The benefits of the enterprise cloud are not limited to businesses alone. While it is true that the cloud is fundamentally changing the way work in traditional companies gets done, that does not mean it can't apply to other organizational sectors that may fall outside the organizational realm. Healthcare, for instance, is one area where the use for the enterprise cloud is immediately evident. When it comes to patient care, for instance, having a repository of information stored virtually and accessible anywhere can pave the way for better care. And with regard to vaccinations, storing information via a cloud service provider has the potential to create a more cohesive stream of communication between healthcare providers and researchers that could lead to cures for diseases.
The statistics show the popularity of the health cloud
Reports show that this potential for growth is rapidly being realized within the healthcare sector. According to a MarketsandMarkets report, the healthcare cloud is projected to rise from its value last year of $1.7 billion to an estimated $6.5 billion by 2018. The enormity of this growth suggests that healthcare providers are making major strides in deploying and sustaining cloud computing platforms. However, the healthcare migration to the enterprise cloud is not without its attendant challenges. According to healthcare cloud expert Ed King, a particular challenge arises for health organizations when they are trying to devise the best migration strategy, HealthData Management reported.
One problem is that some healthcare organizations settle in a cloud that is not prepared to meet its security needs. The public cloud, for example, presents risks to health-related clients because of its open structure and inherent vulnerability. According to TechTarget, security concerns are one of the biggest factors impeding cloud migrations. These fears are warranted given the frequent news stories about cloud breaches. But an important distinction must be made between the public cloud — which is highly vulnerable to attack — and the enterprise cloud, which is equipped with a rigorous system of defense.
What healthcare organizations need is a cloud platform that guarantees the safest computing possible, that also allows for enhancement of operations. The answer is the enterprise cloud. In Part Two, we will discuss two examples of successful health-related cloud deployments that should embolden other organizations to follow suit and explore the opportunities awaiting them in the cloud.
