Healthcare organizations undergoing cloud migrations to modernize operations face challenges that are common to those encountered by many organizations today. As such, the industry’s lessons learned are applicable to any organization that has a legacy infrastructure and is subject to regulatory authorities.
As healthcare organizations face growing pressure to modernize and improve the efficiency of their operations, cloud migration has become a top priority for many. However, while the potential benefits of migrating to the cloud are undeniable—improved cybersecurity, enhanced regulatory compliance, cost transparency, and scalability—the journey itself can have challenges, especially for larger, established healthcare providers and payers that were not “born in the cloud.”
Healthcare’s unique needs and stringent regulatory requirements make cloud migration more complex than in other industries. With sensitive patient data at stake and operational systems that cannot afford downtime, the stakes are high, and a misstep could lead to costly setbacks. But, with the right strategy and a solid set of blueprints, these obstacles can be overcome.
It is important to create a comprehensive approach to cloud migration for healthcare. Here are five strategies to address some of the challenges organizations might face and identify not just the challenges but solutions for success.
See also: From Strategy to Adoption: Integrating AI in Cloud Migration and Platform Modernization
1. Securing Senior Leadership Sponsorship
One of the most critical factors for a successful cloud migration is securing sponsorship at the highest levels of the organization. For healthcare companies, the Chief Information Officer (CIO) is often the one driving the cloud initiatives. The CIO’s motivations for moving to the cloud typically revolve around reducing cybersecurity risks, enhancing regulatory compliance, and improving cost management—all critical for the healthcare sector. However, the CIO can’t do it alone. Collaboration with the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and other senior leaders is essential to secure the necessary funding, align on goals, and manage the impact on day-to-day operations.
For example, a hospital’s radiology department may rely on mission-critical systems that need to be online 24/7. Shutting down such systems, even temporarily for cloud migration, could disrupt patient care. Therefore, aligning with department heads and creating a migration plan that minimizes operational impact is crucial. This alignment requires not just technical buy-in but also understanding and support from those overseeing the hospital’s business units and financial departments, as the costs of cloud migration often get passed down to these units.
In many cases, cloud initiatives fail because there is a lack of alignment between IT and business units. It’s not enough for the CIO to have a good idea; they need the entire organization, from senior leadership to individual business units, to rally behind the migration. If this alignment isn’t achieved, cloud migrations can stall or fail altogether.
2. Establishing a Governance Model
The next step in overcoming cloud migration obstacles is establishing a robust governance model. For healthcare organizations, governance must be multi-tiered, ensuring that every stakeholder—whether from IT, compliance, or clinical operations—has a voice. This is especially important because different departments use technology in different ways, and their needs may not always align.
A common pitfall is when one group, such as the IT department, takes the lead in planning the migration without proper input from other areas, like clinical operations or compliance. This can lead to the perception that the migration is only being done for the benefit of IT, causing friction and resistance from other departments.
To avoid this, healthcare organizations should consider forming an independent program management office (PMO) to oversee the migration. This office would act as an impartial body, ensuring that the needs of all stakeholders are addressed and that no single group dominates the decision-making process. Additionally, the PMO must be tightly connected to the organization’s financial planning process, as cloud migration often involves significant upfront costs before the benefits of reducing physical data centers or streamlining operations are realized.
For example, a large healthcare system might be migrating several hospitals’ data to the cloud. Each hospital could have different budgetary constraints and operational needs, making it essential for the PMO to coordinate the migration in a way that aligns with each hospital’s financial and operational realities.
3. Communication and Visibility
In addition to governance, clear and consistent communication is essential for successful cloud migration. Healthcare organizations need to establish a “visibility office” or a similar communication hub to provide regular updates to all stakeholders, including the executive committee, IT teams, clinical departments, and end users.
One of the most common sources of friction in cloud migrations is user resistance. Clinicians and administrators who are used to their current systems may be hesitant to adopt new workflows, especially if they don’t fully understand the benefits or fear disruptions in patient care. By providing regular updates on the progress of the migration, outlining what changes are coming, and addressing concerns early, the visibility office can help ease these transitions and reduce pushback.
For instance, regular town halls, email updates, and dedicated helplines can be used to keep everyone informed. A well-communicated plan that includes training and support can go a long way toward ensuring user adoption and minimizing disruptions.
4. Comprehensive Planning
Cloud migration for healthcare organizations is like building a skyscraper – it requires meticulous planning before a single step is taken. Many companies fall into the trap of addressing only the “easy” parts of cloud migration—such as refactoring applications or reconfiguring networks—without fully considering the broader implications.
A thorough cloud migration plan should consider all aspects of the organization’s IT infrastructure, including:
- Application Refactoring: Will legacy applications need to be rewritten to work in the cloud, or can they be lifted and shifted as-is? Healthcare organizations often rely on legacy systems that may not be cloud-friendly, making this step particularly important.
- Security and Compliance: Healthcare organizations must adhere to strict regulations, such as HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act), and must ensure that any cloud environment they move to meets these requirements. Planning for security controls, audit trails, and data encryption is non-negotiable.
- Cost Management: One of the key benefits of the cloud is improved cost visibility, but only if the organization has a clear plan for tagging and tracking costs by application or department. Without this, healthcare organizations may find that their cloud costs spiral out of control.
- Operational Changes: Moving to the cloud may require a shift in how the organization operates. For example, healthcare IT teams may need to adopt a DevOps or site reliability engineering (SRE) model, which emphasizes continuous integration and continuous delivery (CI/CD) and more agile operational practices. Training teams on these new methodologies will be crucial for long-term success.
A comprehensive plan must address each of these components, ensuring that every part of the migration is carefully considered, from infrastructure to applications to end-user experience.
5. Handling Setbacks and Mitigating Failures
No cloud migration is without its challenges. Healthcare organizations need to anticipate setbacks and have a plan in place to address them when they occur. This is where having a decision-making framework comes into play.
For example, if a hospital’s electronic medical records (EMR) system experiences downtime during migration, the organization needs to know whether to roll back to the previous system or push forward with troubleshooting. Having predefined thresholds for acceptable risk and clear decision-making paths ensures that issues are resolved quickly without derailing the entire project.
In addition to handling technical setbacks, healthcare organizations must also account for resistance from users. Clinicians may be hesitant to adopt new systems, fearing that it will take time away from patient care. To mitigate this, healthcare organizations should invest in thorough training programs and provide on-site support during the transition to help users adapt to the new systems with minimal disruption.
Conclusion
For healthcare organizations, migrating to the cloud is not just a technical endeavor – it is a complex, organization-wide transformation that requires careful planning, strong leadership, and robust governance. By creating a strategic blueprint, healthcare providers can successfully navigate the challenges of cloud migration and realize the long-term benefits.
