Cloud Driving Transformation in the Healthcare Sector
The βSify: Power Discussionβ hosted at the βHealthcare Senate & Healthcare Information Technology Summit 2017β organised by the Indian Express Group and Sify Technologies discussed the various benefits that cloud can bring to the Indian healthcare sector.
The CXOs who participated in the power discussion hosted by Sify shared their challenges in the ICT space and subsequently, various views were shared by the panellists and Sify on how the cloud technology can solve their pain points and finally help in building better patient experience.
Summary of Challenges
- Increasing Data volumes is becoming unmanageable in preserving, optimising and retrieval of data. The Cost associated with that is also an issue.
- Can IT play a role in reducing the time of the patient in βCheck-in / Checkout/ Post Checkout Careβ?
- Challenges in the Inter-departments users of IT systems at the hospitals. For example, the HIS at times hasnβt been successful in reducing the pain points of the doctors with Care Teams.
- Disparate IT systems do not talk to each other and are not compatible, so there should be a common platform that allows different technologies to work seamlessly.
- Hospitals should prioritise in terms of what they want to achieve and accordingly how IT can play a role. At times, the perception is that IT has a magic wand, and any problem in hospital, IT is made a scapegoat.
The Case for Cloud Computing
Anindya Sen, Transformation β Evangelist, Sify Technologies, spoke extensively on how cloud can solve various challenges faced not only by the IT function but also the functions in the hospitals. He started with a specific example of the cloud implementation for the radiology department at Cancer Treatment Services International (CTSI). In each of the twelve CTSI hospitals, which were hitherto running on separate IT systems, were now completely moved on cloud. The data was now directly fed to the radiology departments of these twelve hospitals. It helped radiologists to serve the patients by doing targeted radiation.
One of the panellists asked about how cloud can reduce cost for the organisations. Cloud can significantly slash costs for companies who want to serve multiple locations using the cloud technology, however, the cost advantage might not fructify if it were a single location. Nevertheless, the benefits of cloud beyond cost parameters only were discussed for such scenarios.
A specific discussion happened in terms of healthcare industry where in spite of adopting Cloud, the IT team still has a task at hand in managing end points, their networking, etc. Network-as-a-service, a relevant example in this case was discussed to take the pain away from internal network management. Sify has provided βNetwork as a serviceβ to many companies having a wide geographical presence using the cloud model.
The panellists were of the consensus that different components of IT like networks, applications, different patient systems etc. on cloud hosted by a single CSP, who partners with different domain experts and partners can unleash the potential that cloud can offer.
Sify explained a case study of Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Ltd (UPPCL). Sify has hosted the IT infrastructure, end-to-end on cloud, partnering with the right domain experts and service providers for the various components of the IT infrastructure be it network, security, antivirus etc. The customer pays Sify on βPer Bill generated i.e. Outcome Based Modelβ.
With this model, the role of the CIO will focus not on βSwitch on β Switch off issuesβ but concentrate on the Innovation, Patient Experience, Improve Inter-Departmental Coordination, Post Checkout Patient Care, etc. Various other models like per bed, per patient were also deliberated.
There is also a lot of potential waiting to be tapped in the on-premise cloud space. On premise cloud fits well with organizations having large IT resources in-house. IT and FMCG companies are a nice fit. Sify provides their infrastructure and services to these companies. This model was suggested by panel members specifically for concentrated IT landscapes.
With global issues like Global warming, floods are becoming more frequent and thus the availability of systems can get affected. One of the panellists spoke about how during the Chennai floods, because the systems were hosted in one place in Chennai, the hospitals in other cities were affected however in one of the similar instances of floods, this was avoided because now the systems were working on cloud. This brings in the case for DR as a service. Cloud can also be helpful in bringing innovation in IT processes.
The Potential of Telemedicine
Telemedicine has not been able to take off in India and the reasons to which were discussed. Various suggestions on how telemedicine can be made more reasonable for the medical community and patients alike.
