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NZ launch of InterSystems' cloud-based integration engine

InterSystems has launched in New Zealand its managed integration engine cloud service, HealthShare Health Connect Cloud.

The platform-as-a-solution streamlines interoperability and data integration between clinical systems and applications. It also manages cloud migration infrastructure, enabling providers to "more quickly and easily connect distributed datasets, efficiently move workloads and information across cloud solutions and on-premise services."

The company introduced the data integration engine to the country following increased demand for healthcare interoperability, particularly the HL7 FHIR data sharing standard.

WA Health extends cloud contract with Atos

Atos will continue delivering managed services, hybrid cloud, and core infrastructure services to Health Support Services (HSS), the ICT service provider for WA Health, following a contract extension.

The French IT company was recently awarded a contract worth A$242 M ($159 million) to continue supporting the digitalisation of the WA public health system for the next five years.

It has been working with HSSon the digital transformation of WA Health since 2019. Thatinitial contract was for the delivery of private cloud, managed public cloud, hybrid cloud orchestration, co-location and managed services for over 2,000 servers, hosting of over 1,000 applications, and fully managed public cloud services utilising three hyperscalers.

Victoria to complete Altera EMR rollout across Gippsland

The state government of Victoria has committed to finishing the deployment of an integrated EMR systemacross the rural region of Gippsland.

It recently announced A$12 million in funding over four years to support health services in the region to upgrade their systems. This includes the rollout of Altera Digital Health's Sunrise EMR to remaining health services under the Gippsland Health Alliance (GHA): Gippsland Southern Health Service, Kooweerup Regional Health Service, Omeo District Health, Orbost Regional Health, South Gippsland Hospital, and Yarram and District Health Service.

This comes almost a year after the GHA rolled out the EMR solution across major regional and subregional health services under its wing.

The GHA implementation, Altera claims,is the widest EMR deployment on Microsoft Azure in Australia.

First go-live of cloud-based chemo prescribing solution in SA

Alterahas also started delivering an enterprise chemotherapy prescribing system to South Australian hospitals with a first go-live done at Lyell McEwin Hospital and Mount Gambier and Districts Health Service.

In 2021, the company, which exclusively distributes the iQemo system in Australia and New Zealand, won the competitive tender to deliver the end-to-end solution, which includes predefined regimens, prescribing, scheduling and dispensing, and chemotherapy administration and reporting.

A rollout across regional hospitals and health centres is now underway with implementationat major sites such as Royal Adelaide and Flinders hospitals set for the first quarter of 2024.

Cubiko releases MyMedicare module

GP intelligence platform Cubiko has introduced a new module to support clinics in their implementation of MyMedicare.

MyMedicare is a voluntary patient registration model launched by the Australian government as part of broader efforts to strengthen the Medicare insurance scheme.

In helping "formalise" the connection between patients and their GPs, the free MyMedicare module on Cubiko allows practices to directly import CSV lists of registered patients from MyMedicare in theHealth Professional Online Services,doing away with the administrative burden of registering patients to their clinics manually. It also provides actionable insights into various patient cohorts.

Additionally, the module, which is available on the Cubiko Assist Dashboard, has tools that aid in identifying and enrolling patients with upcoming appointments who are eligible but not yet registered for MyMedicare.

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InterSystems cloud integration service comes to NZ and more briefs - Healthcare IT News

Ransomware is a major threat today, and it can be particularly harmful when it targets data backups. Offline backups are one method IT administrators lean on to protect against ransomware.

Offline backups are stored on an isolated storage infrastructure that is disconnected from production applications and infrastructure, as well as from the primary backup environment. The result is an air-gapped backup copy that businesses can use for recovery in the event that the primary backup copy becomes compromised.

Historically, an offline backup environment would be a good fit for data that requires less frequent access, such as long-term retention data, and data that is less business-critical. However, the simultaneous rise of cyber attacks and introduction of data privacy legislation have led to an increase in offline backups for mission-critical, frequently accessed data.

