Cloud computing is one of the most valuable and disruptive technologies of our time. Across industries, cloud migrations are making profound changes in how companies operate and develop new business models. One industry where the benefits of cloud migration are clear is life sciences.
The size of life sciences cloud computing is expected to rise at a CAGR of 20.9% between 2018 and 2022, according to research from Global Data. COVID-19 is not slowing things down. In fact, it’s speeding things up, bringing cloud services to the forefront, especially in life sciences. The market is expected to reach $798.84 billion in 2025 at a CAGR of 14%, according to ReportLinker.
Before discussing the benefits of cloud migration on life sciences, let’s first explain the upsides of moving to the cloud in general.
What are the reasons for migrating to the cloud?
Many businesses are already relying on cloud computing, and many more are seeing the benefits of cloud migrations. Here are several reasons why.
Cloud computing provides regular updates — IT teams don’t have to spend as much time maintaining and updating systems themselves as the cloud suppliers do this.
Cloud computing is flexible — Businesses can quickly scale up their cloud capacity, or scale down, which gives them an advantage over their competitors.
Cloud computing decreases costs — Migrating to the cloud significantly cuts down on hardware costs, allowing organizations to pay as they go using a subscription-based model.
The cloud improves collaboration — Cloud-based workflows allow teams to make updates in real-time and engage in more productive teamwork.
Cloud computing enhances security — Because data is stored in the cloud, organizations can access it no matter what happens to their hardware.
Cloud services save time — The process of moving data to the cloud is streamlined and straightforward, saving both time and effort.
Cloud computing streamlines content management — The cloud allows organizations to keep all of their data in one centralized place — one version of the truth for everyone.
The cloud lets you work anytime, from anywhere — Provided that they have an Internet connection, employees can now work anywhere at any time, furthering the validity of home or remote office.
Why are life sciences organizations moving to the cloud now?
While data storage and faster time to market are the main benefits of cloud migration for most industries, for research-driven industries like life sciences, the advantages are innovation, data analytics, and better collaboration.
In life sciences, the cloud has the ability to:
Manage industry-specific activities
Life sciences companies use cloud computing to perform industry-specific activities such as simulation and modeling, medical imaging and screening, and computational biology. Also, teams can use the cloud to analyze safety data, supply chain data, and outcomes data, monitor patients in real-time, provide outstanding healthcare services, and trace and track products.
Speed up experiments
Cloud computing brings agility to experimentation, which perfectly fits the needs of life sciences. By enabling companies to scale up their informatics, analytics, and infrastructure as the need arises, cloud computing allows teams to move from an idea to experimentation and then to large deployments more quickly and efficiently.
Unlock the value of data
The cloud can unlock data insights that organizations didn’t know existed. Based on one recent study, 62% of life sciences executives believe there is a large chunk of data they are not using effectively. Also, according to predictions, genomics research will generate up to 40 exabytes by 2025 and scientists will spend up to 40% of their time searching for, cleansing, and aggregating data. In this context, the cloud may be a driving force to help get drugs to market faster and cheaper.
Cloud providers have started to power R&D studies by offering data exchanges with clinical data, imaging data, and real-world evidence. Over the next decade, this could bring new opportunities for secure and large-scale data transfers across organizations. Ultimately, this kind of digital health data analysis will enable real-time medical interventions that could save lives.
Also, the capability to scale up and down helps researchers to process petabytes of data at a given time while only paying for additional capacity when needed. Plus, the cloud offers dense archives for long-term storage.
Bring collaboration to the next level
The cloud facilitates simple and effective collaboration within the organization and with a network of partners. This brings immense value to life sciences as more organizations see the huge impact they make when working together on delivering groundbreaking medical solutions. It allows workers to share information reliably and rapidly, thus supplying the right users with the right tools and information. Greater visibility equates to greater collaboration, which leads to a healthier bottom line.
Provide meaningful and connected patient support
Pharmaceutical companies are already using the cloud to treat patients and improve day-to-day care via medication reminders, symptom monitoring, and nursing support in real-time. Also, through cloud computing, hospitals can improve the care they deliver — doctors can access patients’ data instantly from anywhere, analyze it, and come up with the best treatment.
Build new business models
Finally, the cloud supports the development of new, more efficient life sciences business models. By breaking down the silos of locked data, process standardization, and team collaboration, cloud computing helps organizations expand R&D and leverage partnerships to improve therapy innovation and drug production.
A path to success via the cloud
There is no single approach for all organizations to reap the benefits of cloud migration. But there are steps each life sciences company can take on its reinvention journey via the cloud. Here are four general goals to keep in mind when migrating to the cloud.
Stay innovative — If life sciences organizations want to be innovative, they need to develop their services and products as quickly as possible. The cloud is now a necessary tool for companies to stay innovative and competitive.
Build partnerships — By nurturing internal and external partnerships, life sciences organizations can integrate and share data more securely and therefore navigate their digital transformation more easily.
Reinvent the supply chain — More streamlined collaboration powered by the cloud creates better connectivity and a wealth of insights that are crucial for better supply chain decisions.
Choose the right partner — Organizations need a cloud partner with digital capabilities and expertise to help them migrate to the cloud efficiently and accelerate new treatments and services.
Want to learn more about how HTEC’s technology expertise can transform your business? Explore our Technical Strategy and Healthcare & Life Sciences capabilities.
