Category Archives: Cloud Computing

Computer maker Dell Technologies on Sunday said private-equity firms Francisco Partners and TPG Capital have entered a definitive agreement to buy its cloud business, Boomi, in a $4 billion cash transaction.

The company said the deal was expected to close by the end of this year but did not disclose additional terms of the transaction. The Wall Street Journal had reported that Dell was nearing a deal to sell Boomi.

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The company this month said it would spin off its majority stake in cloud computing software maker VMware, which would trim down its business and make the firm nimbler.

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Dell to sell its cloud business Boomi to Francisco Partners and TPG for $4 billion - Economic Times

Cloud Computing For Business Operations Market: The Development Strategies Adopted By Major Key Players And To Understand The Competitive Scenario

Cloud Computing For Business Operations Marketincludes Overview, classification, industry value, price, cost and gross profit. It also covers types, enterprises and applications. To start with, analytical view to complete information of Cloud Computing For Business Operations market. It offers market view by regions with countries, development in Cloud Computing For Business Operations industry, opportunity with challenges, sales strategies, growth strategies and revenue analysis to include price.

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Cloud Computing For Business Operations Market report helps to analyses competitive developments such as joint ventures, strategic alliances, mergers and acquisitions, new product developments, and research and developments in the Cloud Computing For Business Operations Market: The Development Strategies Adopted By Major Key Players And To Understand The Competitive Scenario

The key players covered in this study:

Market Segment by Type, covers

Cloud Computing For Business Operations Market Segment by Applications, can be divided into

Market Segment by Regions, regional analysis covers North America (United States, Canada and Mexico) Europe (Germany, UK, France, Italy, Russia, Spain and Benelux) Asia Pacific (China, Japan, India, Southeast Asia and Australia) Latin America (Brazil, Argentina and Colombia) Middle East and Africa

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Table of Contents:

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Cloud Computing For Business Operations Market: The Development Strategies Adopted By Major Key Players And To Understand The Competitive Scenario ...

Now that the ongoing worldwide trend toward going digital has been accelerated by COVID-19, taking extra precautions to protect your organizations data, communications and information assets is more important than ever.

Of course, there are many traditional and emerging ways to protect and secure your business:

However, the chief focus of this discussion will be on protecting your organization by creating and implementing cloud security policies or by updating and fortifying existing ones.

This is essential because, as reported in CIO, nearly all enterprises (96%) use cloud computing in some capacity, with a strong majority (81%) now employing multi-cloud scenarios and strategies.

Cloud security refers broadly to measures undertaken to protect digital assets and data stored online via cloud services providers, says Investopedia, which notes that common threats to cloud security include data breaches, data loss, account hijacking, service traffic hijacking, insecure application program interfaces (APIs), poor choice of cloud storage providers and shared technology that can compromise cloud security.

The good news is that the major cloud computing providers (including the Big Three of Amazon, Google and Microsofts Azure) invest heavily in providing cloud security to their users. What is crucial to understand, however, is that even though cloud computing itself is considered to be relatively safe, significant risk does come into play in terms of how you, the user, implement safety protocols and precautions on your side of the cloud computing experience.

More on this in a moment, but first, here is a quick review from Cloud Security Alliance and Tripwire on some of the top cloud security challenges:

There are many complex explanations out there that aim to answer the question: Why do I need a cloud security policy? Heres a simplified answer in four bullet points:

Perhaps the most important reason to implement and update cloud security policies for your organization is connected to a central tenet of cloud security known as the shared responsibility model.

Operationally speaking, security is broken into two components:

Cloud service providers (CSPs) are responsible for this. As explained in this article on the shared responsibility model: CSPs have the responsibility to ensure that their infrastructure is free from vulnerabilities. Theyre also responsible for the physical security of the cloud service and ensuring that unauthorized physical access to the hardware or software is prevented, as well as disaster and incident response. And doing so doesnt come cheap. Microsoft reportedly spends over $1 billion each year on security protections, including research and development.

This is your responsibility. OK, perhaps not you personally, but definitely your organization. According to an informative Wall Street Journal article, Gartner Inc. estimates that up to 95% of cloud breaches occur due to human errors such as configuration mistakes, and the research firm expects this trend to continue.

