CLOUD 101 A Guide for GMHBA Employees 2018

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Contents Taking GMHBA to the Cloud .................................................. 2

What is the Cloud? ................................................................. 3

Why Use Cloud Computing? .................................................. 4

Who Uses Cloud Computing? ................................................ 4

Types of Cloud Computing ..................................................... 5

Public Clouds ...................................................................... 5

Private Clouds .................................................................... 5

Hybrid Clouds ..................................................................... 6

Common Cloud Computing Services ..................................... 7

Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) ...................................... 7

Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) ............................................. 7

Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) ............................................. 7

Advantages of Cloud Computing ........................................... 8

Common Uses of Cloud Computing ....................................... 9

How Will GMHBA Benefit? .................................................. 10

ITSG Employee Spotlight ...................................................... 11

Wayne Cogan ................................................................... 11

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Taking GMHBA to the Cloud We’re in the midst of an unprecedented revolution in health

care thanks to two huge shifts: runaway cost inflation and

digital health. Higher costs are spawning new incentives and

payment structures. Digital Health is putting customers in the

driver’s seat.

When everyone in the health-care business is having to

demonstrate how much value they deliver, it’s only

reasonable that GMHBA will be held to the same standard.

The catalysts of change are self-evident. Patients’

expectations have increased thanks to the rise of e-

commerce and social media. Members are already

demanding high levels of transparency and access from

health care providers. They will soon expect the same from

GMHBA.

GMHBA needs to re-position itself as a truly customer-centric

business in order to satisfy higher customer expectations and

increased demand for transparency.

A new digital strategy focused on more flexible and scalable

cloud infrastructure will set the foundation for GMHBA to

achieve this outcome.

The purpose of this guide is to help increase GMHBA

employees’ knowledge of cloud technology across all

divisions. A digital transformation for GMHBA will require a

team effort and new technology will no longer be the sole

responsibility of ITSG.

Any questions or feedback on this guide or GMHBA’s IT

strategy in general then please don’t hesitate to speak to

myself or other members of the ITSG team.

Here’s to a new digital era for GMHBA members and

employees.

Paul Hulett

Chief Information Officer

Information Technology Services Group

“GMHBA needs to re-

position itself as a

truly customer-centric

business in order to

satisfy higher

customer expectations

and increased demand

for transparency.”

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What is the Cloud? The ‘cloud’ is a figurative term. It is nothing more than a

network of servers. It is the physical space where

information, software, applications, and services are housed

and accessed. Cloud computing is the term used to describe

the delivery of these products and services over a network or

the Internet.

GMHBA will be accessing a remote network so tasks can be

performed more efficiently as it begins to adopt cloud

technology. Cloud computing can take on a number of

structures and styles though.

The technology has existed since the dawn of the Internet.

Email is a good example. But it has become more important

with time. It’s still evolving but it has already become a critical

component in billions of daily operations.

GMHBA’s ITSG team will be leading the charge in the

adoption of cloud technology. We’ll be employing our

expertise and understanding of the cloud to put GMHBA at

the forefront of the health insurance industry.

Below is a good explainer video if you’re reading this

document on your desktop or mobile device:

Figure 1: What is cloud computing? A short explainer video courtesy of Salesforce.com.

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Why Use Cloud Computing? Cloud technology will allow GMHBA and its employees to be

more efficient. It will enable faster, easier, and more cost-

effective computing, all within a secure and custom

environment.

The cloud will help GMHBA develop services to fit the specific

needs of its employees, members, and prospects. It will

empower us to take advantage of services and capabilities

that would otherwise be beyond our means.

Every employee and member of GHMBA stands to benefit

from the use if cloud technology in our regular operations.

Who Uses Cloud Computing? Many different types of businesses, organisations,

governments, and even individuals are now using cloud

computing in their daily operations.

The types of business that use this technology range from

large international corporations with thousands of

employees, all the way down to small local businesses. In fact,

more than a third of Australian businesses now use cloud

computing with the number expected to grow in the coming

years.1

Cloud computing is becoming more versatile and

mainstream. Any business can benefit from its capabilities.

GMHBA will work with its members and employees to

1 https://www.itnews.com.au/news/cloud-computing-adoption-in-australia-is-booming-468833

Figure 2: A diagram showing how the adoption of cloud technology will help GMHBA transform member experience and help employees do more with less.

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identify ways in which we can become more successful using

cloud technology.

Other organisations and government departments are

steadily transitioning to cloud computing. In the health

industry, insurers, hospitals, medical clinics, specialists and

other professional organisations have recognized the value of

cloud computing and now routinely use its capabilities.

National, state, and local governments have also discovered

the advantages of cloud computing, and are shifting more of

their operations to this technology.

Individuals are taking advantage of cloud computing on a

daily basis. The most common personal computing tasks now

use cloud technology. Individual users are constantly finding

new ways to take advantage. Whether on a computer, mobile

phone, or other mobile device, everyone from a tech-savvy

user to a beginner can exploit cloud technology and its

benefits.

Types of Cloud Computing There are three forms of cloud computing: public clouds—

also referred to as enterprise clouds—private clouds, and

hybrid clouds.

