Emmott On Technology: The 8 Advantages of Cloud Computing

Emmott On Technology: The 8 Advantages of Cloud Computing
Thursday, May 9, 2013

By now you must have heard about The Cloud. The cloud is everywhere from iTunes to dental management applications. We are supposed to know that the cloud is high tech and ultimately cool. But already the phrase is tossed off so often and used to refer to any number of things, and one would never display techno ignorance by being so out of it as to ask what the term “The Cloud” is actually referring to.

So what does the cloud actually mean in the world of technology?

Mostly the term refers to three things:

  1. Cloud is frequently used merely as another word for the Internet.
  2. Cloud storage refers to storing data on a computer somewhere which is accessible via the Internet, rather than storing it on the computer in your office. People store photos, music and even patient records online.
  3. Cloud Computing is the most glamorous meaning of cloud where the actual computing—that is to say the crunching and munching of the data—is done on a computer accessed via the internet not in your office. For example if you ask the computer at your desk to subtract six from eleven, and your calculator is a cloud-based application, the computing is not done in your machine but the numbers are sent to a computer somewhere else, say at Stanford in California. The numbers are subtracted from each other there, and then the answer is sent back to you at your desk almost instantaneously.

Just to keep it interesting the original meaning of cloud computing is none of these now common definitions, but actually referred to distributive computing where the power of multiple machines was linked together through the Internet.

Another term you may have heard is SAS. That stands for “Software as a Service”. With SAS the actual computing using the software application is done using a remote computer. The user does not buy and install the software application on a local machine but simply rents the use of it on a cloud machine. In other words the software is a service.

Various dental software developers have been nibbling at the edge of SAS cloud computing for dentists since as far back as 1999. They have been nibbling but have failed to achieve much traction in the dental practice management system world. At this time Curve Dental and Planet DDS are the principal companies offering cloud computing for dentists.

But, Henry Schein Practice Solutions, the makers of Dentrix, announced a new cloud based practice management system called Dentrix Ascend at the 2013 Chicago Midwinter Meeting. Dentrix Ascend is still in beta development and is expected to be released for general use before the end of the year.

Whatever you call it and whoever is selling it, why bother? What makes having the application running in the cloud better than having it on the server in your closet? Here are eight advantages to cloud computing.

  1. Lower Startup Costs – You do not buy the software, you merely subscribe to it.
  2. Lower Hardware Costs – You do not need an expensive server with powerful workstations. You only need low-end computers, or even non computer “dumb” terminals (also called thin client terminals), a network router and a high-speed internet connection.
  3. Fewer Technology Conflicts – You avoid the software/hardware conflicts seen in offices running different software versions or using different operating systems over various different network configurations.
  4. More Options – You can use MAC, PC, Linux, or any other operating system of your choice as long as it has Internet access.
  5. Easier Upgrades – All users will be using the exact same version of the software. Only the software at the remote server will need to be upgraded, and it can be upgraded at any time without the need for the massive release of a new version. This reduces down time and the inevitable conflicts mentioned in number two.
  6. Data Portability – Practice data can be accessed from any Web-enabled device including a mobile handheld computer or the doctor’s home computer for easy telecommuting. You can even authorize access to information for patients, colleagues, third parties, team members or practice management consultants when appropriate. This means dental practices with multiple office locations will all have access to the same database.
  7. Automatic Data Backup – All data will be stored on a remote server, which means it is sent off site instantly and stored in a secure and redundant fashion. There is no need to backup data on tapes or disks and take it off site for safety. The remote server will have all the latest in data protection including anti-hacker security and antivirus systems, which the local user often neglects.
  8. Less Maintenance – There will be less “noise” in the office. With the processing and storage off site there is one less thing the doctor and staff need to worry about keeping up with, fixing and supporting.

Cloud computing does have real and significant advantages over traditional server client systems. On the other hand, there are limits to cloud computing. Certain large data files, particularly radiographs, CT scans or digital impressions, can be a problem for remote processing. And, while it is changing, many people still feel uncomfortable having all their data stored somewhere else. There is a real fear of the “what if?” factor.

While cloud email, cloud calendars and cloud music have gone mainstream, why cloud computing has taken so long to actually catch on in dentistry is an interesting study. However, with the entry of an entity as large as Henry Schein into the market, we may finally see online cloud computing in dentistry become mainstream. We are looking at a future that will be at least partly cloudy, the future is coming and it will be amazing!

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