Healthcare Continues to Spearhead Public Cloud Adoption

Public cloud adoption continues to increase in healthcare, with 73 percent of surveyed organizations using multiple public cloud vendors, Forrester’s State of Cloud in Healthcare 2023 report revealed. Cloud decision-makers at healthcare organizations are spending $9.5 million annually across clouds on average, researchers found.

In the past 12 months alone, 45 percent of surveyed cloud decision-makers at healthcare organizations adopting public cloud spent more than $5 million on public cloud platforms.

“Healthcare organizations (HCOs) have long leaned on cloud platforms for genomic sequencing, temperature- and time-specific delivery, access to modern data center technologies, and software-as-a-service (SaaS) platforms that they consume through their independent software vendors (ISVs),” the report stated.

“In recent years, cloud has been a key tool in enabling organizations to become more adaptable, capable, resilient, and innovative. As the pandemic stabilizes, the healthcare sector is stepping back to organize, secure, and operationalize as it explores the next wave of innovation.”

Despite budget constraints across the healthcare sector, organizations are increasingly investing in cloud technologies to streamline processes, improve security, and maintain business continuity. In fact, 44 percent of respondents cited improved security as a key factor in their organization’s decision to adopt public cloud. Respondents also pointed to faster development and time to market for new software products and improved disaster recovery as key drivers.

However, cloud decision-makers also cited security and privacy concerns, compliance challenges, and cost of migration as their primary concerns with public cloud adoption. These concerns are warranted, largely due to the fact that healthcare is a highly regulated industry with strict patient data protection requirements.

Even so, proper cloud deployment and upkeep can help organizations manage security concerns, rather than creating new ones.

“Chief information security officers (CISOs) may be reluctant to trust the public cloud, but outsourcing to a multitenant platform can benefit HCOs with military-grade AES 256 data encryption that helps prevent data exposure and theft,” the report suggested.

“Global hyperscalers offer compliant instances and consulting services to help meet regulatory compliance. Similarly, EHR systems such as Cerner and Epic Systems are now offering cloud-based offerings/partnerships.”

Additionally, cloud adopters do not have to do everything on their own. More than 45 percent of respondents reported leveraging third-party services for developer cloud training. Other respondents engaged with third parties to aid in cloud ops services, cloud-native development, and cloud strategy development. Third-party services can help organizations fill skill gaps and break down barriers for cloud adoption.