Cloud has become the cornerstone of healthcare’s digital transformation. In 2025, it’s no longer a question of whether healthcare organizations (HCOs) should adopt cloud — but rather how they can use it to solve their most pressing challenges.

An average of 20% of the industry’s x86 server OS instances now run in the public cloud. HCOs are embracing cloud for its agility, scalability, and ability to support innovation at speed. But while cloud adoption is accelerating, it’s not a cure-all. Healthcare still faces deep-rooted issues: clinician burnout, staffing shortages, medical deserts, and a fragile patient experience. These challenges have only intensified over time. Still, new innovations and regulations have helped move the healthcare industry forward in cloud strategies. A few of these are as follows:

  • Cloud security is a key driver and major hurdle. While the multitenancy in the cloud was an early concern, it has since come to be viewed by many as a benefit, as it decreased the risk of cyber attacks. Still, uncertainty remains. HCOs are prime targets for cybercriminals due to the high value of patient data. Multicloud implementation may obscure data visibility, user activity, and system vulnerabilities due to abstraction layers that sit atop multiple clouds. As such, HCOs are employing Zero Trust principles and are beholden to other regulations such as AES-256 for encryption and SHA-256 for data integrity.
  • Interoperability is far from coming to fruition, but standards and industry clouds are helping. The Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement (TEFCA), a cloud-based health exchange network — along with other healthcare data networks and FHIR standard adoption — is advancing interoperability. In the future, HCOs will modernize classic enterprise apps for healthcare via industry SaaS (i.e., CRM, ERP, EHRs) and de-risk public cloud migration by ascribing to specialized infrastructure that is certified as compliant for healthcare. GE HealthCare just announced its Genesis portfolio, which will facilitate interoperability through centralized patient data storage and access.
  • Cloud AI services are powering engagement. IoT devices, edge computing, network infrastructure, and cloud services enhance asset management and enable a wider range of remote engagement. Edge, combined with wireless infrastructure such as Wi-Fi and 5G, also enables higher efficiency to help centralized systems for storing and transferring patient files. Microsoft Dragon Copilot recently introduced the first AI assistance for clinical workflows. Among its capabilities, clinicians can automate tasks such as making conversational orders, composing clinical evidence summaries, writing referral letters, and summarizing patient visits, all in one centralized workspace.

As healthcare continues its digital evolution, cloud’s role as a strategic engine driving transformation will continue to grow. While challenges such as security, interoperability, and clinician burnout persist, the momentum behind cloud adoption is undeniable. With the rise of Zero Trust architectures, industry-specific SaaS, and edge-powered engagement, healthcare organizations are not just adapting — they’re reimagining how care is delivered, accessed, and secured.

If you’d like to learn more, read our reports, The State Of Cloud In Healthcare, 2025, and Best Practices For Healthcare In Cloud. If you’d like to dive deeper, set up an inquiry or guidance session with Tracy Woo or Shannon Germain Farraher for a conversation.