The Next Wave of Cloud Migration in Healthcare

Across all industries, investments in cloud computing, storage and infrastructure have grown at an exponential rate and are predicted to continue growing at a rate of 17 percent annually over the next three years to about $278 billion spent by 2021. The healthcare cloud footprint is growing at an even faster rate of 22 percent as healthcare providers develop an increased trust in public and hybrid cloud infrastructure and security and see the benefits of streamlined data management. A recent HIMSS Media survey of IT decision-makers at U.S. hospitals revealed that hospitals continue to adopt the cloud at a rapid pace and that concerns around cost, data management and the desire for modern IT infrastructure are driving adoption.

Previously, the private cloud was the cloud of choice for many healthcare organizations, whether managed internally or by a third party and hosted internally or externally. The recent survey highlights a shift in organizations moving to a public cloud – a cloud infrastructure open for use by the general public that is owned, managed and operated by a business, academic, or government organization or a combination – or a hybrid cloud, a mix of public or private.