Connecting with a cloud security provider has many advantages, but can also be an extremely complex proposition. According to the article Human Error Often the Culprit in Cloud Data Breaches, Amazon Web Services has a130-page instruction guidefor how to operate Amazon Simple Storage Service (Amazon S3). The cloud users responsibility necessitates ongoing vigilance around password security, internal and external sharing of data, third-party access and much more. For many companies and organizations, cloud security also comes with regulatory requirements (for example: information access rules set forth HIPAA, GDPR, Sarbanes-Oxley, etc.).

For obvious reasons, creating a cloud security policy is an extremely complex undertaking. This is not a situation where you task the new guy in IT with whipping something together by end of day Friday. Youll need to engage senior leadership, IT leadership and perhaps even outside consulting firepower to create a comprehensive policy that truly protects your organization from risk.

Here is an overview of some of the key elements of creating a cloud security policy from TechTarget:

Global IT services provider PhoenixNAP offers a simplified look at several key aspects that must be addressed in a cloud security policy. These include:

Here are a couple of other helpful resources when it comes to developing an effective cloud security policy:

Digital Guardian provides a list of 50 cloud-based security tips. Weve curated a few of the most useful ones to help with your cloud security policy journey:

Finally, being transparent about your rigorous cloud security policies and protocols can be important in providing added peace of mind to customers or other organizations with which you do business.

About the Author:Michelle Moore, Ph.D., is academic director and professor of practice for theUniversity of San Diegos innovative online Master of Science in Cyber Security Operations and Leadership program. She is also a researcher and author with over two decades of private-sector and government experience as a cybersecurity expert.

Editors Note:The opinions expressed in this guest author article are solely those of the contributor, and do not necessarily reflect those of Tripwire, Inc.

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Creating Cloud Security Policies that Work | The State of Security - tripwire.com

By Rajesh Thadhani, Executive Director, Digital Transformation and Services, Crayon Software Experts

It isno doubtthat migrating to the cloud is not just a trend. It is hereto stay. Today, many businesses have either already begun migrating or are under pressureof doingso. With this transition, however, many are discovering unexpected expenses and are exceeding their budget. Crayon examines the cloud migration, identifiesthe explanationsfor these unwanted expenses, and analyses how Cloud usage analysis can also create a culture of accountability ensuring ROI on your cloud spend.

What is happening under cover

The cloud itself is acollection of computing services accessed throughthe web. The cloud provides access to tools and resources foreasy scalingand adaptability. This is oftengreat for speed and innovation but has completely changed the way finance and procurement would look at budgeting. Cloud migration movesphysical workloads, IT resources, and applications from on-premise to the cloud environments.

Before boarding this journey to the cloud, every company should first consider how to leverage the cloud strategies thats cost-effective. Paying attention to cloud economics is critical, cloud consumptions forecasting can directly impact bottom lines.

A step back to understand what migration strategies include:

Rehost: This sort of migration is as is lift and shift moves your current on-premises assets on to the cloud as is. The model has its limitations as some may require re-architecting for compatibility with the new environment. Keeping everything as is during the migration also can mean forgoing additional cloud functionality. Having said that, this method is great for moving straightforward assets that do not need any alterations but is a risk to software compliance with respect to license mobility.

Replatform: While Rehost does not use any advantages of the Cloud other than migrating to the cloud. Re-platforming, with some additional re-architecting supports cloud infrastructure optimisation. The assets in the new cloud environment can now scale, automate and update infrastructure as required, thereby saving you costs.

Refactoring: We rebuild digital assets from scratch by replacing the old assets with new cloud-native ones. While refactoring is exhaustive process, it needs to be done very systematically by experts. And of courses, some applications need to be rebuilt using cloud technologies for optimum use.

Some tips for those who have already moved and need to optimise costs:

+ Delete disk storage if it has been unattached for two weeks, as it is unlikely the same storage will be used again.

+ Set a standardised policy in your organisation for the number of snapshots or images to be retained per object and for how long. Note, a recovery occurs from the most recent snapshot.

