Cloud Success: A Little Education Goes a Long Way

• Steve Cochran, Chief Technology Officer

Is it wise to relinquish control of the infrastructure to a third party? If you’re considering a move to the cloud, this is probably a question that you ask yourself every day. Your IT and executive leadership teams likely ask you this question every day. Without a doubt, moving to the cloud model is a fundamental shift for IT, and the business. The cloud requires us to re-imagine how we manage our IT resources, and the cost structure that accompanies it.

Despite the writing on the wall – the scalability, transparency, resiliency, security, and cost savings – I still see a lot of reticence about moving to the cloud, and the primary pushback is related to the issue of control.

Letting go of the infrastructure is not letting go of the reins. The cloud actually gives us greater control than we’ve ever had. We don’t own the hardware and software, but we do have more granular control over how the resources are applied, who is consuming them, the value of those services and the associated cost.

In healthcare, we have often been slow to embrace the latest technologies. With so much pressure to improve our efficiency to reduce costs and deliver better care, we shouldn’t wait to catch up.

In my most recent blog post on Infoworld.com, I discuss the myth around how much control we really have, or even need, as well as the value of education, awareness and training in ensuring a successful cloud migration. 

Steve Cochran

Chief Technology Officer