Enterprise imaging data management—why your strategy must include the cloud

Why enterprise images are moving to cloud

• Most of the major enterprise imaging software vendors now offer a level of cloud-based capabilities or are well on their way to developing those capabilities. And there is consumer demand for those capabilities.
• At the onset, vendors have been taking different approaches to enable cloud adoption. Some are focused on eliminating an on-premises presence and providing cloud-based software-as-a-service (SaaS) options. But others are focused, for now, on enabling disaster recovery and tier 4 archiving in the cloud. Most, if not all, vendors are on their way to providing cloud-based, SaaS models.
• Cloud-based SaaS models are the future of medical imaging software, and for good reason:
  • This approach minimizes, and in some cases eliminates, the need for any on-premises hardware or software. This benefit supports a movement within health IT to simplify overhead and to focus employee resources on high-value efforts.
  • Cloud-based SaaS enables true consumption-based infrastructure, meaning that you pay only for the compute and storage that you need, when you need it. A prime advantage of the cloud is on-demand scalability. Planning for and buying storage capacity years ahead of when you need it will be a thing of the past.
  • As imaging software becomes cloud native, enhancements can be released at a rapid rate, updates and upgrades will be nondisruptive, and testing will be streamlined. These benefits will lead to higher levels of customer satisfaction. And, ultimately, these improvements will lead to fewer site-specific customizations and to greater levels of interoperability. Imagine a world where you don’t have to test at all because all your sites are configured the same way. It may seem like a far-fetched claim, but it is achievable. And to realize the true power of interoperability, it’s necessary.
• Connectivity speed (bandwidth) to the cloud is a top-priority consideration. Performance can’t be a limiting factor, and achieving low latency comes at a cost.
• Speaking of performance, organizations must be thoughtful about their approach to cloud-based services. We have all heard stories of early adopters moving to the cloud, only to return quickly because of performance issues and/or unexpected costs (egress fees or the fee for pulling data back from the cloud). It is crucial to carefully plan the underlying data flow architecture. During the April panel discussion, we heard from UCLA Health and Centura Health that the primary key to successful adoption of cloud is to understand image usage, specifically access to images after initial acquisition and interpretation. Another key is to craft an architecture that accommodates that usage accordingly.
• Yet another factor for success is the active involvement of internal stakeholders during performance testing. We shouldn’t have to mention it, but just in case for those at the back of the room: Stakeholder engagement is vital.

Careful planning and the right partner are critical for your cloud journey