+ Check to shut down VMs that have a max CPU < 5 percent over the past 30 days, it is worth investigating.

+ VMs that have an average CPU < 5 percent and max CPU < 20 percent for 30 days are a good place to start rightsizing or termination.

+ Analysis has revealed that upgrading VMs to the latest generation saves millions of dollars per year.

+ Premium storage is billed based on the total disk size, regardless of consumption or use. Keep a close eye on utilisation of premium storage to minimize wasted cost.

+ For further cost savings, organisations can opt for the standard availability model and local redundancy.

+ There could be greater cost savings by leveraging reservations combined with the Azure Hybrid Benefit, this allows you to leverage your existing on-premise Windows Server and SQL Server licenses in Azure. Set targets for weekly hours of running non-production systems. A planned target of example, less than 80 hours per week, could save you thousands of dollars per month. Convert any hot tier objects older than 30 days to a cool tier.

If you have an interesting article / experience / case study to share, please get in touch with us at [emailprotected]

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Exceeding planned budget after migrating to the Cloud? - Express Computer

The global healthcare cloud computing market is estimated to reach USD 90.46 Billion by 2027, according to a current analysis by Emergen Research. The global healthcare cloud computing market is estimated to expand significantly in the near future, due to the increasing demand for cost-effective healthcare services. Rising demand for cloud technology in healthcare facilities and growing use of cloud techniques for cost cuts in the healthcare industry are expected to boost the global healthcare cloud computing market during the forecast period. Doctors and medical organizations achieve cost reductions to a significant extent by using cloud techniques.

Key questions answered in the report

What will be the market size in terms of value and volume in the next five years?

Which segment is currently leading the market?

In which region will the market find its highest growth?

Which players will take the lead in the market?

What are the key drivers and restraints of the markets growth?

You Can Download Free Sample PDF Copy of Healthcare Cloud Computing Market at https://www.emergenresearch.com/request-sample/425

Research Methodology

Data triangulation and market breakdown

Research assumptions Research data including primary and secondary data

Primary data includes breakdown of primaries and key industry insights

Secondary data includes key data from secondary sources

Key Highlights of Report

In November 2020, Cisco Systems Inc. declared to acquire Banzai Cloud Ltd. The acquisition would help Cisco build a cloud-native networking solution with the support from Banzai in terms of teams and assets.

The private cloud segment is projected to lead the global healthcare cloud computing market, with a market share of 18.0% during the forecast period. In private clouds, the capacity to track and preserve sensitive patient data persists within the organization. This would drive the segment in the near future.

The Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) segment is expected to expand substantially during the forecast period. Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) services in cloud are easily featured as well as interpreted by users through a web browser.

The pay-as-you-go model segment is expected to hold the largest market share during the forecast period. The most significant benefit of this model is that facilities or equipment are accessible and the expense is calculated within the reservation phase.

The North America region is expected to hold the largest share of the global healthcare cloud computing market during the forecast period. The continuing developments in technologies in cloud computing applications for healthcare also bolstered the growth of healthcare providers.

Key market participants are Koninklijke Philips NV, Microsoft Corporation, Cisco Systems Inc., Infosys Limited, Omnicell, Inc., CitiusTech Inc., Salesforce.com, Inc., Sectra AB, Allscripts Healthcare Solutions, Inc., and International Business Machines Corporation (IBM).

Get access to FREE Sample PDF Copy of Healthcare Cloud Computing Market at https://www.emergenresearch.com/request-sample/425

Regional scope- North America; Europe; Asia Pacific; Central & South America; MEA

Cloud Type Outlook (Revenue, USD Billion; 20172027)

Hybrid Cloud

Private Cloud

Public Cloud

Service Outlook (Revenue, USD Billion; 20172027)

Platform-as-a-Service

Infrastructure-as-a-Service

Software-as-a-Service

Application Outlook (Revenue, USD Billion; 20172027)

Non-clinical Information Systems

Clinical Information Systems

Price Model Outlook (Revenue, USD Billion; 20172027)

Pay-as-you-go

Spot Pricing

End-user Outlook (Revenue, USD Billion; 20172027)

Healthcare Payers

Healthcare Providers

The industry experts have left no stone unturned to identify the major factors influencing the development rate of the Healthcare Cloud Computing industry including various opportunities and gaps. A thorough analysis of the micro markets with regards to the growth trends in each category makes the overall study interesting. When studying the micro markets the researchers also dig deep into their future prospect and contribution to the Healthcare Cloud Computing industry.