While offline backup ransomware protection is an effective option, it is a complex process. Offline backups play a role in ransomware protection, and there are numerous paths to get there. Before deciding to use offline backups for ransomware protection, organizations must consider some key factors. The backup method's practicality, cost, effectiveness and ability to meet recovery objectives are critical to keep in mind.

The longstanding approach to creating an offline backup environment is shipping backup copies to an off-site, disconnected tape storage location.

The longstanding approach to creating an offline backup environment is shipping backup copies to an off-site, disconnected tape storage location.

The problem with this approach is that today's IT operations teams are understaffed and significantly strapped for time, particularly in the area of cybersecurity. Many simply do not have the cycles to deploy and manage yet another infrastructure -- especially considering that the isolated infrastructure will require manual software updates to avoid security vulnerabilities.

A potential pitfall of these alternatives is infiltration of the isolated environment. As a result, the environment must be closely audited for network isolation, control over when the network connection is open, and role-based access to and control over the network and vault environment.

In addition, IT operations staff must look for an option that has data immutability and indelibility. Immutability renders the backup copy read-only, so no one can make unapproved changes to the data. Indelibility inhibits the backup copy from being deleted before the conclusion of a dedicated hold period. These safeguards help protect against data exfiltration and corruption in the event that a malicious actor is able to access the isolated environment.

For any implementation, admins must consider the backup window. They must know how long it will take to complete the backups, as well as any potential lags or gaps between backup jobs. This fundamentally affects the business's ability to meet required recovery points.

Also important to factor in is the required recovery time. Both the backup window and recovery time are largely dependent on the frequency and size of backups jobs, as well as how much data the organization backs up.

New options are emerging that offer an operational isolation, such as hosting the data off site in the cloud or through a service provider. These methods require a network connection to production-facing portions of the environment in order to transfer the backup copy to the isolated environment.

There are a few drawbacks to using the cloud for offline data backups. Since it is isolated, but not completely offline like tape libraries, the cloud is easier for a ransomware attack to reach.

In addition, any cloud-hosted option is potentially subject to egress fees when data is recovered. This is important for IT operations staff to be aware of upfront because it is potentially a very expensive factor to overlook.

Krista Macomber, senior analyst at Futurum Group, writes about data protection and management for TechTarget's Data Backup site. She previously worked at Storage Switzerland and led market intelligence initiatives for TechTarget.

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Offline backups are a key part of a ransomware protection plan - TechTarget

Posted on Thursday 23 November 2023

The Cloud County Ground will host two of Middlesexs home Vitality Blast matches in 2024.

Lords will remain Middlesexs main ground, hosting four of their seven home South Group matches, leaving three to be played at other venues.

In recent seasons, both Radlett Cricket Club and Merchant Taylors School have been Middlesexs preferred home out-grounds, however in 2024 the decision has been taken to play two matches at Chelmsford.

Fixture informations will be revealed in line with the full fixture announcement at 10am on Thursday.

Ticket information for the two Chelmsford fixtures will be announced in due course.

Speaking of todays announcement, Essex Chief Executive Officer, John Stephenson, commented:

This is a fast-moving initiative, but we believe it will be of mutual benefit to both counties as it allows the Club to grow our revenue at a challenging time and make best use of our primary asset, the ground.

It was excellent to hear that the Middlesex squad and staff are looking forward to playing at Chelmsford, and we are excited to welcome them here for two Vitality Blast fixtures next year.

Middlesex Chief Executive Officer, Andrew Cornish, added:

We have gone to lengths to be transparent and open with our members when discussing the financial position the Club is in, and moving forwards we need to continue to take every step we can to ensure we remain rigorous in our control of the Clubs costs.

The cost of setting up the infrastructure of an out-ground venue is a significant liability the Club has historically had to factor into our financial model every year increasingly so in recent seasons with the enhancements we have made to the Member experience at out-ground matches.

As we continue to scrutinise every cost the Club incurs, out-ground set-up costs stand out as an area which we could make a significant positive impact on.

