HIMSS15: Healthcare Needs a Cloud Wellness Plan

By Mark van Oppen

The healthcare world is often overwhelming, and as a first time HIMSS exhibitor we were amazed at the scale and complexity of the event, not to mention the number of "cloud" providers who didn't actually offer cloud services.

The frenzy of activity at HIMSS15 was a fitting reflection of the overwhelming nature of the healthcare system. Fortunately, we got better and better at navigating the show as the conference progressed, made great connections and left with significant promise for building new relationships in the industry.

The mammoth size and scope of the show serves as a fitting metaphor for how infrastructure managers dealt with the constant barrage of mixed marketing messages.

Exhibitors at HIMSS took 'cloudwashing' to new extremes.

SaaS providers, Backup solutions, Hardware Providers, EMR platforms, and all kinds of authentication services found ways to use "cloud" in their marketing. Consequently, most of our conversations began with the definition of cloud as we see it, then private vs public cloud, and finally presenting the benefits of Private Cloud as a Service (PCaaS).

A FEW DEFINITIONS MADE ALL OF THE DIFFERENCE

Cloud, at its most basic, is the use of virtualization, automation and APIs to deliver resources and power an application, regardless of the underlying hardware that contributes to the pool of resources.

Public Cloud is a the use of these resources by many customers via public networks. Hardware resources are shared among many tenants.

Private Cloud, on the other hand, is the use of these resources typically by a single customer, and backed by dedicated hardware. Because only one customer utilizes the hardware powering the cloud, private cloud usually is operated by enterprise companies who purchase hardware, deploy, operate, depreciate, and manage the infrastructure over many years.

THE "A-HA" MOMENTS

When we got through this overview and basic description of the landscape, attendees were very excited. The fact that Blue Box can deliver dedicated infrastructure with an OpEx price pointresonated extremely well.

A few examples:

We actually connected with a Security Analyst from Wenatchee, Washington (our backyard), who had just bought public cloud services from one of the big three as it was bundled with other offerings. His only challenge was to see if it would actually meet their compliance needs-he actually shook his head as he told us.

A manager of global hosting operations in Oakland, California was intrigued by the concept of letting someone else worry about operating his infrastructure, while staying compliant. He specifically asked about data isolation and wistfully imagined the days he could stop stocking spare parts for his aging infrastructure. We're determining a demonstration timeline for him next week.

This show made it clear to us that the healthcare industry is ready for our private cloud wellness plan. Now is the time to get folks enrolled!

Since 2013 Mark has worked closely with a global set of Blue Box customers as an Account Manager and primary contact. His review and consultation has facilitated significant and rapid adoption of Blue Box Cloud from a wide variety of organizations and businesses. Today he continues to bring his experience and perspective to customers and partners. In his current role, he helps managed hosting customers migrate and expand their Blue Box Cloud infrastructure. You can find follow Mark on Twitter.