Why HealthTech is Turning to OpenStack Private Clouds

The healthcare industry is going through a major digital shift, with electronic health records (EHRs), telemedicine, and other data-heavy technologies becoming the norm. This means a huge increase in sensitive patient data that needs to be stored, processed, and analyzed securely. A 2024 report by MarketsandMarkets projects that the global healthcare cloud computing market will reach $120.6 billion USD by 2029, showing just how much healthcare relies on the cloud these days. And it sounds like that reliance will only increase!

While public cloud offerings like AWS, Azure, and GCP are today’s popular choices, many healthtech companies are finding that private cloud deployments based on OpenStack offer a better solution. OpenStack is an open source cloud computing platform that lets organizations build and manage their own private clouds on-premises, in a colocation facility, or through a hosted infrastructure provider. This gives them more control over data security, compliance, and costs, while still offering the flexibility and scalability of cloud computing.

This article explores why OpenStack is a smart choice and growing in popularity for healthtech companies looking to deploy private clouds. We’ll look at the specific benefits of OpenStack in healthcare technology, including security, compliance, scalability, and cost-effectiveness. We’ll also discuss potential drawbacks, compare OpenStack to other cloud solutions, and analyze its cost-effectiveness.

OpenStack in Healthcare: Research and Case Studies

OpenStack is popping up more and more in healthcare, as shown by research reports and case studies. A recent study published in the National Library of Medicine highlights how OpenStack can be used to build a secure health big data platform (HBDP). The researchers created a framework using OpenStack, Hyperledger Fabric, and the OpenABE library to show how the platform can detect unauthorized users and protect sensitive patient data.

Another study published on ResearchGate explores how OpenStack can expand healthcare infrastructure. The authors suggest an open cloud model based on OpenStack to address the growing need for scalable and cost-effective computing resources in healthcare.

Incarta, an Australian technology consulting company, provides a real-world example of OpenStack in action. Working with Sardina Systems, Incarta has built a private cloud platform on OpenStack to provide agile and highly reliable services to the healthcare sector. This platform allows for real-time data analytics and gives critical care sectors, medical emergency teams, and hospitals scalable data storage and elastic compute resources.

Benefits of OpenStack for HealthTech Companies

OpenStack offers several major benefits that make it a great fit for healthtech companies:

Enhanced Security

Security is critical in healthcare because of the sensitive nature of patient data and strict regulations. OpenStack provides a strong security framework that can be tailored to meet the varying needs of healthtech companies. Key security features include:

• Granular Access Control: OpenStack’s Identity service (Keystone) lets you finely control user access and permissions, making sure that only authorized personnel can access sensitive data.
• Data Encryption: OpenStack supports data encryption at rest and in transit, protecting patient data and proprietary information from unauthorized access.
• Secure Boot and Trusted Compute Pools: OpenStack allows administrators to designate trusted compute pools and use hardware-based security features like Intel Trusted Execution Technology (TXT) to ensure the integrity of the compute environment.
• Integration with Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) Tools: OpenStack can be integrated with SIEM tools to provide real-time monitoring and threat detection.

Improved Compliance

Healthtech companies have to comply with various regulations, such as HIPAA, GDPR, and CCPA. OpenStack’s flexible architecture and security features can be configured to meet these compliance requirements.

• HIPAA Compliance: OpenStack can be deployed in a HIPAA-compliant way by implementing appropriate security controls and policies. For example, Dash ComplyOps, a solution built on OpenStack, helps healthtech companies manage HIPAA administrative policies, technical controls, and cloud security in AWS and other public clouds.
• Data Residency and Sovereignty: OpenStack lets healthtech companies control where their data is located, ensuring compliance with data residency regulations. This is especially important for healthcare data, which often has strict geographical restrictions.
• Auditing and Logging: OpenStack provides comprehensive auditing and logging capabilities, enabling healthtech companies to track data access and demonstrate compliance. This helps meet the strict audit trail requirements of healthcare regulations.

Scalability and Flexibility

OpenStack is designed to be horizontally scalable, allowing healthtech companies to easily add or remove resources as needed to meet changing demands. This scalability is useful for handling the growing volume of healthcare data and supporting new applications and services.

