Cloud computing: a new business paradigm for biomedical information sharing.

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Informatics
• Computational Science
• Data Management

Background:

• Biomedical informatics (BMI) communities, particularly data-sharing consortia, face challenges with existing data and application resources.
• Cloud computing presents a novel resource with on-demand availability and pay-per-use models.
• Economies of scale in cloud infrastructure can potentially reduce costs compared to institutional data centers or lab systems.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the advantages of cloud computing for the biomedical informatics community.
• To analyze the cost-effectiveness and performance benefits of cloud resources for BMI applications.
• To provide a methodological framework for assessing cloud adoption in BMI.

Main Methods:

• Formulating analyses based on component technologies to bypass definitional ambiguities of cloud computing.
• Conducting relative analyses comparing cloud systems to existing infrastructure (e.g., individual lab systems, institutional data centers).
• Focusing on changes from a specific starting point rather than absolute strengths and weaknesses.

Main Results:

• Cloud computing can offer substantial cost reductions and major improvements for non-I/O intensive BMI applications.
• The analysis of component technologies and relative comparisons simplified the evaluation process.
• Potential cost savings are significant, even with conservative assumptions.

Conclusions:

• Cloud computing should be seriously considered by the biomedical informatics community for data and application sharing.
• The benefits are most pronounced for applications that are not I/O intensive and do not require a fully mature environment.
• A thorough examination of individual cloud acquisitions is necessary to ensure a move from a less to a more secure and well-managed environment.