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Implementing virtualization does not require organizations to virtualize their entire IT infrastructure environment. No health IT infrastructure environment has been fully virtualized. However, organizations have the option to virtualize different pieces of their IT infrastructure to increase data management and security.
The Gartner report’s market analysis outlined operational use cases that support business operations and data retrieval, including the following:
- Virtual operational data store (ODS): A data service layer is used to retrieve data and integrate user views across multiple databases.
- Reusable data services in service-oriented architecture: Interfaces are deployed via virtualization that allow developers to build service-oriented data access.
- Simplify application data access or exchange: Virtualization builds an access layer that recognizes different access requirements from different apps.
- Legacy system migration: Virtualization can be used to access data consistency when systems are being migrated to a new storage method.
- MDM (master data management): Master data stored using different storage methods is integrated for cohesive retrieval and viewing.
Several of these virtualization implementations are appealing to the healthcare industry in particular because they give IT administrators more visibility and control over the environment.
MDM and simplifying data access or exchange align well with information sharing efforts and initiatives between organizations. Affiliated organizations would have the ability to grant permissions for consolidated master record keeping virtually, maintaining the most up-to-date and informed record of each mutual patient visit (i.e., the single source of truth).
The benefits of data virtualization are strong. However there are challenges associated with the technology.
The report addressed four major physical barriers affecting data virtualization functionality:
- Source system access connections
- Data volume
- Network capacity
- Query complexity
Given that healthcare organizations in remote regions often struggle with limited internet connectivity and IT resources, deploying data virtualization successfully is currently very difficult in those cases. Coupled with these limitations are concerns about health data security and privacy, which health systems, hospitals, and physician practices must address before going virtual.
The advancement of virtualization depends greatly on the technology’s ability to mature in a way that will eliminate these barriers. Gartner analysts are optimistic about the progress data virtualization will make to address these issues.
“Modern data virtualization tools exploit technology-driven approaches to address these issues concerning the physics of, and access to, data,” report authors stated. “Techniques such as multitiered caching (including incremental tier-to-tier updates), process distribution (some as simple as query predicate push-down to the connected source; others are more complex, such as temporary data redistribution across sources), as well as enhanced utilization of memory grids and processing grids, can all potentially be deployed to varying degrees by the different data virtualization offerings in the current market.”
“These techniques have not only increased the efficiency of existing data virtualization tools in the market, but have also increased adoption and implementation of these tools for mission-critical workloads.”
Continued advancements in virtualization technology have clear benefits for the healthcare industry, such as for data retrieval and file sharing. Even so, the benefits of data virtualization do not come without their challenges, which organization need to consider before deploying the technology in a healthcare environment.
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