• Horizontal Scaling: OpenStack allows for adding more servers to the cloud environment to increase capacity, rather than relying on larger, more expensive servers. This approach provides greater flexibility and cost-efficiency.
• Flexible Resource Allocation: OpenStack enables dynamic allocation of compute, storage, and networking resources, allowing healthtech companies to optimize resource utilization and reduce costs. This is particularly important for healthcare applications with fluctuating workloads.
• Support for Diverse Workloads: OpenStack can handle a wide range of workloads, from EHR systems and medical imaging applications to big data analytics and machine learning.
• Support for AI/ML Workloads: OpenStack has improved support for AI/ML workloads, including the ability to support vGPU live migrations in Nova, its core compute service. This allows for the movement of GPU workloads between physical servers with minimal disruption, enabling efficient management of these critical resources.

Control and Customization

OpenStack’s open source nature and modular architecture give healthtech companies unmatched control and customization options. This is necessary for meeting the unique security, compliance, and workflow requirements of the healthcare industry.

• Flexible Architecture: OpenStack’s modular design allows healthtech companies to choose the components and services that best meet their needs and integrate them with existing systems.
• Customization Options: OpenStack can be customized to support specific security protocols, compliance frameworks, and application requirements. This level of customization is often not possible with public cloud offerings.
• Control Over Data and Infrastructure: OpenStack gives healthtech companies complete control over their data and infrastructure so they can implement the precise security and compliance measures required by healthcare regulations.

Cost-Effectiveness

While OpenStack itself is open source and free to use, there are costs associated with hardware, software support, and implementation. However, compared to public cloud, OpenStack can offer substantial cost savings.

• Reduced Operating Expenses: OpenStack can lower operating expenses by reducing reliance on expensive public cloud services and enabling more efficient resource utilization. In the public cloud model, unused resources are reclaimed by your cloud provider and can be resold to other users (with the provider taking those extra profits, of course). With a private cloud, unused resources are reclaimed by your cloud for your other VMs. Learn more about the advantages of private cloud resource management in our article.
• Avoidance of Vendor Lock-in: OpenStack being open source prevents vendor lock-in, giving healthtech companies greater flexibility and control over their IT infrastructure. This is particularly crucial in healthcare, where long-term data storage, evolving regulatory landscapes, and the need to adapt to new technologies require agility and not being tied to a single vendor’s offerings.
• Lower Total Cost of Ownership (TCO): While the initial investment in hardware and implementation may be higher, OpenStack can offer a lower TCO over time compared to public cloud solutions, especially for organizations with stable workloads and long-term infrastructure requirements.

Potential Drawbacks of OpenStack for HealthTech Companies

While OpenStack offers many advantages, there are also potential drawbacks to consider:

Complexity

OpenStack is a complex platform with many components and services. Implementing and managing an OpenStack cloud requires technical expertise in areas that many aren’t knowledgeable in. Healthtech companies may need to invest in training or hire specialized staff to ensure successful deployment and operation. Using a hosted private OpenStack cloud provider like OpenMetal can also help a bit here, removing the need to set up and manage the hardware itself.

Integration Challenges

Integrating OpenStack with existing IT systems and applications can be challenging. Healthtech companies need to carefully plan and execute their integration strategy to avoid compatibility issues and ensure smooth operation.

Ongoing Maintenance

OpenStack requires ongoing maintenance and updates to ensure optimal performance and security. Healthtech companies need to allocate resources for regular maintenance tasks, such as patching, upgrades, and monitoring.

Alternative Cloud Solutions for HealthTech Companies

Several other cloud solutions are available for healthtech companies, each with its own pros and cons:

Public Cloud

Public cloud offerings like AWS, Azure, and GCP provide a wide range of services and scalability. However, they may raise concerns about data security, compliance, and vendor lock-in. 

Public cloud providers typically operate on a shared responsibility model, where the provider is responsible for the security of the underlying infrastructure, but the customer is responsible for securing their own data and applications. This can be challenging for healthtech companies with limited security expertise or strict compliance requirements.

Public clouds also do not provide dedicated resources, instead splitting up physical servers into many virtual machines (VMs) for multiple customers. Having your data and applications on the same hardware as other tenants inherently increases security risks.