One of the reasons, as a panellist claimed, that was not allowing telemedicine to take off is there is no certainty on who will bear the cost. It works for the government, who pays for it entirely however for private hospitals, there is no business model.
Notwithstanding, telemedicine can be useful for patient scheduling, touchpoints, delivering care and administration process. There was also a broad consensus that telemedicine can be tremendously beneficial for secondary care i.e. once the patient has visited the doctor personally and his case is well understood by the doctor, the patient need not visit him the next time.
The treatment can happen using telemedicine unless it is necessary for an in-person visit. So the school of thought in the healthcare industry about the necessity to give the touch and feel for the patient is reducing and is a myth. With IoT technologies, the medical devices are also getting connected and this can be a contributing factor for the emergence of telemedicine in India.
Conclusion
On the whole, it was a good participative discussion where the various points of view from the Business side, IT side and the service provider angle were discussed. Obstacles as well as advantages for adopting an agile cloud based model were deliberated upon and a need for business outcome based model to help IT and business alike was unanimously agreed upon.
New technologies and solutions β such as mobile apps, cloud computing, the Internet of Things, and analytics β are available to make healthcare organizations more accessible, simpler, faster, and more cost effective.
Whether you represent a hospital, clinic, or specialist, Sify has a variety of scalable, agile, and secure solutions to help your organization achieve these goals.
Delegate Participants:
- Manoj Kumar (Apollo Health & Lifestyle )
- Santosh Patil (Asian Cancer Institute)
- Dilip Ramdasan (Dr. Agarwals Eye Hospital)
- Nallamuthu Sivaraj (Gem Hospital)
- Rajesh Kumar Gupta (Medanta β The Medicity)
- Jai Prakash Dwivedi (Rajiv Gandhi Cancer Institute & Research Centre)
- Ramesh Desai (Sagar Hospitals β Banashankari)
- Sachin P Marathe (Sapphire Hospitals)
- Niranjan Kumar Ramakrishnan (Sir Ganga Ram Hospital )
- Maneesh Agarwal (Apollo Hospitals)
- T S Mohan Kumar (Brindhavvan Areion Hospitals)
- Kvs Sesha Reddy (Brindhavvan Areion Hospitals )
- Ashim Kumar (CARE Hospital)
- Selwyn Colaco (Cytecare Cancer Hospitals )
- Naveen Nagar (HCG )
- Manisha Pal (Hiranandani Hospital)
- Paritosh Joshi (Kasturba Vaidyakiya Rahat Mandal)
- M. S Guru Prasad (Narayana Health )
- Manoj Chavan (Sir HN Reliance Foundation Hospital & Research Center )
Sify Participants:
- Subramaniam Ramakrishnan
- Anindya Sen
- Sonia Kaul
- Sanjay Gour
- Sagar Pattnaik
- Abhinav Gupta
3 Key Benefits of taking your contact center to the cloud (CCaaS)
The key to thrive in a βCustomer is the Kingβ economy is being extremely responsive to their ever-evolving demands while serving as a pacesetter for the competition. Customers are demanding a wider choice of contact channels, stronger relationships, flexible customer service options and quick-to-respond customer service. All these factors have increased the pressure on Contact Centers; they must deliver the best possible customer experience β consistently!
Organizations are progressively moving towards βas a serviceβ technologies as they look for models that are flexible and enable better responsiveness and service quality in todayβs customer centric environment. Contact center service providersβ cloud-based offerings focus on cloud as a deployment option as against the conventional on-premise alternative. By taking the contact center to the cloud, businesses get a robust, flexible, cost-effective and multi-channel solution with unified delivery and professional management.
3 main Benefits of Cloud-based Contact Centers
Β Flexibility and Scalability
A traditional contact center is based on the intended contact service agent capacity, the approximated volume of customer interactions and an estimate of the type of channel/feature access required. On the other hand, cloud solutions enable businesses to operate fluid contact center operations, where they could modify the scale of operations, swiftly add functionalities, switch the mix of communication channels, handle unanticipated spikes in the interaction volume or draw on enterprise resources. Flexibility and scalability afford unlimited possibilities almost instantly to the businesses without the prohibitive expense of additional infrastructure/related software and the associated time to implement and operate the revised operations.
