Running Head: EMERGING TECHNOLOGY – CLOUD COMPUTING
Emerging Technology – Cloud Computing Jesse Erickson University of South Carolina
EMERGING TECHNOLOGY – CLOUD COMPUTING
Abstract MDCentric Technologies is a managed services provider in healthcare IT who focuses on bringing their healthcare clients to their cloud. “Cloud” is a popular term in the information technology (IT) industry right now, but it is much more than just a buzz word. More and more applications and services are moving from local installations to cloud-based installations and it is a win-win for everyone involved. As a company, investing in cloud computing will save on IT costs and deal away with the pain of dealing with upgrading hardware and software. This paper will define cloud computing, describe how MDCentric Technologies uses the cloud, who is behind the cloud, what sort of hardware is needed for a cloud, and how it enhances the company and the clients involved.
EMERGING TECHNOLOGY – CLOUD COMPUTING
Emerging Technology – Cloud Computing Definition of Technology NIST, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), defines cloud computing or ’the cloud’ as a “model for enabling ubiquitous, convenient, on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources (e.g., networks, servers, storage, applications, and services) that can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort or service provider interaction” (Blank). How Technology is Used MDCentric Technologies is a managed services provider (MSP). As an MSP, they provide a variety of technology solutions and services for each of their clients, one of them being access to their cloud. MDCentric Technologies leases rack space in a Time Warner colocation, also known as a data center, a few miles from the office. In this Time Warner colocation, MDCentric Technologies owns two racks of networking equipment – the racks contain servers with terabytes of storage space and enough computing power to host hundreds of clients. Each of these physical servers hosts a number of virtual servers – these virtual servers are what each of MDCentric Technologies’ clients’ applications, databases, and emails are running on. Virtualizing physical machines is a large part of what MDCentric Technologies does for its clients. These virtual machines are managed by using a piece of software called a ‘hypervisor.’ A hypervisor “allows for physical devices to share their resources amongst virtual machines running as guests on top of that physical hardware” (Kleyman). Each virtual machine can be allocated a certain amount of memory, hard disk space, and processor speed using the physical host machine’s resources as the administrator sees fit. Critical virtual machines, like database
EMERGING TECHNOLOGY – CLOUD COMPUTING
servers and domain controllers, would need more resources in order to ensure optimal performance. Hypervisors make it easy – in just a few clicks, an administrator can assign the necessary resources to each virtual machine. “A machine needing more RAM (a domain controller) would receive that allocation, while a less important VM (a licensing server for example) would have fewer resources” (Kleyman). Microsoft has bundled its own hypervisor component, HyperV, in Windows since Windows Vista, which can be easily enabled on any machine running Vista or later with just a tick of an option in the control panel. However, as one might expect, Microsoft is not the only one in the virtualization game. Manufacturers or Vendors of Technology There are a handful of key players in the cloud computing/virtualization industry. Microsoft’s HyperV, bundled with each iteration of their Windows Server operating systems since Windows Server 2008, is free and will suit those who wish to run just a handful of virtual machines, i.e., small businesses. MDCentric Technologies, who deals with a fair amount of large healthcare clients, uses one of the more popular virtualization environments out there – VMware vSphere. VMware’s vSphere is a retail product which includes its own hypervisor environment called ESX/ESXi. Why choose VMware’s vSphere over Microsoft’s free, built-in HyperV? VMware vSphere not only scales better in larger environments, but its hypervisor environment, ESX/ESXi, takes up less resources than Microsoft’s HyperV since it runs outside of the Windows operating system in its own proprietary Linux kernel. Should the situation call for it, ESX/ESXi also supports other operating systems, such as Linux, Solaris, Netware, and other operating sytems. ("VMware ESX and VMware ESXi") Microsoft’s HyperV, to no surprise, only supports a Windows environment and is subject to more overhead since it relies on the notso-lightweight Windows OS.
EMERGING TECHNOLOGY – CLOUD COMPUTING
Competitive analysis MDCentric Technologies is not just another managed services provider. MDCentric Technologies focuses on a niche market – healthcare IT. While there are plenty other MSPs in the Charlotte, North Carolina area, I cannot think of a single one in competition with MDCentric Technologies in the healthcare IT realm. Adding to its unique presence in the MSP arena, MDCentric Technologies is also a NextGen reseller. NextGen is a healthcare EHR, an electronic health records system designed to help physician practices improve quality of care. NextGen, a fully-integrated EHR and Practice Management (PM) system, allows providers to quickly and efficiently create and maintain complete medical records. Providers can easily document patient care, document histories, diagnoses, medications, labs, procedures, and more ("NEXTGEN EHR"). Each of MDCentric Technologies’ clients use NextGen as an EHR and PM software solution. How Technology Enhances the Company There are a ton of benefits to cloud computing. MDCentric Technologies employs the cloud to clients looking to reduce capital costs on hardware and software, improve accessibility, minimize software licensing costs, and improve flexibility (Delaney). Hosting applications and files in the cloud makes sense especially for healthcare clients. In healthcare, patient data must be kept digitally and physically secured. Being that all files and applications are stored in the cloud instead of on the local machine, where it could be hacked or physically stolen, any concern for security of patient data is thrown out the window. Accessibility is a big plus with hosted applications in the cloud. With each of your applications in the cloud, there’s no worry about whether or not the hardware you’re using to access the
EMERGING TECHNOLOGY – CLOUD COMPUTING
applications will support said software and no worry whether your employees are using the latest and greatest computer hardware. Example: I’ve personally set up a number of iPhones and iPads for physicians looking to work in a mobile environment. NextGen EHR and PM software was built for a Windows environment. When it’s hosted in the cloud, however, and accessed via a cloud application, such as Citrix’s 2X client, it will run on anything that supports Citrix’s 2X client. Currently, Citrix has an app for Windows, Linux, OS X, iOS devices, and Android devices.
EMERGING TECHNOLOGY – CLOUD COMPUTING
References Blank, R., & Gallagher, P. (2011, September 1). The NIST Definition of Cloud Computing. Retrieved July 24, 2014, from http://csrc.nist.gov/publications/nistpubs/800-145/SP800145.pdf Delaney, L. (n.d.). 10 Benefits of Cloud Computing. 10 Benefits of Cloud Computing. Retrieved July 25, 2014, from http://www.verio.com/resource-center/articles/cloudcomputing-benefits/ Kleyman, B. (2012, August 12). Hypervisor 101: Understanding the Virtualization Market. Data Center Knowledge. Retrieved July 24, 2014, from http://www.datacenterknowledge.com/archives/2012/08/01/hypervisor-101-a-lookhypervisor-market/ NextGen EHR Reseller by TSI Healthcare - EMRConsultant. (n.d.). EMRConsultant RSS. Retrieved July 25, 2014, from http://www.emrconsultant.com/emr/gmahcs/ VMware ESX and VMware ESXi. (n.d.). Retrieved July 25, 2014, from http://www.vmware.com/files/pdf/VMware-ESX-and-VMware-ESXi-DS-EN.pdf
