There is currently an urgent need for more effective models of care delivery because health systems are under more pressure than ever to maintain a consistent level of service, capture more data across their operations, adopt more flexible ways of working, and respond quickly to changing circumstances—all without going over budget.

‘As a service’ business models are becoming more and more popular in the healthcare industry because of this. For instance, a lot of people are using SaaS (Software as a Service), which uses cloud-based technologies to enable doctors, employees, and even patients to access data from a distance, exchange crucial insights instantly, and work together more successfully to improve care coordination. One major advantage of this trend in healthcare IT is that SaaS models typically have lower upfront costs and allow firms to “pay as they go,” which results in more predictable costs.

SaaS models also have the major benefit of being generally energy efficient, which is a tremendous advantage at a time when we need to discover more responsible ways of using resources and energy. Businesses can use as many as 65% of their average servers when they migrate to the cloud, as opposed to just 15% when they remain on-premise. Furthermore, the average PUE (Power Usage Effectiveness) for the cloud industry is just 1.2, compared to the 1.7 for normal data centers. This essentially means that fewer servers are needed and that the energy consumption of the servers that are in use is reduced. This is but one illustration of how waste and carbon emissions might be decreased through circular, service-oriented models.