Substantial Cost Savings
Cost arguments in favor of cloud solutions versus traditional Data Centers are apparent right from the start β the former helps transfer the financial load from CAPEX (Capital Expense) to OPEX (Operating Expense). Switching to an OPEX model brings with it more simplicity and predictability with a βpay-as-you-goβ model. It eliminates the challenge and risk of making large capital expenses towards infrastructure at one given point; making it easier to budget for growth. In comparison, non-cloud contact centers cannot achieve this desired flexibility without investing a sizeable amount in infrastructure and are unable to facilitate businesses to right-size their operations. Cloud solutions are cash flow friendly as recurring costs are coupled only with an associated growth spike, thus eliminating the risk of unutilised investment. It also allows better budgeting, planning and related staffing decisions resulting in increased efficiency and productivity
Streamlined IT
Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) has been an industry norm for core applications like email/ CRM and many other business applications and is increasingly becoming universal. Cloud solutions guarantee that bandwidth, network and other communication services are addressed in order to meet evolving business needs and adapt to rapid changes in the business. The cloud-based contact center solution is hosted in a secure and reliable environment, as a result saving time and allowing businesses to focus their energies on their operations. There is an additional benefit of 100% reliable backup and disaster recovery of data and applications, which is difficult and expensive to implement and execute at a smaller scale. Taking their contact center to the cloud provides the businesses with an assured level of business continuity and the option of long-term retention of the data in their contact center operations. Leaders are becoming progressively more interested in the cloud adoption in this model and the operational agility benefits that it provides.
One constant for the contact centers is their relentless pursuit of change for the better. They are continually looking for superior technology, more efficient processes, and better-trained resources in order to improve the quality of the customer experience. These are aimed at serving customers more effectively and at the same time more economically. As providing exceptional one-on-one service, regardless of the medium, becomes the norm for businesses; cloud solutions for the contact centers serve the need of the hour by making it affordable to provide customer experiences designed to make buyers loyal to the brand.
As Indiaβs leading fully converged ICT Company, Sify is using its decades of experience in network and Data Center services to present the most comprehensive Contact Center as a Service platform in India.
Our extensive expertise has allowed us to craft a service offering, which is highly flexible, scalable and future proof. Sifyβs CCaaS provides all Contact Center applications under one umbrella β from branch connectivity and video conferencing to 100 % reliable voice calls. Delivered via the cloud, Sifyβs CCaaS is a multi channel platform, which can easily meet the most exacting contact center requirements.
Advantages of Integrating Cloud with traditional Data Centers
A growing number of organizations are adopting cloud computing to meet the challenges of deploying their IT services as fast as they can and addressing their dynamic work load environment there by maximising their ROIs (Return on Investments).
Across the globe companies have started to view hybrid cloud as a transformative operating model β a real game changer that presents the wealth of opportunities to businesses. The two mantras which helps you to follow while adopting this technique is Enhanced agility and Overall cost savings.
Cloud computing helpβs the users to access the IT resources faster than the traditional Data Centers. It also provides improved manageability requires less maintenance. This technological service also helps the users to access the resources they need for a specific task. This not only prevents you from incurring cost for computing resources which are not in use, but, improves the operational efficiencies by reducing cost and time.
By adopting Cloud computing, businesses can rapidly integrate and deliver services across the other adopted cloud environments and thereby improving business agility so also lowering the costs. Once businesses recognize this they need to choose the cloud computing option that best fit their business requirements.
Like public cloud model, private cloud models also offer seamless access to applications and data with minimal IT support. But in private cloud the service will be offered only to a particular organization. Two common types of clouds are Integrated stack and Custom cloud. The key benefit of integrated stack is pre testing and interoperability to reduce operational risks and faster deployment time as the stack is most often delivered as a single bill of material. And the importance of custom cloud is, a modular plug & play approach that allows organizations to build cloud infrastructures in smaller increments, adding capacity when needed.
