Healthcare Cloud-Based Workloads Have Doubled In The Last 12 Months
According to a panel discussion called “Security in the Cloud Era” at HIMSS 2019, healthcare providers have doubled the share of workloads that are hosted on the cloud in the past 12 months – jumping from around 12.5% to 25%.
While this may seem high, the healthcare industry is still lagging behind most other industries – overall public cloud adoption has jumped to about 92% industry-wide. Naturally, these delays are partly related to the strict security standards required by HIPAA and other regulations governing patient data.
But as cloud computing has become more commonplace – and secure – more medical companies are realizing its numerous benefits such as cost savings and scalability, and have begun implementing it into their IT architecture.
Traditional IT Security Is Not Applicable To Cloud-Based Installations
Much of what traditional IT security professionals know is not applicable to cloud-based installations. Things like patching outdated server operating systems, running maintenance and performing other basic day-to-day tasks are all handled by cloud providers like AWS and Oracle Cloud.
According to the panelists at the HIMSS 2019 conference, around “80%” of what a traditional cybersecurity or IT professional knows about security will be “irrelevant” when moving to the cloud. What this means is that IT security personnel must adjust their priorities – and begin learning more about cloud security best practices.
Choosing Reliable Cloud Vendors Is Essential For Data Security
The final takeaway of the shift of patient data to the cloud is this – that to ensure the safety of data, healthcare companies need to be very careful about the cloud vendors they choose.
Because so much of the traditional IT/cybersecurity role is (at least partially) the responsibility of cloud companies, healthcare providers must choose a cloud vendor that has the security tools necessary to secure patient data – and prevent data losses, breaches and hacks.
Failure to choose a reliable, professional cloud computing partner could expose your company to liability – and result in steep penalties. CIOs and other decision-makers must be careful when making these decisions, and ensure they trust their data with a reliable, healthcare-focused cloud computing partner.
Cloud Computing Is Changing The World Of Healthcare – Make Sure You Change With It!
As you can see, cloud computing is finally reaching the world of healthcare. As the utilization of off-site, cloud-based computing and storage increases, it’s critical that corporate IT teams and cybersecurity experts learn the basics about securing patient data on the cloud – and work with qualified, reliable partners for cloud-based workloads.
