To the point, virtualization, distributed computing, and improved access to high-speed Internet have accelerated interest in cloud computing. Indeed, but what’s the benefit?
Cloud computing technologies enable companies to access and pay for only the needed capacity and increase capacity as soon as required. This means that cloud computing is efficient, flexible, and scalable. Because cloud computing usually is a subscription-based model that extends a company’s IT capacity, it’s very affordable. Companies who leverage the cloud can increase their IT infrastructure and computing capacity without having to invest in new infrastructure, e.g. the hardware; hiring, training, and retaining new personnel; administrative overhead; and licensing issues.
The path of cloud computing is probably the most direct route for any company to reach its IT goals to empower growth and to stay competitive. It avoids the roadblocks and difficult-to-surmount obstacles of:
Cloud computing can be deployed rapidly and frees up a company’s internal resources to focus on strategic issues while leaving the day-to-day IT operations to service providers who have superior technology, experience, support, expertise, best practices (including security with UTM and VDOM technologies), interoperability, and economies of scale.
Let’s look at health care and ACOs, for example. ACOs (Accountable Care Organizations) can represent an opportunity, a threat, or something to be ignored. If you are a health care provider, I will assume you understand ACOs and what they mean to your organization. The real question is, if you view ACOs as an opportunity, are you ready to work together with other providers to coordinate patient care and share in the savings and risks of doing so? For ACOs to succeed, they need IT across the entire continuum of their membership. At a minimum, your organization must be ready to:
This takes information automation to a new level of IT capacity and functionality which many providers do not posses and cannot see how to afford let alone implement quickly.
The “cloud” can help businesses acquire the IT infrastructure and tools in a relatively short period of time. As an ACO member, health care providers can focus their internal resources on identifying ways to reduce costs and improve quality as the cloud works behind the scenes to retrieve, protect, deliver, and report the metrics needed.
My questions for you:
Is your organization entertaining the idea of participating as a member of an ACO?
What IT challenges is your organization facing and how are you planning to meet those challenges?