Read more@ https://www.emergenresearch.com/industry-report/healthcare-cloud-computing-market

Table of Content

Chapter 1. Methodology & Sources

1.1. Market Definition

1.2. Research Scope

1.3. Methodology

1.4. Research Sources

1.4.1. Primary

1.4.2. Secondary

1.4.3. Paid Sources

1.5. Market Estimation Technique

Chapter 2. Executive Summary

2.1. Summary Snapshot, 2019-2027

Chapter 3. Key Insights

Chapter 4. Healthcare Cloud Computing Market Segmentation & Impact Analysis

4.1. Healthcare Cloud Computing Market Material Segmentation Analysis

4.2. Industrial Outlook

4.2.1. Market indicators analysis

4.2.2. Market drivers analysis

4.2.2.1. Stringent environmental regulations

4.2.2.2. Rising need to reduce bacterial or algal contamination in water systems

4.2.2.3. Increasing demand for biocides for municipal water treatment

4.2.3. Market restraints analysis

4.2.3.1. Fluctuating prices of raw material

4.2.3.2. Present challenging economic conditions due to the pandemic

4.3. Technological Insights

4.4. Regulatory Framework

4.5. Porters Five Forces Analysis

4.6. Competitive Metric Space Analysis

4.7. Price trend Analysis

4.8. Covid-19 Impact Analysis

Chapter 5. Healthcare Cloud Computing Market By Application Insights & Trends, Revenue (USD Million), Volume (Kilo Tons)

Chapter 6. Healthcare Cloud Computing Market By Product type Insights & Trends Revenue (USD Million), Volume (Kilo Tons)

Chapter 7. Healthcare Cloud Computing Market Regional Outlook

Chapter 8. Competitive Landscape

Continued

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Healthcare Cloud Computing Market Size, Growth, Trends, Demand, Applications, Types, Technology, Industry Analysis and Forecasts Research Report 2027 ...

When we think about environment problems, we naturally imagine huge smokestacks turning the sky dark and coating the trees with soot. But glitzy high tech stuff like cloud computing and cryptocurrency use a lot of energy too.

Cloud computing, where we use computing resources via the internet without installing and maintaining them, is a huge energy hog we never see:

The music video for Despacito set an Internet record in April 2018 when it became the first video to hit five billion views on YouTube. In the process, Despacito reached a less celebrated milestone: it burned as much energy as 40,000 U.S. homes use in a year.

We tend to think of the internet as immaterial but thats mainly because the material stuff is mostly not where we live:

If you live your life online, both in terms of browsing and storage, its easy to feel a kind of digital weightlessness. Its not often that we consider how many servers are actually propping up our wireless lifestyles. The cloud is not a memory palace to retrieve your data from. The cloud is a physical storage facility that has a burden on the world.

In the US, streaming music services dump between 25,000 and 40,000 tons of CO2 into the air every year. Data centres take large amounts of energy to power and need to be on 24 hours a day to ensure that access to data never drops. So arent data centres the hottest places on earth? Well, not really, as they need to be cooled. That takes a lot of energy.

Amazon Web Services (AWS), one of the biggest cloud providers, is trying to move toward powering its servers with 100% renewable energy. But that will involve a lot of infrastructure investment, not just pre-COVID-style group hugs.

As Mark White puts it, The cloud is a vague place that none of us even think about. Were happy to dump our data there provided we remember the password.