We have, as a result, been in discussion with our friends at Essex, who have been very receptive to the idea of hosting us at The Cloud County Ground for two of our Blast matches this year.

For Middlesex, this represents an opportunity for us to make a significant financial uplift to the Club, which is something that we simply cannot ignore, and with Chelmsford just over 20 minutes away on the train out of Stratford station, we felt it provided a sensible solution.

Equally importantly, we have consulted with the professional playing group on this decision, who were unanimous in their support, given their desire to play more cricket at first-class venues, with first-class facilities available to them.

All at Middlesex, the players and the staff, along with all at Essex, are excited about what this opportunity represents and we are looking forward to Middlesex competing at The Cloud County Ground this summer.

Our thanks go to our Members and our supporters for their understanding of this venue choice and hope you appreciate the sound financial reasons for the decision. Whilst this may seem like a radical decision, it is one that we need to make to ensure that Middlesex gets back on a more stable financial footing.

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The Cloud County Ground to host two Middlesex T20s in 2024 - Essex Cricket

Every investor wants big gains. But, not every trade pans out as hoped. Plenty of "surefire mega-winners" end up crashing and burning because their risks are underestimated while their upsides are overblown. Names like action-camera maker GoPro or meal kit company Blue Apron (now owned by Wonder Group) come to mind. At one point both stocks were all the rage. Then reality struck, upending each of them.

Those flops don't necessarily mean you have to give up hope on finding a mega-winner though. It just means you need a stricter set of criteria, searching for companies with a superior product or service doing business in proven, sustainable growth markets.

To this end, here's a closer look at three stocks that could turn a $1,000 investment in them into a $5,000 holding in a matter of years. In all three cases, most investors aren't seeing an important detail about their respective businesses, or aren't looking far enough into the future.

You likely know companies like Nvidia, Intel, and Dell Technologies make the technological brains found within a data center. But have you ever thought about who assembles all of this equipment into a final, functioning product? It's not Dell or Intel. Companies like Super Micro Computer (SMCI -0.34%) handle this work. And there's plenty of it.

Super Micro Computer describes itself as "a leading provider of application-optimized, high-performance server and storage solutions that address a broad range of computational-intensive workloads." It goes on to explain its "server Building Block Solutions coupled with extensive in-house design and manufacturing enables the company to rapidly develop, build, and test server and storage systems, subsystems, and accessories with unique configurations."

In other words, while a customer may want to utilize a specific brand of computer processors in its data centers, that organization actually calls Super Micro Computer to make it happen. Genesis Cloud chose Super Micro to help build its new machine-learning apparatus using Nvidia's purpose-built HGX100 artificial intelligence (AI) processors, for instance. Web-hosting outfit Absolute Hosting tapped Super Micro Computer to build its network of virtual private servers around Advanced Micro Devices' EPYC processor.

And business has been good. Last quarter's top line of $2.1 billion was up 14% year over year, extending a long streak of comparable growth. Earnings are growing accordingly.

Now take a step back and look at the bigger picture. As much as the artificial intelligence and cloud computing markets have grown in just the past few years, they've still only scratched the surface of their eventual size. Technology market research outfit IDC believes the cloud computing and storage infrastructure market will grow by more than 11% per year through 2027, while Straits Research expects the artificial intelligence infrastructure market to expand at an average pace of nearly 21% through 2030.

Both tailwinds of course bode well for Super Micro Computer attracting sustained investor interest, particularly in light of its competitive edge. That is, it's honing in on one of the fast-growing AI market's unexpected challenges. As CEO Charles Liang explained during the company's fiscal 2024 first-quarter earnings call, "Our high power efficiency systems, free-air and liquid-cooling expertise has become one of our key differentiators of success." It matters since, as Liang adds, "I anticipate that up to 20% or more of global data centers will transition to liquid-cooled solutions in just a few years."

Amazon (AMZN 0.02%) is the Western Hemisphere's dominant e-commerce name. This dominance isn't the reason Amazon shares could generate 400% returns by 2030 though. In fact, rising operating costs and improving competition somewhat threaten the company's online shopping market leadership.

