The cloud is the foundation of a digital transformation in healthcare. In 2025, it's not a question of whether healthcare organizations (HCOs) should adopt the cloud, but rather a way to use it to solve the most pressing challenges.
An average of 20% of the industry's X86 server OS instances now run in the public cloud. HCO embraces the cloud for its agility, scalability and ability to support innovation with speed. But while adoption of the cloud is accelerating, it's not all treatments. Healthcare remains ingrained in deep-rooted issues, including clinician burnout, understaffing, medical deserts and vulnerable patient experiences. These challenges have been strengthened over time. Still, new innovations and regulations have helped drive the healthcare industry forward in its cloud strategy. Some of these are:
Cloud security is an important driver and a major hurdle. Multitenancy in the cloud was an early concern, but it reduced the risk of cyberattacks, which led to many viewing it as a profit. Still, uncertainty remains. HCOs are the primary target of cybercrime due to their high value in patient data. MulticLoud implementations can obscure data visibility, user activity, and system vulnerabilities due to the abstraction layers above multiple clouds. HCO therefore adopts zero principle of trust, which can be seen in other regulations such as AES-256 for encryption and SHA-256 for data integrity. Interoperability is far from realised, but standards and industrial clouds are useful. The Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement (TEFCA), a cloud-based health exchange network, improves interoperability along with other healthcare data networks and adoption of FHIR standards. In the future, HCO will modernize classic enterprise apps for healthcare through industry SAAS (i.e. CRM, ERP, EHRS) and the migration of risky public clouds by accrediting specialized infrastructures as certified to healthcare compliant. GE Healthcare has announced its Genesis portfolio that promotes interoperability through intensive patient data storage and access. Cloud AI services are powered by engagement. IoT devices, edge computing, network infrastructure and cloud services enhance asset management and enable wider remote engagement. Edge can be combined with wireless infrastructure such as Wi-Fi and 5G to increase efficiency in helping a centralized system to store and transfer patient files. Microsoft Dragon Copilot recently introduced its first AI support for clinical workflows. Within that ability, clinicians can automate tasks in all intensive workspaces, including creating conversation orders, creating a summary of clinical evidence, writing referral letters, summarizing patient visits, and more.
As healthcare continues to evolve digitally, its role as a driving transformation for the cloud's strategic engine will continue to grow. The challenges of security, interoperability and clinician burnout persist, but the momentum behind cloud adoption cannot be denied. With the rise of zero trust architecture, industry-specific SaaS, and edge power engagement, healthcare organizations are not merely adapting, but rethinking how care is delivered, accessed and protected.
For more information, please read the report, Healthcare Cloud Status, 2025, Cloud Healthcare Best Practices. If you want to dive deeper, set up a inquiry or guidance session with Tracy Woo or Shannon Germain Farraher for your conversation.
