Hosting data in the cloud is a hot topic in the IT world, and now health systems are starting to embrace the technology, since it’s secure and HIPAA-compliant. While it’s not suitable for all organizations, many will benefit by using cloud hosting for their EDW. This article will explain the pros and help you understand if your organization is a good candidate.

1. © 2014 Health Catalyst
www.healthcatalyst.comProprietary. Feel free to share but we would appreciate a Health Catalyst citation.
© 2014 Health Catalyst
www.healthcatalyst.com
Proprietary. Feel free to share but we would appreciate a Health Catalyst citation.
EDW Cloud Hosting: Is It Right for Your
Health System?
By Nate Arnold

2. © 2014 Health Catalyst
www.healthcatalyst.comProprietary. Feel free to share but we would appreciate a Health Catalyst citation.
In today’s technology industry,
hosting data in the cloud is the hot
option. Healthcare, which tends to
lag behind other industries in
technology adoption, is also
beginning to embrace the cloud.
Moving to the cloud will have a big
impact in the healthcare enterprise
data warehouse (EDW) market.
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EDW Cloud Hosting
As healthcare organizations
realize that cloud environments are
secure and meet strict regulatory
requirements, such as HIPAA, they
are more ready and willing to trust
their data to the cloud.

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Choosing a hosting model is a big decision for any organization.
Health Catalyst offers three models:
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EDW Hosting Options
With this model, the vendor connects your
data sources to a secure, HIPAA-compliant
environment in the cloud.
Vendor-Hosted Solution in the Cloud
The vendor purchases the base hardware,
customizes it, and installs the appropriate
software offsite.
Vendor Appliance Hosted by Client
Many clients acquire the hardware and
software licenses required and the system is
set it and hosted in their own data center.
Client-Hosted Solution
A good vendor will work with your server
administration team to understand the size
and footprint of your environment.

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Cost and Convenience
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Benefits of a Cloud-Based EDW
A key benefit of turning your EDW over to
your vendor’s data center is that you don’t
have to buy, manage, maintain, or worry
about hardware and software assets
residing in your own data center. With a
cloud EDW, you don’t have to:
Devote capital dollars to purchasing the necessary
hardware or wait for capital expenditure approval as the
EDW competes with other budget priorities.
Have the IT resources on staff to manage and maintain
the hardware. You can get by with lesson staff IT
personnel.
Pay for data center expenses. No expenses for
electricity for cooling and hardware or software support
contracts from multiple vendors.

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Speed of Implementation
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Benefits of a Cloud-Based EDW
Using our unique, late-binding architecture
and streamlined implementation processes
we can have an organization’s healthcare
EDW up and running in as few as 90 days.
Without the bottleneck of the hardware approval and
acquisition cycle, implementing a cloud solution has a
very compressed timeline.
Using proven, secure and reliable pre-configured cloud
servers environment, a fully functional system can
quickly get up and running.
It is always faster for us to implement and upgrade our
software in our own environment

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Consider the Cloud If You Meet These Criteria
• Are a physician practice group
• Have limited capital expenditure available
• Have a small IT department
• Have other large, strategic IT initiatives that
you are trying to achieve in the same
timeframe as the EDW
• Have specific timeframes for meeting quality
and cost metrics and need to get started
immediately
• Don’t have any space left in your data center
You are a good candidate for a cloud-based EDW if you:

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Other Clinical Quality Improvement Resources
Click to read additional information at www.healthcatalyst.com
What EDW hosting options have you considered and why? Are you comfortable
storing your data in the cloud?
Nate Arnold joined Health Catalyst in January 2012 after a 16 year
stint at MultiCare Health System where he served in many technical
and leadership roles. In the last 5 years he was the Manager of IT
Systems, Operations and Database. These responsibilities covered
a wide swath of IT needs including, data center operations, IT
disaster recovery, server and database administration, and
MultiCare’s application and web development team. Nate also worked with Epic
for 15 years as a Caché System Administrator. Prior to MultiCare he worked for
Nathan Adelson Hospice in Las Vegas and interned with Intermountain Health
Care’s at Dixie Regional Medical Center in St. George, UT.