The cloud imperative in healthcare
February 4, 2021
RESEARCH REPORT
In brief
In brief
- Cloud is no longer a pure technology play in healthcare. It’s a business play.
- While healthcare organizations see cloud as a top investment priority, there is more to do to harness its value.
- Scaling cloud requires a new way of architecting, governing, managing and measuring technology consumption.
- The public cloud is the ultimate destination as it provides the most opportunity for healthcare players to tap into cloud-native services.
Two years ago, healthcare organizations were experimenting in the public cloud. Now their focus is on migrating legacy technology to the cloud and transforming data and applications using capabilities that aren’t available in their existing infrastructure solutions.
As business priorities shift, modern cloud-enabled technologies are more critical than ever in healthcare. However, scaling cloud can be complicated. Healthcare is at a tipping point. A hybrid cloud environment can solve many of its biggest challenges.
But how does a historically risk averse industry make it happen fast enough? By working across the business, healthcare players can harness cloud to operate in a climate where the resilience of people, systems and partnerships is paramount.
The path to the future of healthcare runs through the public cloud.
Why cloud now in healthcare?
There are four important reasons why healthcare organizations should act with urgency to develop and implement their cloud strategy. The question is no longer about “why” healthcare needs cloud. It’s about how to scale it at a time when the dynamics of the industry are evolving fast.
Business leaders have a stake in cloud
Every C-suite leader has a vested interest and is looking for a specific kind of value.
Cloud service providers are eyeing healthcare
Cloud service providers want to expand their health services beyond core IT applications.
Public cloud unlocks new value and cuts costs
Migrating to cloud at scale can deliver 20 to 40% in annual savings.
Public cloud is more secure by default
The default position in public cloud is to deny access, which boosts the overall security posture.
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Time to move to action
There is a big difference between aspiring to scale cloud and acting to make it happen. For healthcare organizations to expand investments in public cloud, they need to answer three common questions.
- How do we organize around cloud?
- How do we drive change quickly despite complex legacy systems and technical debt?
- How do we need to think about value to stakeholders?
A new, cloud operating model is required. It’s necessary to drive collaboration across various IT and business domains that have historically been very siloed. Without the right level of senior, cross-functional engagement, organizations cannot realize the full potential of cloud and will struggle to drive change.
While modernizing the legacy is costly and highly complex, healthcare organizations do not have to be overwhelmed by tackling such a monumental challenge. A more reasonable approach is to focus on modernizing key capabilities that drive the experiences that are priorities for reinvention. There is no need to do it all at once.
As healthcare organizations aggressively pursue their cloud strategies, it is critical to engage leaders beyond traditional IT executives to sponsor the transformation. After all, the “buyer” is no longer simply a CIO or an infrastructure leader. And the business case is not just about cost, it is about business value and growth.
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