Its the same with cryptocurrency. As programmer Jonathan Bartlett notes, the energy costs associated with having a trustless system such as Bitcoin is immense, with Bitcoin transactions generally costing 400,000 times as much energy as a single transaction on the Visa network. According to the BBC, the Bitcoin network which, again, very few people are regularly transacting in now consumes more energy than the entire country of Argentina. (Mind Matters News, March 15, 2021) If green companies like Tesla are embracing Bitcoin, as he says, we need to ask them some questions. Perhaps it is relevant that Tesla apparently profited more on the Bitcoin investment than in the entire last year of selling cars that are supposed to be green.

Philosopher of technology George Gilder warns that cloud computing is reaching its limits. The cloud isnt something ethereal up there, Gilder reminds us; it is giant factory floors of computers. He sees blockchain (currently used to produce cryptocurrencies) as replacing cloud computing, but that doesnt solve the energy problem.

Thoughts are immaterial and the human brain, while itself material, exceeds the most powerful computers in efficiency. But once we seek to turn our thoughts into actions, energy issues arise. The energy always goes somewhere and does something. Digital lifestyles dont change that. No one has repealed the Laws of Thermodynamics.

So maybe our first step is to recognize how much energy our digital lifestyle really uses, even though we imagine that those digital documents are somehow immaterial. Theyre not. They just belong to an energy budget not directly associated with ourselves.

You may also wish to read: Could carbon computing make computers more environment friendly? As a key component of life forms, carbon is abundant and energy efficient. Carbon-based computing uses vastly less energy than silicon-based, just as a human brain, with as many connections as the internet, uses much less energy.

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Cloud Computing? There's a Lot of Smoke in Those Clouds - Walter Bradley Center for Natural and Artificial Intelligence

We often hear the term cloud storage or cloud computing discussed, but what exactly is cloud computing or storage? How does it work? Is it safe, and is it the right solution for your needs? Here, we will answer those and other questions about this often mysterious subject.

Boiling it down to its simplest form, cloud computing is storage on somebody elses computer server. It is accessible mainly via a password-protected account, with a device connected to the internet. Some samples of this are Dropbox, Google Drive or iCloud.

In those services, an account is created usually using your email with password protection. You can store files there, such as pictures or documents, just like on a computer folder. The advantage is that your documents are safe and available from just about any device with an internet connection. You dont have to worry if your computer fails; just log into your account with another computer and access your files.

Another plus is the ability to increase your storage capacity, usually for a fee, or go down on storage space when desired. Its like having a flexible hard drive you can access from anywhere. This also makes synchronization between devices easy since you can access all your files from any internet-linked device.

Is cod computing safe? The short answer is yes because it is protected by your user ID and password. Of course, there is always risk so use a safe password and change it frequently.

Dropbox is well known to be safe, and you can get a free account for basic storage, or a paid, full-fledged business account. Google Drive is another expandable solution, but you need a gmail account to use it.

A iCloud account can only be created on an iOS device (iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch) running iOS 5 or higher, or on a Mac computer running OS X Lion or higher.

You can set up an account for the services mentioned above by simply creating an account up for them at their websites.

In my next column I will discuss antivirus protection for your computer devices. Who needs it and which one to get.

If you have any suggestions on tech topics youd like to see addressed, contact Leo Quintana at (305) 523-9203 or leo@leoquintana.com

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#islandertech - Taking the mystery out of cloud computing - Islander News.com

If you're looking for job security and salaries averaging over $100,000, it's a good time to gain cloud skills.

Image: iStock/t:Radachynskyi

The top three cloud jobs on Indeed right now are cloud engineer, software architect and cloud consultant.

It is often said that the future looks cloudy. At a time when a globally distributed workforce has meant moving to the cloud or potentially not surviving, and organizations are scrambling to digitally transform their operations, cloud computing jobs are hotter than ever.

Rounding out the top 10 cloud jobs on the site are development operations engineer, senior software engineer, software developer, software engineer, full-stack developer, data engineer and platform engineer.

SEE:13 career fields with a future: Sustained recovery(TechRepublic)

In the U.S., the average base salary for a cloud engineer is $118,003, according to Indeed. A software architect can make an average of $135,473 in the U.S. and a cloud consultant, an average of $108,233, according to the site.

