CloudWave’s Predictions for Healthcare IT in 2025 Part 5: A Resurgence of the Public Cloud in Healthcare

Throughout our 2025 predictions series outlining the developments we expect to see in healthcare IT, we have discussed the intersection of technology and patient care as the healthcare industry navigates increasingly complex technology infrastructure requirements. One thing is certain: 2025 promises to be a transformative year for cybersecurity, cloud adoption, and regulatory shifts. The growing threat of cyberattacks, coupled with evolving patient care needs and stringent regulatory requirements, demands a proactive and patient-centric approach to healthcare IT.

From shifting cybersecurity approaches to embracing artificial intelligence, healthcare organizations must prioritize innovation, collaboration, and resilience to stay ahead of emerging challenges. This final edition will focus on the resurgence of public cloud in healthcare IT infrastructure, as well as some practical advice to help hospitals maximize their cloud resources.

Initially slow to adopt cloud technologies due to data security concerns, the healthcare industry has increasingly embraced the cloud. Today, the cloud plays a vital role in healthcare IT infrastructure, offering numerous benefits that enhance the delivery of patient care. For example, the cloud can help healthcare organizations streamline operations and drive innovation. It enables improved accessibility to patient data, increased collaboration between healthcare providers, and the use of advanced technologies like artificial intelligence, telemedicine, and more.

However, despite its advantages, healthcare organizations still face significant IT challenges in adopting the cloud, including growing technical complexity, regulatory compliance, and security concerns. In 2025, as public cloud providers continue to evolve to address security and compliance challenges associated with managing sensitive healthcare data and offer more robust healthcare-specific solutions, I expect to see a resurgence of public cloud consumption in our industry.

Both “lift and shift” scenarios, where existing applications are migrated to the cloud, and newer technology adoptions will fuel this resurgence. The lift and shift strategy offers a less disruptive way for organizations to leverage cloud benefits such as scalability, reduced maintenance, and cost optimization. Meanwhile, cloud-native applications like artificial intelligence, telemedicine platforms, genomics, and personalized medicine are becoming increasingly popular.

One of the primary advantages of public clouds in these scenarios is cost optimization, with a pay-as-you-go pricing model that makes it an attractive option for many hospitals facing budget constraints. However, the same concerns about data privacy, compliance, and the complexity of migrating legacy systems persist. To overcome these challenges, healthcare leaders must strike a delicate balance that requires informed decision-making to optimize resources and align IT investments with strategic objectives. Many healthcare organizations opt for a multi-cloud strategy to leverage the strengths of different cloud providers, ensure vendor neutrality, and mitigate risks.

Finding ways to utilize the cloud as a tool to achieve operational sustainability has become a strategic priority. Throughout this process, a managed cloud services provider can help by evaluating the best model and location for workloads, including the public cloud, based on technology needs, focusing on performance and latency, regulatory requirements, and cost. As public cloud consumption grows, partnering with a managed cloud services provider to leverage the expertise, infrastructure, and economies of scale required to support healthcare IT offers a multitude of additional benefits—allowing hospitals to focus more of their efforts on patient care initiatives rather than the complexities of IT infrastructure.

Interested in learning more? Download our new guide, “The Strategic Value of Managed Cloud Services in Healthcare: Why Hospitals Need a Trusted Partner,” to learn more.

Mike Donahue, Chief Operating Officer, CloudWave