Reluctance to Move IT to the Cloud: Education (Essay Sample)

Reluctance to Move IT to the Cloud: Education
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Reluctance to Move IT to the Cloud: Education
Introduction
Cloud computing has become a popular and promising technology due to the opportunities it presents. Companies have been able to augment their businesses and utilize technology more expeditiously. While cloud computing offers scalability, cost reductions, and flexibility, some healthcare institutions are reluctant to adopt the technology due to security and privacy issues, psychological barriers, and minimal visibility and control.
Security and privacy issues remain one of the leading factors to the hesitancy. According to Xue & Xin (2016), “among the issues of adopting cloud computing in business, security occupied the highest percentage that is 66%.” Hospitals store private and confidential patient health information (PHI) that is privy to authorized personnel only. However, this information is lucrative in the black market, and attackers employ malware or authentication attacks to steal the data for personal gain. Transferring IT infrastructure to the clouds increases the attack surface. Raval & Jangale (2016) indicate that cloud computing involves third parties who aid in service delivery, for example, server service providers. The data is also unencrypted. This increases the chances of healthcare data theft via the external server without the knowledge of its owner or custodian (hospital) or potential leakage. Therefore, PHI's security remains a critical issue for healthcare entities, hence the reluctance to embrace cloud computing.
Minimal visibility and control of the cloud infrastructure has created a reluctance to adopt cloud computing. Filkins et al. (2016) affirm that cloud computing offers a “lack of direct control over hardware and software, lack of visibility into audit/system activities physical locations of data, and impact of different jurisdictions where the data may be held." Thus, healthcare entities obligated to follow HIPAA regulations regarding ePHI are reserved about the extent of infrastructure visibility and control. Xue & Xin (2016) opine that lack of knowledge on accessing the data and ways it is being utilized creates skepticism around cloud adoption in the healthcare sector. It is also important to note that concerns about cloud providers storing and processing PHI data in jurisdictions with weak regulatory frameworks regarding private and confidential information create increasing incertitude. Therefore, cloud providers and their respective clients can reach a counterbalance when the former adjust their standard operating procedures and expectations to meet the latter's needs and demands.
Psychological distrust has made the process of migration from on-the-premise IT systems to cloud a complex endeavor. The innate sensitivity and immense amount of data processed daily are necessary to ensure care and caution by healthcare entities (Yimam & Fernandez, 2016). Therefore, while the cloud is a cost-effective strategy compared to the on-site IT infrastructure, healthcare practitioners are cynical about its long-term availability. Besides