Hybrid Cloud

A hybrid cloud approach combines public and private cloud resources. This can offer greater flexibility but requires careful planning and management. 

For example, a healthtech company might use a private cloud for sensitive patient data and a public cloud for less critical applications or development environments. This approach allows for optimized resource utilization and cost management but requires a well thought out integration strategy and expertise in managing both public and private cloud environments.

Multicloud

A multicloud strategy involves using services from multiple cloud providers. This can mitigate vendor lock-in but adds complexity. Healthtech companies might choose a multicloud approach to leverage specific services from different providers or to avoid dependence on a single vendor. However, managing multiple cloud environments can be challenging and requires careful consideration of integration, security, and cost management.

When comparing OpenStack to these alternatives, make sure to consider the specific needs and priorities of your healthtech company. Factors such as data sensitivity, compliance requirements, scalability needs, and budget constraints should all be taken into account.

OpenStack vs. Similar Cloud Platforms

While OpenStack is a leading open source cloud platform, it’s important to compare it with other solutions to understand its strengths and weaknesses. Here’s a comparison of OpenStack with CloudStack and Azure Stack:

Key Differences

• Architecture: OpenStack’s modular architecture provides greater flexibility and customization compared to CloudStack’s more monolithic approach. Azure Stack is tightly integrated with Azure public cloud, which can be an advantage for organizations already using Azure but may limit flexibility for those seeking a truly private cloud.
• Open Source: OpenStack and CloudStack are both open source, while Azure Stack is a proprietary Microsoft product. This has implications for cost, vendor lock-in, and community support.
• Cost: OpenStack can be very cost-effective, especially for long-term deployments, but may require higher upfront investment in hardware and expertise. CloudStack is generally less expensive than OpenStack, while Azure Stack can be expensive due to licensing and Azure integration.
• Security and Compliance: OpenStack offers a robust security framework that can be customized to meet specific needs, while CloudStack provides good security features but with less flexibility. Azure Stack is designed for Azure compliance and may not be ideal for organizations with different compliance requirements.

Cost Comparison

The cost of using OpenStack can vary depending on several factors, including the size and complexity of the deployment, hardware and software choices, and support requirements. Here’s a cost comparison of OpenStack with public cloud (AWS/Azure) and VMware:

Key Takeaways

• OpenStack eliminates licensing fees, which can be a significant cost factor for VMware.
• Public cloud offers lower initial costs but can become expensive over time due to variable pricing models.
• OpenStack may require higher upfront investment in hardware and expertise but can offer a lower TCO in the long run.

Support and Community Resources for OpenStack Users

OpenStack has a large and active community of users and developers who contribute to the platform’s development and provide support. While you’ll commonly see people speculating on why OpenStack died, this is simply untrue! While mega public cloud platforms like AWS have become the popular choice for IT professionals to specialize in, OpenStack is thriving and used by thousands of organizations, big and small.

The OpenStack community is made up of over 10,000 active contributors, the software is deployed on over 45 million cores and powers more than 300 public cloud data centers, and spans over 180 countries. This flourishing community offers valuable resources for healthtech companies considering or using OpenStack.

• OpenInfra Foundation: The OpenInfra Foundation provides resources, documentation, and events for the OpenStack community. It fosters collaboration and knowledge sharing among users and developers.
• OpenStack Marketplace: The OpenStack Marketplace lists companies that offer OpenStack products, services, and support. This provides a centralized resource for finding vendors and solutions.
• Online Forums and Mailing Lists: Numerous online forums and mailing lists provide a platform for OpenStack users to ask questions, share knowledge, and collaborate. These forums offer valuable peer support and troubleshooting assistance.
• Training and Certification: Various organizations offer OpenStack training and certification programs to help IT professionals develop the skills needed to implement and manage OpenStack clouds. These programs ensure that healthtech companies have qualified personnel.

Wrapping Up

By adopting OpenStack, healthtech companies can gain greater control over their IT infrastructure and sensitive or proprietary data, while still enjoying the benefits of cloud computing. This control is crucial for meeting the specific security, compliance, and workflow needs of the healthcare industry. While technical expertise is required to manage OpenStack effectively, the platform’s flexibility, cost-efficiency, and strong community support make it a viable and advantageous option for healthtech companies seeking a private cloud solution.