The Evolution of Cloud Computing: Multicloud Strategies in the AI Era and Healthcare Sector

Council Post: A New Approach To Multicloud For The AI Era

In this burgeoning AI era, many businesses are integrating AI at the core of their innovation strategies only to encounter the daunting challenge of managing and processing the tremendous volumes of data that AI systems generate. Efficient data handling is critical, as it underpins the data-driven decision making that modern businesses rely on to stay competitive. This challenge has sparked a shift in IT infrastructure strategies, with multicloud solutions emerging as a key enabler. But today's multicloud strategies go far beyond the traditional, ad hoc approaches that were primarily aimed at cost savings and avoiding vendor lock-in. Instead, they are meticulously designed to provide the resilience and agility needed to navigate the complexities of AI. By embracing an updated multicloud approach, businesses can unlock the full potential of their AI investments, ensuring they are well-equipped to thrive in the data-intensive landscape of today's AI world. The evolution from cost-focused to value-driven multicloud strategies marks a significant shift. Investing in multicloud is not just about cost efficiency; it's about creating an infrastructure that advances AI initiatives, spurs innovation and secures a competitive advantage. Unlike single-cloud or hybrid approaches, multicloud offers unparalleled adaptability and resource diversity, which are essential in the AI-driven business environment. Here are a few factors to consider. * Flexibility: Organizations can distribute AI workloads across multiple platforms, ensuring that each task is handled by the most suitable infrastructure. This mitigates the risk of downtime and service outages that can occur when relying on a single provider. * Scalability: Multicloud environments facilitate real-time scaling, which is crucial for AI applications that may require bursts of computational power for tasks like data analysis and model training. * Tool Diversity: Single-cloud environments may offer a range of tools, but they are typically confined to what one provider can offer. Multicloud strategies grant access to the best-in-class AI services from across the cloud spectrum. This allows businesses to leverage specific AI functionalities that may only be available or more advanced on certain platforms. * Iterative Development: Multicloud setups provide a wider array of development environments. This supports a more agile AI development process, enabling faster deployment cycles and the ability to test and refine AI models across different cloud infrastructures. * Compliance Management: Multicloud allows businesses to store and process data across different regions, enabling them to adhere to local data protection regulations more effectively. This is particularly beneficial for multinational companies facing a complex web of compliance requirements. The challenge of multicloud is not simply to utilize a variety of cloud services but to do so in a way that each contributes its best features without compromising the overall efficiency and security of the AI infrastructure. To achieve this, businesses must first identify the unique strengths and offerings of each cloud provider. For instance, one platform might offer superior data analytics tools, another might excel in machine learning performance and a third might provide the most robust security features. The task is to integrate these disparate elements into a seamless whole. This requires a deep understanding of the AI applications in use, the data they generate and consume and the performance metrics that matter most to the business. The next step is to ensure that the multicloud environment adheres to a unified set of security protocols and compliance standards. This is no small feat, given that each cloud provider will have its own set of security measures and controls. Companies must implement a governance framework that spans all cloud services, creating a consistent layer of security and compliance that protects data regardless of where it resides. Finally, the multicloud strategy must be cost-effective. This means not only considering the upfront costs of each service but also understanding the long-term implications of data transfer fees, scaling costs and the resources required to manage multiple cloud relationships. Companies must continuously monitor and optimize their multicloud environments, ensuring they are getting the best return on their investment. Successful implementation of a multicloud strategy lies in the ability to create a cohesive, secure and efficient infrastructure that leverages the best that each cloud service has to offer. This requires strategic planning, careful execution and ongoing management, all of which must be guided by the company's overarching AI objectives and corporate policies. When done correctly, a multicloud approach can provide companies with a powerful, flexible foundation for their AI initiatives, driving innovation and competitive advantage. Forbes Technology Council is an invitation-only community for world-class CIOs, CTOs and technology executives. Do I qualify?