"In addition to high salaries and job availability, cloud computing professionals also benefit from the field's flexibility,'' according to a Northeastern University graduate program blog post. "Most jobs within the industry can be performed remotely, protecting them from many of the workplace uncertainties brought about during the COVID-19 pandemic and allowing professionals to work anywhere in the world."

"Essentially, every meaningful consumer application or service that you can think of today is based on cloud technology,'' said Scott Bonneau, vice president of global talent attraction at Indeed. "As a result, the demand for cloud talent has shot up over this same period of time."

It is hard to compare how this year's top cloud jobs rank to past years as the timeframes are likely different, Bonneau said. But as the chart shows demand has changed over the last few years.

Image: Indeed.com

(Methodology: Indeed calculated the percentage change in the share of job postings (per 1M) and the share of job seeker searches containing the cloud terms in the title from March thru March of the respective year. Cloud terms included: 'amazon webservices', 'amazon web services', 'amazon webservice', 'amazon web service','aws', 'azure', 'google cloud', 'cloud', 'openstack', 'open stack.')

Many cloud computing jobs do not require a four-year college degree, he said.

"It is becoming increasingly common for software development roles to no longer require a four-year college degree--including many cloud engineering roles. I anticipate this trend will continue into the future,'' Bonneau said.

Instead, "practical experience, a demonstrated ability to learn and apply newly learned skills in a professional environment and an ability to be a great team player are often much more key factors than someone's four-year degree."

Given that effectively, all consumer software these days is built for and runs in the cloud, the job opportunity is enormous, Bonneau said. "It's a rapidly evolving field with a ton of innovation, especially right now. I expect this trend to continue."

He offered some tips for employers looking to hire cloud talent:

Clearly define your talent needs. This sounds easy but can actually be tricky. Do you think you need specific industry experience? Or new college grads? Define your target candidate group, and then focus all your attention there.

Know your value proposition as an employer. What sets the opportunity to work for you apart from the others? Are you mission-driven in a unique way? Find what makes you, you, and lean into that, and make sure every candidate experiences that in each touchpoint they have during the process.

Expand your sources of hire. Once you understand your needs and have sorted how you're going to convey your value proposition, look for sources of hire where the talent you need might be. There are lots of great sources that often go overlooked, like coding boot camps that may have candidates with non-traditional backgrounds and huge amounts of potential.

1. cloud engineer

2. software architect

3. cloud consultant

4. development operations engineer

5. senior software engineer

6. software developer

7. software engineer

8. full stack developer

9. data engineer

10. platform engineer

This is your go-to resource for XaaS, AWS, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform, cloud engineering jobs, and cloud security news and tips. Delivered Mondays

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The 10 hottest cloud computing jobs on Indeed - TechRepublic

Cloud computing has revolutionized the business world over the last two decades. Enterprises no longer need to provision and maintain costly on-premises computing infrastructure. Instead, they can access resources like servers, storage, databases, and software remotely through the internet. Moreover, those resources can be accessed on demand, allowing enterprises to quickly and efficiently scale their operations.

According to research firm Gartner, spending on public cloud services will increase by 19% annually through 2022. That growth should be a tailwind for industry titans like Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Microsoft(NASDAQ:MSFT). Here's what investors should know about these two companies' opportunities in the cloud space in 2021.

Amazon's cloud computing business, Amazon Web Services (AWS), launched in 2006. Today, it's still the clear leader in the space, with a more extensive global infrastructure, a broader product offering, and a larger market share than any of its rivals. In fact, during the fourth quarter of 2020, AWS took 32 cents of every dollar spent on cloud infrastructure services.

Image source: Getty Images.

That dominance has attracted a diverse network of partners -- enterprises that use AWS to build solutions for their own clients. For example, consulting firm Deloitte developed its Smart Factory Fabric, a cloud-enabled manufacturing process, using Amazon IoT systems. This suite of applications brings smart manufacturing capabilities to its clients' operations. Notably, Deloitte's role as a consultant to 80% of Fortune Global 500 companies means it's well-positioned to bring new customers to AWS.

Not surprisingly, its robust product portfolio and large partner network have powered strong growth in Amazon's cloud computing business. Last year alone, AWS's revenue rose 30% to $45 billion.

