The Broken State of Veterinary Software Discovery, And How We Can Fix It

In an era where software innovation is accelerating across every industry, veterinary professionals are still struggling with an outdated, inefficient process for discovering, evaluating, and purchasing the software tools they need. As someone who has spent over 35 years building and selling software, with more than a decade focused specifically on veterinary solutions. I’ve seen firsthand how difficult it is for practices to find the right tools, and how often truly great solutions never reach the clinics that need them most.

The Problem: A Fragmented Discovery Process

Right now, veterinary practices primarily find software through three channels:

• Trade shows
• Google searches
• Private social media groups

Each of these methods is limited in reach and effectiveness. Trade shows are costly and only accessible a few times a year. Search engines are dominated by companies with the biggest ad budgets and SEO teams, not necessarily the best products. Private groups can offer trusted recommendations, but only if you're lucky enough to be in the right conversation at the right time.

The Result: Visibility for the Big, Stale Products

This dynamic favors large companies with the resources to dominate search rankings, attend every major conference, and flood social media with ads. These are often legacy vendors offering outdated, one-size-fits-all solutions. Meanwhile, small and mid-sized software as a service (SaaS) companies, many of which offer modern, flexible, and innovative products, are effectively invisible.

This isn't just bad for the up-and-coming vendors. It’s bad for veterinary hospitals, who waste time evaluating poor-fit solutions, overpay for bloated products, or delay critical tech upgrades simply because the right options are too hard to find.

The Opportunity: A Marketplace That Levels the Playing Field

I believe we can fix this. By building a free and open veterinary software marketplace, we can create a platform where:

• Veterinary practices can search and compare SaaS products based on features, pricing, reviews, and integrations.
• Software vendors can showcase their solutions without needing massive marketing budgets.
• Digital service providers, from telehealth to payments to inventory tools, can be discovered more easily by the clinics they were built to serve.

This kind of marketplace would save veterinary teams time and money while also supporting innovation in our industry. It would democratize access to the software ecosystem and put power back in the hands of the people who use it every day.

A Mission Rooted in Experience

My passion for this work comes from years spent helping veterinary hospitals implement technology that actually works, tools that simplify workflows, improve client communication, and free up time to focus on what really matters: patient care.

We owe it to veterinary professionals to make it easier to find software that fits their needs, not the needs of a giant vendor’s sales quota.

This blog is the first step in that mission. In the weeks ahead, I’ll be sharing insights into software evaluation, product reviews, trends in veterinary technology, and the progress we’re making toward building this open marketplace.

If you believe there’s a better way forward, I’d love for you to follow along.