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What does hybrid cloud offer healthcare?

Tim Cripps, Managing Director at Trustco, a Silver Certified HPE partner, shares his insight into how hybrid cloud may become the new norm across healthcare as its unique benefits gain traction.

For the NHS to deliver the best and most effective patient care, innovative technologies continue to drive change; cloud computing is one of the many areas which has brought dynamic change.  Increasingly NHS trusts are using public cloud computing services in recognition of the efficiencies it brings, and the way in which it improves services across a healthcare setting. Through Trustco’s partnership with Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE), an established IT solutions provider in healthcare, we are able to showcase the benefits of another model, the hybrid cloud; helping the NHS move closer towards digital transformation.

Trustco offers the best hybrid cloud options for hosting, processing, storage, networks and applications. Developments in this field of technology are fast evolving and by offering a combination of approaches, the hybrid cloud is a value for money route for the NHS.

The NHS is an extraordinarily complex environment, and each trust is equally unique in its journey to the cloud; the hybrid cloud is well placed to manage fluctuating demand and yields a significant step forward for the sector.

In contrast to the limitations of one single approach, the hybrid cloud enables NHS organisations to select the right mix of infrastructure environments. It provides the advantages of using a combination of the public cloud, the private cloud, and on-premise; and this is what opens up ever greater efficiencies.

Through introducing a better way of working, which is key in the healthcare sector, the hybrid cloud has a multitude of benefits and overcomes drawbacks often faced with inflexible infrastructures, expensive support costs, and inadequate security.

Instead, NHS organisation can decide which cloud platform is most suitable for individual systems or applications based on performance, security and cost requirements. With services distributed across multiple data centres, it is also exceptionally reliable. Within the HPE hybrid cloud portfolio for instance, one of the products guarantees up to 100% uptime, meaning no more application outages for software upgrades or hardware failure, which in a 24x7 clinical environment is critical.

Advancements in next generation cloud services have led to improvements in other areas too.  Paving the way here is HPE GreenLake, which ensures organisations can run operations in a hybrid environment flexibly, and cost-effectively. Following a route like this allows NHS organisations to only pay for what is consumed, thus huge capital expenses are a thing of the past and there is an opportunity to secure return on investment.

Scalability is also an important factor in the choice of cloud platform, and hybrid cloud is highly scalable with low security risks to meet the changing needs of the NHS.  Health data can be safely stored in the hybrid cloud, and by improving visibility, it is a secure option.

Switching to a hybrid cloud infrastructure is gaining traction across industries, and as the unique benefits of moving workload between interconnected environments in healthcare is understood, interest is set to grow.

Trustco Plc, Silver Certified HPE partner, Crown Commercial Service Supplier on the TePAS framework, and supplier on the NHS Shared Business Services Digital Work Solutions (formally Link IT Solutions) framework.

As independent specialists in hybrid cloud and data centre consolidation, we can help you select the best hybrid cloud options. Contact us on 0344 880 1999, email [email protected], visit www.trustco.co.uk, or follow us @trustcoplc