Hybrid model is a combination of public and private cloud models. Now a dayβs every organization started looking and adopting it due to its cost benefit. Getting into a hybrid model and the key to success is, understanding how to get started on your hybrid cloud. First of all you need to know the integration method. The dominant strategy in creating a hybrid cloud that ties traditional Data Centers with public cloud services involves the use of a front end application. Most companies have created web based front end applications that give customers access to order entry and account management functions, for example, many companies also used front end application technologies from different vendors to assemble the elements of applications into a single custom display for end users. You can use either of these front end methods to create a hybrid cloud.
The front end application based hybrid models, the applications located in the cloud and the Data Center run normally; integration occurs at the front end. There are no new or complicated processes for integrating data or sharing resources between public and private clouds.
A business can choose from a vast array of potential organizational structures. Lateral organizations, top down organizations and other type of organizational structures can all be combined into a hybrid structure. This allows a company more flexibility in distributing work and assigning job rolls. It can also be beneficial in small businesses where there are fewer employees to manage daily operations.
Hybrid structure also helps the organization to choose Shared Mission where it creates a shared mission and allows itβs employees to work on a different projects and in different sectors. This structure creates a unified team of individuals with a common goal and different experience and interest levels. Each employee is able to perform work in the areas he/she best suited to, moving from project to project and reporting to different individuals as and when it is required.
Another example of hybrid structure is Market Disruption, through which when an organization adopts itself into a market and overcomes traditional barriers of the market such as advertising budgets that could cripple financially smaller organizations. Here considering the B2B perspective, this structure can ride the wave of market disruption to a peak of creating a massive media blitz that fuels product development and demand.
The next benefit to the hybrid organizational structure is the Massive Scale that can be reached by its use. Instead of having a top heavy, traditional structure of management and employees, a hybrid organization uses a spider web based structure involving groups of individuals, sometimes in different geographic areas, working together to accomplish shared goals. This also removes the problem of distribution pipelines slowing down access to the finished product.
Ease of maintenance is another attractive characteristic. It is because cloud computing architecture requires less hardware than distributed deployments. Fewer dedicated IT staff members are necessary to maintain the integrity of the cloudβs infrastructure particularly during peak hours.
Cloud computing also supports the real time allocation of computer power for application based on actual usage. This allows cloud operators to meet the demand of peak load hours accurately without over provisioning, increasing the clouds efficiency while freeing up additional capacity for on demand deployment. From an IT perspective, support for rapid provisioning and deployment is another attractive characteristics that appeal to growing enterprises.
Cost reductions, easier implementation & maintenance, and a better flexibility are the significant benefits of cloud deployment.
Operating costs are controlled by a good design and implementation of the same. Over the long term it is very critical to optimize both capital and operating expenses. Every industry has its own leaders, with a unique jargon and cultural conventions that B2B marketers must take into accounts.
Ways to Ensure your Data on Cloud is Safe & Secure
https://www.sifytechnologies.com/dc-services/Managing your data on the cloud offers myriad benefits to your business. But like any other technology, cloud computing also has its share of risks involved. When considering a move to the cloud, consumers should get familiar with the potential security risks.
There are a few security and privacy challenges relevant to cloud computing and if you have a clear understanding of them, you can safeguard your data against them. Both you and yourΒ cloud service providerΒ have responsibilities that address the potential risks. Here are the things to consider to ensure data security:
- You should implement a tiered protection layer for your data to create a security model that includes a multiple perimeter rings of defense. Different layers of defense will safeguard your data from both, internal and external threats.
- Make sure you manage authorisation process. Create a coherent hierarchy of people or departments that have access to your data on the cloud. Moreover, deploy a program to review access trails. Ask your cloud provider if there are process and functionality that control who has access to the data. Work with a provider that offers a cloud environment that is controlled and managed.