Council Post: Taking A More Strategic Approach To Healthcare Cloud Investment: Key Insights

By Jeffrey Sullivan, Chief Technology Officer for Consensus Cloud Solutions. Four out of five healthcare executives say their organizations have made the move to the cloud for most or all aspects of their business, a 2023 PwC survey found. Yet nearly half of those surveyed say they aren't getting the full value they seek from cloud investments -- and it's holding them back. It's clear that healthcare leaders understand the value of the cloud in healthcare. A 2023 DuploCloud survey indicated that 90% of healthcare IT leaders predicted their organizations would transition to a cloud computing model by 2025. Among leaders whose organizations have already made the move to the cloud, 94% would recommend cloud migration to their peers. However, barriers to realizing value from cloud investments remain. According to PwC, the top barriers include: * Budget and/or investment constraints. * An inability to effectively measure/quantify return on investment (ROI). * A lack of or inadequate cybersecurity and privacy controls. These are signs of breakdowns in healthcare organizations' ability to leverage the cloud -- and the need for a more mature approach. Given the extent to which the move to the cloud has taken hold in healthcare, it's important leaders understand how to optimize their investments to advance their business strategy. According to the PwC survey, healthcare executives believe cloud investments hold strong potential to strengthen decision-making (65%) and the customer experience (58%). Yet just one in four say cloud investments have helped drive new revenue streams (28%) -- critical to performance and growth given that rating agencies continue to forecast a negative outlook for nonprofit hospitals in 2024. Meanwhile, just half of respondents say cloud investments have improved organizational agility or made their organizations more resilient. In our experience, there are a few key ways healthcare leaders can address barriers to cloud value and continued investment without breaking the bank. This is essential not just in quantifying the ROI of cloud adoption but also in making the business case for increasing and optimizing cloud investments. For example, a 2023 Skyhigh Security report found that just 47% of healthcare organizations store sensitive data in the cloud -- the least of any industry (61% across industries). Yet while recent cyberattacks intensified concerns around data security -- on-premises and in the cloud -- the fact remains that it's faster to deploy a security patch or control in the cloud than it is to apply them to technology and servers on-site. While the percentage of healthcare organizations that rely on the cloud for most or all business functions is rising, some hospitals and health systems still tend to hold onto on-premises technology for specific functions such as fax servers, file storage and databases. According to a Deloitte report, others have not yet invested in advanced cloud services such as artificial intelligence (AI), cloud-native applications or "industry clouds." When weighing the total cost of cloud adoption versus on-prem technologies and systems, consider not just the initial capital outlay but also the cost of ongoing maintenance and labor to manage, monitor and support the infrastructure on a 24/7 basis. The cloud ends up being cheaper in all but the most extreme circumstances. Deloitte's analysis found that healthcare organizations with a higher degree of cloud maturity often work with three or four cloud providers. Most others work with just one or two. A bigger range of cloud partners offers benefits that include expanded access to cloud services as well as greater leverage in negotiations. What's especially interesting from the Deloitte analysis is that those organizations that choose a multicloud-provider approach aren't necessarily recording higher expenses than those with a more consolidated approach. In fact, the analysis found that organizations with the most mature cloud computing capabilities spend only slightly more on the cloud as a percentage of normalized revenue than their counterparts. When you think about your cloud providers, think also about their security posture. As noted above, many organizations saw a lack of cybersecurity and privacy controls as a barrier to cloud adoption. Many cloud providers understand this and offer strong protections in the form of modern compliance certifications. This includes PCI DSS (for payment cards), ISO 27001 and SOC 2 Type 2 (for generalized business practices), and especially the healthcare-focused HITRUST CSF -- which incorporates many of the best-in-breed security practices into a coherent framework. As advancements in AI propel new use cases for healthcare, how does cloud computing fit within your organization's innovation strategy? Just as important, does your organization have a strategy for incorporating the cloud as a lever for achieving business objectives? This is an essential step toward realizing optimal value from cloud investments and making the business case for emerging capabilities -- especially around AI -- that could separate your organization from the competition. By assessing cloud investment and optimization from multiple angles, healthcare leaders can more effectively advance cloud's value for their organization. Ultimately, these efforts will strengthen business performance in a rapidly changing environment while reducing the potential for risk. Forbes Technology Council is an invitation-only community for world-class CIOs, CTOs and technology executives. Do I qualify?