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The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed that many healthcare organizations have neither the agility and business continuity programs nor the technologies needed to support them during a crisis. Consequently, some have been forced to act on cloud and digital transformation strategies they had been delaying. The cloud has been critical in helping healthcare providers respond to the pandemic and prepare for future disruptions.

Cloud service providers have been strengthening their partner programs by reinforcing and increasing collaborations with independent software vendors (ISVs), system integrators (SIs), cloud managed service providers (MSPs), and telecommunications and network service providers. Industry convergence has intensified, with growing demand for edge computing and 5G networks and the need for differentiation throughout the industry.

Competitive intensity is on the rise with several new companies having launched cloud offerings and forcing market share changes in 2021. This activity will continue to evolve in the next 2 to 3 years, necessitating continual innovation and value-based services from cloud service providers to meet healthcare consumers’ various demands.