Rather, the reason to take a shot on Amazon stock right now is the potential it has on a couple of other fronts. One of these opportunities is the aforementioned cloud computing.

In terms of revenue, e-commerce and digital content services (like video and music streaming) are Amazon's biggest businesses, accounting for more than 80% of its top line through the first three quarters of the year. That's not the case for operating profits, however. Although Amazon's cloud computing arm, Amazon Web Services (AWS), only makes up 16% of the company's revenue, this business drives nearly 74% of Amazon's operating profits. This income should more or less grow in step with the cloud computing market's growth.

And the other investment-worthy opportunity? While profit margins on e-commerce may now be under permanent pressure, Amazon is changing its business model in a subtle but significant way. That is, it's getting serious about advertising. Web traffic to Amazon.com is so strong that it now makes sense to allow its third-party sellers to pay Amazon to feature their products. The company did $12 billion worth of advertising business last quarter, but Insider Intelligence believes this full year's advertising revenue tally of $44.9 billion will reach $67.6 billion as soon as 2025.

This is high-margin revenue, too, simply leveraging the traffic Amazon.com is already drawing.

Given these initiatives and their current growth trajectories, Amazon's current annualized revenue of $550 billion could readily swell to well over $1 trillion. Net income could grow at an even faster clip as the company's more profitable cloud computing arm becomes a bigger piece of the business, expanding from around $20 billion now to on the order of $100 billion by 2030. Amazon shares will likely follow the lead of that prospective quadrupling of the company's bottom line.

Last but not least, put Symbotic (SYM -4.51%) on your watch list of stocks that could turn $1,000 into $5,000 by 2030.

It's not a household name, but there's a good chance you or someone living in your household has benefited from Symbotic's products. The company makes robotics solutions, specializing in warehouse automation. Its customers include Walmart, Target, and Albertsons just to name a few -- all companies that are ramping up their e-commerce operations at the same time they're looking for greater cost efficiency. Symbotic helps in both ways, leveraging artificial intelligence to do what once required humans to handle in a less efficient way.

Some investors may recall robotics was something of a hot-button issue a couple of years before the COVID-19 pandemic, promising growth that forever seemed around the corner. Then the pandemic took hold, further delaying the realization of the tech's potential. Interest in the technology has seemingly withered away in the meantime, for investors as well as its next batch of users.

It's an opportunity, however, you may want to put back on your radar even if most other investors haven't.

See, with a handful of usage cases now proving the potential of this inventory-handling solution, would-be customers are becoming interested again. Indeed, market research outfit LogisticsIQ believes the warehouse automation market is set to grow at an average annualized pace of 15% between now and 2028, while Mordor Intelligence puts the growth rate figure closer to 16%.

Symbotic is clearly capitalizing on this market's growth too, and then some. Last quarter's top line of $392 million crushed the year-ago comparison of $244 million as well as analysts' consensus estimate of just under $307 million. But that's still just the beginning. The analyst community expects Symbotic to be doing $2.5 billion worth of business by 2025, with some analysts calling for a top line of $4.0 billion in 2026. That's more than three times its top line of $1.1 billion for its recently completed fiscal year.

The real story here not enough investors are seeing yet, however, is the bottom line. The company's been in the red for most of its existence, but now with enough scale and enough market growth ahead, sustainable profits are in sight. Symbotic swung to an EBITDA profit of $13 million for the quarter ending in September, in fact, and analysts expect the company to sustain this trend, turning last fiscal year's per-share loss of $0.37 into a profit of $0.04 this year en route to earnings of $0.57 per share next fiscal year.

Trading around $52 per share, Symbotic's present price doesn't even come close to reflecting the company's potential profits come 2030. A bottom line in the ballpark of $2.00 (or maybe even more) per share by then isn't out of the question.

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3 Stocks That Could Turn $1,000 Into $5,000 by 2030 - The Motley Fool