HOW DOES AI APPLY TO MEDICAL SERVICES?
It really shouldn't be a surprise to anyone that the healthcare industry is considered one of the most promising areas for the use of artificial intelligence. Of course, we're not talking about allowing some kind of software-defined entity with a virtual consciousness to control our medical services. Instead, we're referring to a group of powerful IT systems that can process and analyse vast amounts of data in a blink of an eye, and then produce findings so elaborate that it would take a human several lifetimes to do the same.
Thanks to those systems that, in the business environment, we now call "AI", we should soon be able to develop drugs that are more effective, enhance the accuracy of diagnoses, create better medical equipment, improve the well-being of patients, and much more – and that's only because we know AI can handle data better than we ever will. In other words, AI can help us find some good answers in little time – and that is a fact.
ADVERTISEMENTAnd it's not a fairy tale. The things we named above are achievable. The only part healthcare companies need to figure out is how they get enough computing power to run such resource-heavy AI/ML operations. And we've got an answer for them.
WHAT'S THE DEAL WITH IBM POWER-DRIVEN PLATFORMS?
You cannot run data-heavy AI operations on a regular IT infrastructure, especially in healthcare. When you become aware that you will be dealing with insane amounts of data, countless cybersecurity issues, and thousands upon thousands of digital operations per day, you realise that you need a platform that guarantees high availability of systems and applications, state-of-the-art security, and maximum reliability. Therefore, you need something like an IBM POWER-type solution. Why?
Let's start from the beginning. IBM Power Systems is a family of servers based on high-performance microprocessors called POWER. The name is no coincidence – IBM Power Systems are considered some of the most powerful IT platforms on the planet. Hence, some of the biggest enterprises out there to run data analysis and AI/ML processes are using them.
If you go to IBM's website, you will learn that eight out of the top 10 retailers, eight out of the top 10 banking companies, and nine out of the top 10 insurance companies all use POWER-type IT infrastructures. Those are some serious organisations and institutions, and they cannot afford to take a risk and use a platform that is maybe good enough to support their operations. They all chose IBM Power Systems because they know they are more than good enough to do the job.
THE CLOUD CAN DRIVE AI AS WELL
That being said, IBM and vendors such as Comarch are now taking IBM Power Systems to the next level by adding cloud computing technology to the mix. The result of that is, for instance, Comarch PowerCloud, which allows IBM POWER Systems users to migrate their traditional IT infrastructures to the cloud with minimal effort. But that's not the only reason why this particular product is getting more and more attention. Another big plus is that it uses a pay-as-you-go model. Thus, not only does it give you more control of spending, but it also enables you to lower your costs (according to Comarch, those can be reduced by as much as 30-40%).
ADVERTISEMENTWe could go on and on presenting more reasons, but probably the most important one (at least in the context of this article) is that cloud-based IBM POWER-type solutions such as Comarch PowerCloud can provide you with (more than) enough computing power to start using AI for improving all kinds of medical services today.
If you’re interested in finding out more about how the latest IT products and services based on IBM's POWER technology and to see how you can use them to run AI/ML operations and drive innovation in the healthcare industry – read our free ebook: "Why Healthcare Needs AI and IBM POWER-driven Platforms".