- Secure networks and connections are another imperative when choosing a cloud provider. You must evaluate the type of external network controls offered by the provider to distinguish authorised traffic from the unauthorised one. And you should do the same internally as well.
- Evaluating physical infrastructure and facilities of the cloud provider for security controls is extremely important. The physical infrastructure is managed by the provider and you must get assurance from them regarding security in the facilities. Your service provider must have mandatory security controls on their human resources.
- Authorised personnel and physical security are not the only concerns, you should also ensure that the facility is protected against external and environmental threats. Check with the provider whether or not appropriate facilities are in place to make sure that services will continue in case of equipment failure or environmental threats.
- Scrutinising application security is another important aspect, specifically in SaaS deployments. While the cloud provider has the liability of application security, it is imperative that you know all about the security measures taken.
- Go through the security requirements of the exit process. In the event of the termination of service, the consumer must be provided with a smooth transition of data, without any loss or security breach. Make sure the exit process is properly documented in the contract to provide security during the transaction.
The greatest security concern for any business is to pick the right provider. Keeping your data safe is as much the concern of the provider as it is yours. Therefore, you must ensure that you choose a provider that takes data security as a priority so that your doubts are put to rest.
Benefits of Managed Cloud Services
Cloud computing is taking shape as a fundamental to business growth. Between the fray of private and public cloud, managed cloud services can help businesses maximize theΒ benefits of cloud adoption.Β Managed cloud hosting provides the balance between scalability and facility of public cloud and better reliability of on-premises solutions. Managed cloud solutions are considered by many businesses because of the cost-effective and well-managed computing resources, IT efficiency and flexibility. Any business focused on devoting more time to business process than IT should consider theΒ benefits of managed cloud services.
Customization of the solution
Depending on the requirements of each business, the managed cloud solutions are completely customizable. They are designed and implemented by the providers to meet the requirements within the industry a business operates. This is so because the provider who can diligently monitor the way client manages the cloud solutions uses the solution. It is an important factor in getting technical details to further ease the process that is brought about by the technical nature of the cloud solutions.
Improved deployment of the solutions
Managed cloud solutions have become crucial to business processes and are evolving at a faster rate. The managed service providers can track the technical information about the usage and the programming interface of their cloud services. SinceΒ managed cloud service providersΒ have the ability to monitor the usage of their solutions and their response time, they constantly improve the design and deployment of the services.
Better system availability
Another advantage of managed cloud services is better availability at increased speed. Your cloud-hosting provider offers high-speed cloud resources that give you the leverage of mining through massive amounts of data at a faster pace. With optimum bandwidth, data storage and uptime, you can rest assure that your online processes will go on uninterrupted even with heavy loads. The speed and agility of managed cloud solutions will assist you in focusing on your core business strategies, making your customers happy and expanding your business.
Increased reliability
WithΒ managed cloud solutions, you will be provided extremely reliable services because the provider maintains control and is capable of clearing up the issues in the system right away. The provider ensures that the infrastructure is functioning at optimal levels and identifies potential threats. Since a managed cloud solutions provider carefully administers the cloud, consumers get reliable services they can trust their data with.
To garner the many benefits of managed cloud solutions, teaming up with an experienced provider is of utmost importance. You must work with a provider that is architecturally sound and has reliable infrastructure with expertise in different cloud administration functions from configuration to ongoing maintenance.
5 things to consider when weighing public cloud against private cloud
Businesses pursuing the cloud are faced with the existential question β public or private cloud? Each has its merits that should be considered as per oneβs business goals. Here are five factors you must consider prior to choosing a cloud platform.
Accessibility and usage
Each corporation has requirements unique to its business. For example, you have to consider if you can use SaaS the way it was designed or whether you need to alter it according to your requirements, which adds to the cost. Some applications even need dedicated hardware and even though they are offered by vendors, it affects workflow and can make application latency an issue. Implementation, accessibility and on-going operation come easily with private cloud. But if you are considering a public cloud, ensure that the vendor has the server clout that can handle high-performance apps.
