Fun at Epic Systems

Epic is a software developer that focuses on medical records and information. They were founded in 1979 and have grown since then to be a dominant company in their space. They remain privately held, and have a campus outside Madison, WI.

I recently went there to discuss Redgate partnering with them and while there got to tour part of the campus. This is a bit of a dump of a number of photos, because it’s a cool campus.

When we walked up to the first building, it was reminiscent of Falling Water. I visited that house years ago, and our host confirmed that was the inspiration for this building.

2026-06_line0055

Connecting to that building was one that had quite a bit of a wilderness/safari/African theme. Art on the walls

2026-06_line0054

Images around elevators.

2026-06_line0053

Some fun spaces to sit and work or chat.

2026-06_line0052

Walking from that building to the next, since most are connected, we came upon a mini recreation of Raiders of the Lost Ark. When I pulled on the idol, we got a soundtrack of the boulder rolling playing in the background. Very fun.

2026-06_line0051

The basement of the next building had a recreation of a New York city deli and subway. I caught a shot of the space, where people can hang out with lunch.

2026-06_line0050

I loved this piece of art overlaid on the iconic skyscraper worker photo.

2026-06_line0049

In another building, there was a Hobbit theme. The entrance to one conference room looks like the Shire.

2026-06_line0048

Inside there’s fake grass around the table.

2026-06_line0047

And a space where you can get refreshments or sit outside of the main room,

2026-06_line0046

Even the place where catering or refreshments might be set out continues the theme.

2026-06_line0045

Walking further, this space has a outdoor feeling around the staircase from one floor to the next.

2026-06_line0044

Just past that, there’s a few walls with the handprints of employees who have been there ten years. How cool is that?

2026-06_line0043

We left the outdoors, heading for space. This was a very cool hallway.

2026-06_line0042

And between two buildings, there was a Heaven theme, and a Hell one. If you press the buttons, the elevator doesn’t work, but it does remind me of Dante with some lights and sound.

2026-06_line0041

Our presentation was in the Mos Eisley cantina.

2026-06_line0040

With some statues and reproductions at one end of the room,

2026-06_line0038

Around the conference room, there were various window spaces in the rock, each showing a different galaxy and the distance from Earth.

2026-06_line0037

There was even an audience for my presentation.

2026-06_line0036

Outside, it looked like the spacers were hanging out.

2026-06_line0035

With plenty of art everywhere.

2026-06_line0034

One thing I love is that Epic has maintained a lot of values over the years, and these are posted in every bathroom. I assume elsewhere, but I’d heard this and I saw these three items: commandments, principles, and principles of community.

2026-06_line0033

2026-06_line0032

2026-06_line0031

Our meeting was protected with a notice, and a guard.

2026-06_line0030

Epic has one of the largest, or maybe largest, underground event facilities. It was build into the ground on a former farm.

2026-06_line0029

The elevator and stairs take you down.

2026-06_line0028

Hallways have themes

2026-06_line0027

And there are 11,000 seats. I’ve spoken in a few large venues, but never this large.

2026-06_line0026

Different sides of the facility have different themes.

2026-06_line0025

Do you recognize this?

2026-06_line0024

Or this? In the entrance from above ground, this is near one of the escalators.

2026-06_line0023

This was a fabulous visit, and I wish we had more time to tour other spaces. They have a new Star Wars and (I think) Harry Potter building under construction. Hopefully I’ll get to go back.

If you want to just go and visit, you can.

Unknown's avatar

About way0utwest

Editor, SQLServerCentral
This entry was posted in Blog and tagged , . Bookmark the permalink.

2 Responses to Fun at Epic Systems

  1. Greg Moore's avatar Greg Moore says:

    Impressive. I’m familiar with Epic as a User. I can’t quite say they live up to their first principle, but the are, of the 3 EMR systems I’ve used, probably the best and easiest to use.

    I do love all the photos. Sounds like a very interesting place to visit.

    Would be interesting to see what Redgate can do for them.

    Like

    • way0utwest's avatar way0utwest says:

      Lol, I guess joy is relative. I think that plenty of people think they’ve built something great that’s wonderful. Listening to their story on Acquired (https://open.spotify.com/episode/6ParBTxIbofsV5DDZxA4y9?si=cr2anfjdQz-JH5qxmgmfVQ) I think they went from something bad and built something that was a joy, but has aged.

      Of course, for many of us coming into an EMR, we see old software that’s clunky. For a developer coming from a previous version or disparate systems, they might see it as a joy.

      If you’re near MAdison, you can schedule a tour, or even self-tour. Not high security. Some student was on a self-tour and hung with us for a few minutes to listen to our host.

      We’re helping them with Redgate Monitor, since they have a lot of systems and are trying to consolidate views, especially letting Devs see prod perf. Flyway is under discussion, which is interesting. They have a need for sure, but it has to be a good fit.

      Like

Leave a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.