Issue link: https://read.uberflip.com/i/1182532
Produced in partnership with Ask any healthcare CIO and you will find data security is a top-of-mind concern. Healthcare organizations that suffer data breaches risk a loss of reputation and costly fines and penalties related to stolen protected health information (PHI). Because of this sensitivity to security risks, many healthcare organizations have been reluctant to move their information technology (IT) infrastructure to the cloud. "There is a myth that physical access implies security," said Matt Ferrari, chief technology officer (CTO), ClearDATA. "The truth is that from a security standpoint, the cloud offers many advantages over an on-premise IT infrastructure." ClearDATA provides security solutions for healthcare providers, payers, pharmaceutical organizations and independent software vendors (ISVs). ClearDATA's security solutions are built on top of the AWS Cloud. AWS provides the "undifferentiated heavy lifting" that secures an organization's IT infrastructure. This allows healthcare organizations to focus on application security, often in partnership with companies such as ClearDATA. "AWS is truly committed to driving cloud security. That is the why ClearDATA works with them," said Ferrari. He outlined three reasons why leveraging the AWS Cloud offers security advantages over an on-premise approach. 1. Economies of scale AWS's investment in security includes exceptional physical security, secure infrastructure design and the highest level of professional expertise. Few, if any, healthcare providers can match AWS's investment in security in these areas, said Ferrari. By moving their IT infrastructure to the AWS Cloud, organizations can benefit from enterprise-level security at a lower cost required to provide the same level of security in an on-premise environment. "The neat thing about the cloud's economy of scale is now small, rural-access hospitals can afford to access the same enterprise-level security services as larger organizations," he said. "That has been an enormous improvement." In addition, the breadth and depth of AWS's operations ensure AWS finds out about security concerns before individual providers do. "Many providers have only a few individuals internally who manage security for the entire organization. That is a tough road to climb," Ferrari noted. AWS manages more than 1 million active accounts each month, running every conceivable type of workload, which gives AWS insight into security issues that occur as infrequently as once in a billion operations. When issues are identified, AWS deploys remedies across the entire platform. For AWS Three Reasons Your IT Infrastructure is More Secure in the Cloud IT INFRASTRUCTURE SECURITY "From a security standpoint, the cloud offers many advantages over an on-premise IT infrastructure." Matt Ferrari Chief Technology Officer ClearDATA