Security
In the past few years, there have been many instances of cloud service breaches and several major businesses have suffered from them. Data security is a major concern regarding public cloud services. Although vendors effectively secure the public cloud infrastructure, various corporations are concerned about the implications of depending solely on them as any crack in their security can result in a negative impact on the bottom lines of these corporations. In a private cloud infrastructure, on the flip side, a number of firewalls can be implemented to safeguard data against external threats.
Cost
Flexible payment options concerning cloud infrastructure has given a whole new meaning to the economic expenditure. But the costs of implementing and maintaining private cloud services can bruise, if not break the economy of an organisation. The cost of buying servers, hardware and software along with hiring staff for maintenance is often far more than the prices asked by public cloud vendors. If you no longer need the setup for particular task in private cloud, the equipment just wastes away. That stated, the long-term cost of leasing public cloud continually can exceed the total cost of managing in-house cloud, especially if the data load increases.
Integration and Operation
Integrating the existing IT infrastructure with cloud is another major aspect. Business processes need specific tools for workflow and these tools must be integrated well with the cloud. Private cloud offers the ability to easily integrate business tools but at the cost of elastic capabilities. If the model of your business operations depends on a role-based environment, you must consider the requirement of diverse equipment and capabilities and how they fit in private or public infrastructure.
Scalability
The on-demand availability of public cloud makes it preferable by many organizations. Vendor services make it easy to scale up or down to adjust changes in requirements and environment. You only have to invest in the services that are required at any given time.
Private and public clouds come with management implications, however, selecting a vendor-based solution gives your organization ability to unload most of the management responsibility on the vendor.
How Cloud Computing can help SMBs
Most business models followed by SMBs have one common target β minimize costs. When handling big data, storage becomes a problem quite often and thereβs a substantial flow of capital just for that purpose.
Cloud offers not just IT infrastructure but a business framework. Itβs beneficial for SMBs in terms of accessibility, security, disaster management, cost, time and energy savings, flexibility and gaining an edge over competitors. Using the cloud can significantly bring down physical data storage costs. Furthermore, the ease-of-use makes cloud storage a better option for non-technical people as well. The icing on the cake is the automation that cloud computing supports. Instead of having to invest on IT support, cloud applications update themselves.
Letβs have a look on how cloud computing can help SMBs:
Data Backup
A small business owner should be aware of the importance of backups. System failures can be a risky situation in case of an infrastructure that is still in its nascent stages β something that is common in SMBs. The cloud is a great help here as it breaks down the process by allowing your data to automatically update as you work and also create copies of your data off-site where it will be protected from any looming disaster, theft or accident.
Mobile Office
Due to the cloudβs omnipresence, SMBs can have a better foothold in creating mobile offices. The cloud can be accessed and synced from anywhere and allows you to literally take your office on the road. This brings down the costs greatly by building a working model largely around the internet.
Sharing Info
Sharing data is easier with the cloud due to the ease-of-access. SMBs can now share data across an in-house staff and a team onsite through great distances, instantaneously. Emailing cumbersome files can often slow down work and this is where the cloud comes to play. Moreover, the cloud is also a safer option for sharing data compared to physical means.
File Storage
SMBs need all the marketing they can get for timely expansion and brand recognition. Most direct marketing strategies require large amounts of media that include video, audio and images. Due to the rising access of technology, more and more consumers are accepting this part of promotion. However, all this data can take up a large amount of storage space on a physical server. The cloud can easily take this load off by letting your local server or system focus more on the local files.
Strategic Growth
Cloud computing is a scalable practice and hence enables SMBs to create plans for growth that use the advantages of the cloud without any significant investment. You donβt have to buy new equipment or software, you just pay for what you use. And you get access to the most robust hardware and up-to-date software. Many vendors offer cloud applications for SMBs that enable you to control costs and reduce IT budget, further facilitating staff efficiency and improving productivity immensely.