Moreover, AWS's operating margin was 30% in 2020. Compare that to the combined operating margin of Amazon's other businesses -- 3%. The cloud segment's high profitability has helped the tech giant bankroll its e-commerce efforts, making it an even greater threat to traditional retailers. In other words, AWS generates enough cash that Amazon can afford to run its e-commerce business at a loss to gain market share.

AWS's lead in cloud computing should help the company grow its top and bottom lines quickly. That, in turn, should drive increased profitability for Amazon as a whole, while allowing it to fund the rapid innovation that has kept AWS ahead of its rivals.

Microsoft launched its cloud computing business, Microsoft Azure, in 2008. While it still trails AWS in terms of market share, the company is executing on a strong growth strategy, and Azure is gaining ground.

Market Share

Q4 2018

Q4 2019

Q4 2020

Amazon

33%

32%

32%

Microsoft

15%

18%

20%

Source: Canalys.

Specifically, Microsoft has focused on supporting hybrid and edge computing use cases. This strategy makes sense -- some types of data need to remain on company premises due to privacy or regulatory requirements. That can put an enterprise at a disadvantage, though, if it means they don't have access to cloud services to help them manage, analyze, and secure that data. But Microsoft has a solution.

First, Azure Arc extends Azure's management capabilities across any environment, from private data centers to public clouds. In other words, it allows clients to manage all their digital resources in a unified way, even if some of those resources are stored on-site or in a rival cloud like AWS. For example, Azure Arc makes it possible to train and run AI models using data stored in multiple different locations. That puts Microsoft ahead of rivals like AWS and Alphabet's Google Cloud in terms of its ability to power hybrid AI.

Second, Azure Stack allows clients to run their own Azure environments using on-premises servers. This makes it possible to bring Azure services -- think artificial intelligence, analytics, monitoring, and security -- to private data centers or even disconnected environments. Azure Stack also makes it possible for developers to build and run hybrid applications across cloud and on-premise locations.

In recent years, Microsoft has also forged partnerships with companies like Datadog, SpaceX, and General Motors that have helped expand Azure's client base. In another partnership that began in 2019, SAP started working with it to migrate its on-premise software customers to Azure. And in 2021, the two companies expanded this partnership, enabling SAP to integrate Microsoft Teams into its own software solutions.

On the whole, Microsoft's efforts have powered strong growth in its cloud computing business. In the company's fiscal 2020 (which ended June 30, 2020), Azure revenue surged 56%, and through the first two quarters of its fiscal 2021, sales were up 49% year over year.

Microsoft's size gives it an advantage over the vast majority of its rivals. And its focus on hybrid scenarios should power continued growth as more enterprises migrate to the cloud.

This article represents the opinion of the writer, who may disagree with the official recommendation position of a Motley Fool premium advisory service. Were motley! Questioning an investing thesis -- even one of our own -- helps us all think critically about investing and make decisions that help us become smarter, happier, and richer.

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2 Top Cloud Computing Stocks to Buy in 2021 - The Motley Fool

Cloud computing has been around in the health care industry for a few decades now. However, what's truly remarkable is that the adoption of this technology has increased at a frenetic pace only recently.

One 2019 research study by Technavio states that the global health care cloud technology market is anticipated to grow by USD 25.54 billion during 2020-2024. The coronavirus pandemic has only reinforced this trend further.

This new reality, along with new payment models and changes in patients' expectations, have together pushed cloud technology to the forefront. Today, the cloud is not only helping providers improve patient care, drive efficiency, and eliminate waste, but it is also playing a huge role in ensuring health care data safety by averting potential cyber attacks and thefts.

Integrating cloud computing into your practice can be the key to streamlining care delivery.

In this blog post, we'll discuss a few ways this state-of-the-art tech solution can support the health care industrys efforts to improve patient outcomes and mitigate costs in doing so.

1. Making Patient Data Interoperable while Mitigating Storage Costs

According to a recent survey conducted by the Center for Connected Medicine (CCM) in partnership with HIMMS Media, close to one-third of health care organizations report that their interoperability efforts are insufficient, even within their own organizations.

