Chad Skidmore

VP, MS Technology Services

Even with cloud computing’s momentum and undeniable advantages for healthcare, misconceptions are common. Left uncorrected, these mistaken beliefs can stretch IT budgets and stall projects, creating roadblocks that leave healthcare organizations stuck somewhere between ideation and execution. Tegria polled healthcare IT leaders in February 2023 and discovered that while around half had developed a cloud and data infrastructure, most had not implemented.  

Based on our work helping healthcare organizations with successful cloud implementations, we find that healthcare’s cloud misconceptions tend to fall into three main categories: application rationalization, data breaches and security, and cost. Let’s start with application rationalization, a foundational step for a successful cloud implementation.  

Misconception 1: Application rationalization is not a vital step for cloud implementations. 

Application rationalization can pave the way for cloud infrastructure by helping organizations understand their entire application suite along with each application’s use case, purpose, and interdependencies. This can inform cloud strategy by helping IT leaders determine where to put their workload.  

Many organizations skip this step, based on a misconception that moving to the cloud automatically includes some form of application rationalization: “If we do cloud, we get application rationalization for free.” But failing to fully understand your application portfolio before beginning a cloud initiative can lead to a poorly informed cloud strategy and a bumpy, costly implementation. 

Misconception 2: Data security is best addressed as a standalone initiative. 

This relates to another area where misconceptions are common, data security. The prevalence of data breaches and the threat of legal action make data security an urgent priority for healthcare organizations. However, addressing data security as a standalone cloud initiative without first rationalizing the application portfolio can lead to mistakes in strategy and execution. Application rationalization can help organizations understand the data that each application holds and how to best protect that data. This informs data security and data governance in the cloud.  

Misconception 3: Cloud is always the most cost-effective option for data. 

And then there’s cost management, one of the top reasons organizations want to move to the cloud in the first place. Many leaders initially believe the cloud will be more cost effective, but that is not always the case. Without a comprehensive understanding of the organization’s data needs and priorities, obtaining a true TCO is difficult and costly surprises can result.  

As many IT leaders have discovered, indiscriminately moving data to the cloud without first understanding how each application behaves in an on-premises environment can drive costs higher than expected. Rationalizing an application portfolio helps organizations determine which workloads belong in which environment. This helps organizations streamline their app portfolio before a cloud migration, which improves cost control with a more predictable, efficient, cost-effective cloud infrastructure.  

We’ll explore this topic and answer live viewer questions at our LinkedIn Live event on Wednesday June 21 at 1 p.m. Central time. View the recording.