profileNamed customers14 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
DataFirst technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration6 records
AI capability3 records
Feature8 records
DataFirst partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- Konica Minolta Healthcare AmericascoreDataFirst and Konica Minolta Healthcare Americas announced launch of interoperability solutions including Exa Gateway and Exa DICOM Engine powered by Silverback. These solutions address routing challenges when sharing patient imaging data across different PACS and RIS systems. Features include automated study workflow, intelligent prefetch, and rules-based processing for message handling. Partnership targets hospital and radiology practice consolidation challenges.
- Radiology PartnerscoreStrategic partnership with Radiology Partners to support data migration and expansion efforts across the US healthcare radiology sector. DataFirst provides exclusive data migration services and showcases new imaging workflow technology at RSNA 2025. Partnership aimed at accelerating growth and market expansion in the radiology sector.
- Gradient HealthcoreStrategic partnership announced November 6, 2025, designed to enable imaging providers to share de-identified medical data for AI development. Healthcare institutions using DataFirst's Silverback Workflow Engine can contribute data via Gradient's Atlas platform. Creates new revenue opportunities while advancing more representative medical AI systems. Aims to address health inequalities by making it easier for providers of all sizes to participate in medical AI innovation.
- Everlight RadiologycoreGlobal teleradiology provider partnership where Silverback Workflow Engine serves as central mechanism handling all DICOM data securely. Silverback unlocked infinitely more scalability for Everlight's business, handling DICOM data distribution at lightning speed. DataFirst team tailored the Silverback technology to meet Everlight's specific needs, shaping the solution collaboratively.
Scale indicators10 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights6 records
DataFirst competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Hyland Software: Hyland's enterprise imaging suite (acquired NilRead, PACSGear) competes in the VNA and enterprise imaging interoperability space served by DataFirst's Silverback engine, targeting similar hospitals and IDNs.
- Agfa HealthCare: Agfa's PACS, VNA, and imaging workflow portfolio targets the same hospital market; DataFirst's leadership team includes former Agfa professionals and integration with Agfa systems is documented.
- Optum (Change Healthcare): Optum's Change Healthcare business operates healthcare data exchange and imaging-related interoperability services at much larger scale, adjacent to DataFirst's HL7 and DICOM routing sweet spot.
- Sectra: Sectra's enterprise imaging and PACS portfolio serves the same radiology/health-system buyers as DataFirst and includes interoperability and migration workflows that overlap with Silverback.
- Konica Minolta Healthcare (Exa): Konica Minolta is both a partner and adjacent vendor: the Exa platform integrates Silverback for DICOM routing and overlaps in serving the same hospital customers for PACS/RIS needs.
- Philips Health Imaging: Philips' IntelliSpace and cardiology informatics portfolio competes in enterprise imaging interoperability; DataFirst's CEO and CTO both previously held senior imaging roles at Philips, and several DataFirst customers are large Philips accounts.
Direct peers
- Visage Imaging: Visage offers enterprise imaging and DICOM workflow tools serving academic medical centers and large IDNs, paralleling DataFirst's Silverback enterprise footprint.
- Mach7 Technologies: Mach7 provides a vendor-neutral imaging archive and workflow platform for healthcare enterprises, directly overlapping with Silverback's DICOM routing, VNA, and migration capabilities.
- Intelerad Medical Systems: Intelerad's InteleConnect and imaging workflow solutions compete in enterprise imaging interoperability and routing, serving the same hospitals and radiology practices DataFirst targets.
Emerging players
- PaxeraHealth: PaxeraHealth provides enterprise imaging and AI-enabled workflow platforms to hospitals globally, competing in adjacent PACS/VNA/AI routing territory where DataFirst's Silverback operates.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
DataFirst social profiles
Digital presenceDataFirst compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance9 records
DataFirst financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
DataFirst leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles6 records
DataFirst funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
DataFirst M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about DataFirst
What does DataFirst do?
DataFirst develops and licenses the Silverback enterprise medical imaging workflow engine — a DICOM routing platform with an integrated HL7 engine that orchestrates image distribution, intelligent prefetch, and rules-based processing across multi-vendor, multi-site healthcare environments. The company complements the platform with turnkey data migration services for PACS, VNA, RIS, EMR, and EHR systems, and ancillary modules such as the Silverback Archiver, Intelligent QC Module, SCO to BTO Converter, H/A Automatic Failover, and Silverback Enterprise Management Portal.
Is DataFirst a public or private company?
DataFirst is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was DataFirst founded?
DataFirst was founded in 1989. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is DataFirst based?
DataFirst is headquartered in Raleigh, United States, in the North America region.
How does DataFirst make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Silverback Workflow Engine Licensing is the primary driver. The others are data Migration Services and implementation and Support Services.
Who are DataFirst's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Hyland Software, Agfa HealthCare, Optum (Change Healthcare), Sectra, Konica Minolta Healthcare (Exa) and Philips Health Imaging. Direct peers are Visage Imaging, Mach7 Technologies and Intelerad Medical Systems. PaxeraHealth is listed as an emerging player.
Does DataFirst have an API?
No public API is recorded for DataFirst.
What industry is DataFirst in?
DataFirst's product category is Healthcare Imaging Interoperability Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HLACAPAJ, Medical Device Connectivity & Interoperability Middleware (MDI, EHR/HL7/FHIR Integration). Its NAICS code is 54151 and its SIC code is 7373.