In most cases, physical data centers that are deployed on-premise not only demand an investment in hardware ahead of time, but they also come with ongoing costs of maintaining servers, spaces, cooling solutions, etc.

Cloud technology can be the solution to this persistent problem.

With health care organizations rapidly embracing virtual care delivery models such as telemedicine, especially amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the collaboration between various doctors, departments, and even institutions has become of increasing importance. The cloud enables physicians to share data in a hassle-free manner.

Health care cloud vendors can aid providers in seamlessly integrating various processes within the organization and lowering their data storage costs by managing the structure, and ensuring the harmonious functioning and maintenance of cloud storage services. This will significantly help care providers in focusing their efforts on ameliorating patient outcomes alone.

This, in turn, boosts interoperability across the organization and helps with faster care delivery.

2. Keeping Patient Information Secure at Each Stage of the Data Lifecycle

In 2018, health care data breaches of 500 or more medical records were being committed at a rate of approximately 1 per day. In 2020, the frequency at which these breaches were committed nearly doubled with the average number of breaches per day adding up to 1.76.

Source: HIPAA Journal

The fact that health care organizations need to have highly robust security measures in place to safeguard sensitive patient data is universally known.

Cloud computing adds supplemental layers of security and monitoring to health care data.

One best practice for health care organizations here would be to put adequate access controls in place. For instance, particulars about a patients medical condition and treatment can be blocked from back-office staff who dont require such details to do their work. Similarly, a patients financial information may be blocked from frontline care providers.

Telehealth is another technology where cloud computing is proving its potential. Getting a telemedicine platform developed for your practice that stores data on a cloud server can furnish robust security features such as end-to-end encryption of data, multi-factor authentication (MFA), etc. These ensure the patient data on your platform remains safeguarded at all times.

Today, a number of health care cloud providers also offer services in compliance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). Choosing a compliant provider can further ensure that all the sensitive data you store adheres to HIPAA Rules and remains protected at all times. This can significantly help providers avoid fines and penalties.

3.Furnishing Efficient and Integrated Patient Care

Todays patients are quite savvy about their wellbeing.Equipped with state-of-the-art digital solutions, these patients are willing to accept nothing less than high-quality medicineone that will deliver care in a patient-centric and streamlined manner, making an integrated model of care delivery critical for caregivers.

Cloud technology is playing a huge role in delivering patient-centric care.

The integration of cloud storage with patients electronic health records (EHR) has helped revolutionize collective patient care, making it hassle-free for authorized individuals from the medical staff to retrieve vital patient information from any remote location, and at any given point in time. This further promotes anytime care and augments patient outcomes.

With EHRs, every provider can have the same accurate and up-to-date information about a patient, as explained by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology on their website. Better coordination can lead to better quality of care and improved patient outcomes.

The cloud-based software behind collaboration tools of the likes of video conferencing and enterprise messaging holds the potential to leave a positive influence on both health care teams and their patients.

Moving to the cloud for our communications was the best decision weve made, as were now connected with our patients and colleagues whether we are in the office, at home or traveling overseas, states Dr. Ravi Patel, founder of the Comprehensive Blood & Cancer Center, Bakersfield, CA, in a recent press release.

Today, with the rapid innovation happening on the cloud technology front, the data gathered from remote patient monitoring devices can also be uploaded to a specific medical cloud or the user's private centralized cloud. This helps maintain a record of all the monitored data which can easily be retrieved at a later time by authorized medical personnel to suggest treatment.

All in all, cloud computing has transformed the health care industry in innumerable ways.

Now, this transformation may be occurring at a comparatively slower pace for some, but the growing need to make data more interoperable will eventually get many to notice the cloud and its endless benefits.

Having said that, it wouldnt be wrong to assume that the future of health care is in the cloud!

Rahul Varshneya is the co-founder and president ofArkenea, a digital health consulting firm. Rahul has been featured as a technology thought leader across Bloomberg TV, Forbes, HuffPost, Inc, among others.

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How Cloud Computing Can Be the Key to Ameliorating Outcomes While Mitigating Health Care Costs - Journal of Clinical Pathways