Evaluating opportunities across the landscape of healthcare data, analytics, and AI companies I began to formulate the organizations into two distinct buckets: companies producing insights from above the waterline/top of the iceberg and companies capable of producing insights from below the waterline/bottom of the iceberg. The significance of the data iceberg analogy is that everything above the waterline consists of what we what we already know and what we think we need to know. Everything below the waterline consists of the unknown. Unfortunately, in the healthcare industry, the bottom of the iceberg is believed to be far greater than what is above the waterline. This divide has been exacerbated by the healthcare industry’s complete failure to adopt technological advancements as it lags behind nearly 80% of other industries in innovative technology adoption.
By examining opportunities through the lens of the data iceberg analogy it became clear that the path to having a meaningful, lasting impact is deriving insights from above and below the waterline. This is especially difficult in a healthcare industry that’s still struggling with basic interoperability adoption. Therefore, I defined a criteria for evaluating opportunities around three key areas: how well the company enabled their clients to innovate, ability to prepare their clients for the future, and company culture. Viewing opportunities through this lens, Cloudera stood out. Here’s why:
Openness Leads to Innovation
Vendor lock-in, closed systems, data silos, and interoperability issues have plagued healthcare for decades. The collaborative nature of open source software is in direct opposition to the closed standards that have held healthcare back for decades and shows a commitment to continual technology growth and advancement. Cloudera’s data, analytics and AI platform is capable of producing insights into the unknown by integrating and ingesting data from edge sources as well as legacy systems. It’s deployable across a variety of options – on premise, public, private, hybrid and multi cloud – enabling companies to embrace the future while still incorporating legacy data.
Layered in throughout all of these criteria is the inherent need for governance and security. The open source software allows collaboration from all sources which is why it’s been described as the Wild West by many developers. Health records are very sensitive information that should not be subject to a free-for-all environment. Cloudera understands this and infuses strong security and governance tools into the core foundation of their offering.
Preparing for the Future
At a SxSW session in March titled “EQ in the ER: Building Empathy Through XR” Rasu Shrestha MD MBA, Chief Strategy Officer and EVP Atrium Health, and Stephen Ibaraki, Chairman & General Partner, Redds Capital VC Fund, discussed technology in healthcare today and what role they see technology playing in the near future. These great innovators and leaders do an excellent job of highlighting that, despite the historical failure to adopt technology, we are on the precipice of major technological changes in the healthcare industry. Stephen Ibaraki conveys the findings of the WEF Future Jobs Report that forecasts dramatic changes to adoption rates of big data, biotech, machine learning, wearable technology, blockchain, IoT, AV-VR, 3D printing, stationary robots, and non-human robots by 2022. Even if just a small portion of the forecasted adoption of these technologies comes to fruition it would represent a significant and much needed advancement in the rate of technology adoption for the healthcare industry.
However, if organizations move too quickly to adopt these edge-based technologies they run the risk of creating new data silos. In order for healthcare organizations to maximize the benefits of data from edge technologies they need a strong foundation for data management, protection, and governance. Cloudera provides that foundation, adapts with technological advancements and provide organizations versatility without a loss of governance or security. Cloudera’s platform is software not hardware based, providing the versatility to be compatible with any deployment option. It has the flexibility, agility, and elasticity needed to empower people to get clear and actionable insights from complex data anywhere, from the Edge to AI.
Utilizing a new, modern approach to enterprise data management such as Cloudera’s Enterprise Data Cloud eliminates siloed analytics allowing healthcare organizations to create a coherent approach to their data strategy. Only a comprehensive, coherent approach to data and analytics provides the necessary foundation to enable insights from below the water line.
With the Cloudera/Hortonworks merger completed the new Cloudera is uniquely positioned to enable healthcare organizations to speed innovation and technology adoption. The merger not only eliminated each company’s primary competitor but added strength and breadth to their product offering.
A Culture for, of and by the People
I gravitate toward company cultures that prioritize the needs of the customer, drive innovation, demand excellence, promote a team-like atmosphere, and invest in the development of it’s employees. I want a company to value what I bring to the table but feet strongly about their ability to help me continue to grow and develop. I am not a finished product. I take pride in my ability to learn new skill sets and continue to develop and refine existing skill sets. It’s important that a company understand and embrace that mentality.
From the very first conversation with the Cloudera team through the last it was clear that our expectations around culture fit aligned. It was evident that Cloudera has prioritized hiring exceptionally talented individuals, values their contributions, and empowers their personal and career growth. The company’s embrace of open source, open standards, and open markets further highlights their belief in innovation and collaboration.
It’s an honor to join such a talented team and innovative company. I believe strongly that Cloudera’s Edge to AI capability will enable healthcare organizations to accelerate innovation by deriving more meaningful, actionable insights that shed light on what’s below the waterline.