Public Clouds A network that offers its services to the public is known as a

public cloud. Public clouds typically exist at remote sites,

where they can be accessed by subscribing organizations or

individuals, but they may take on many different forms.

Public clouds offer a high level of efficiency through the

sharing of resources, while still providing users the benefits

of custom tweaks. Businesses and organizations, large and

small, plus individuals can leverage the benefits of a public

network to expand their capabilities and potential.

Examples of public clouds include Cloud, Amazon Elastic

Compute Cloud (EC2), IBM’s Blue Cloud, Sun Cloud, Google

AppEngine and Windows Azure Services Platform.

Private Clouds A private cloud exists to serve a single organization or

network, but may be structured in a variety of ways. This will

be the mode of operation for GMHBA.

Private clouds are often maintained on a private network,

and offer their services for users in that network. These

clouds may be managed internally within an organisation, or

hosted by third-parties, either internally or externally.

GMHBA will manage its private cloud internally.

“National, state, and

local governments

have also discovered

the advantages of

cloud computing, and

are shifting more of

their operations to this

technology.”

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Private clouds offer a very high level of security, and provide

the utmost control and ability to adapt. They may not be

practical for all small organizations, they are extremely

valuable to large organisations and corporations, which

routinely employ their services.

By leveraging our cloud capabilities, GMHBA can create a

highly secure private cloud environment for its employees

and members who deal with ultra-sensitive information.

Examples of vendors offering managed private clouds: Citrix,

Cisco, CSC, Dell, EMC, HP, IBM, Mirantis, Rackspace.

Hybrid Clouds A third type of cloud integrates the advantages of private and

public clouds into a distinct network—known as a hybrid

cloud.

Hybrid strives to offer a high level of adaption without

introducing complexity or higher costs. Organizations are

empowered to devise the most efficient environment

possible for their requirements.

You may, for example, use public cloud for data storage or

public cloud computing capacities during performance peaks

and use private cloud to run production lines or legacy

applications.

Figure 3 Public, private and hybrid clouds and their benefits. GMHBA will be operating its own private cloud infrastructure.

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Common Cloud Computing Services

Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) Under the IaaS model, a cloud provider offers users remote

access to its server, hardware, and storage capabilities. These

resources are housed off-site, freeing users from the

responsibilities associated with their storage and

maintenance.

Common examples include: DigitalOcean, Linode, Rackspace,

Amazon Web Services (AWS), Cisco Metapod, Microsoft

Azure, Google Compute Engine.

Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) The PaaS model of cloud computing lets service providers

offer their computing platforms to users. Platforms include

operating systems, databases, web servers and a variety of

applications.

Users are not responsible for the complex integration of

hardware and software within these platforms, and are able

to collaborate on networks, allowing for a scattered

workforce.

Common examples include: AWS Elastic Beanstalk, Windows

Azure, Heroku, Force.com, Google App Engine, Apache

Stratos.

Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) The most common cloud model accessed by individuals, SaaS

offers users access to applications stored on a remote

network.

Users are permitted to take advantage of complex

applications that would be impractical or impossible to run

on a single computer.

Everything from highly technical to basic interactive software

may be rendered available on the individual level, giving

users the ability to perform both complicated tasks and

mainstream functions.

Common examples include: Google Apps, Salesforce,

Workday, Concur, Citrix GoToMeeting, Cisco WebEx.

Figure 4 The 3 major types of cloud infrastructure. Some of these applications you will already be very familiar with.

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Advantages of Cloud Computing The benefits of cloud computing are plentiful for businesses,

organizations, and individuals. GMHBA will be able to take

advantage of cloud technology in a number of ways. These

include:

Cost-Effectiveness: The pooling of resources in a cloud will

enable GMHBA employees to perform tasks that would

be impossible on their own. Employees will be able to

complete such tasks with less time and effort, instead

relying upon the collective benefits that exist within a

network.

Security and Privacy: GMHBA relies heavily on its

reputation to provide safe, secure, and private networks.

Our ability to provide such networks is paramount, and

motivates us to employ the best technology available.

Speed and Power: Access to a network of computers will

allow GMHBA employees and members to use its

collective capability. Information will be transmitted

faster and complex computations can be performed.

Scalability: GMHBA will be able to respond quicker to

changing customer needs and increase its slack in busy

times and reduce overheads in down times.

Flexibility: Public clouds are typically accessible from any

location, allowing for quick and convenient access to their

services.

Likewise, private clouds are generally accessible from

multiple outlets within an organization. Employees will be

able to collaborate online, reducing costs and logistical

complications.

Usability: Clouds are designed to be user-friendly and

easy to use given the new world order for customer

expectations and high levels of usability. Access to

applications can be approved quicker for GMHBA

employees without the need for clunky software

installations.

Better Software: Rather than constantly upgrading,

installing, and researching software, GMHBA can

delegate this responsibility to cloud service providers.

In turn, GMHBA will be granted access to the best, most

up-to-date software and technology without the

administrative costs or technical complications and risks.

Technical Support: If a computing problem develops,

GMHBA will be able to rely on the expertise and support

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provided by cloud service providers and ITSG. A quick

resolution is handled by knowledgeable experts, while

employees are able to spend their time focusing on their

day-to-day work.

Time Saving: As clouds are created, maintained, and

updated by the service provider, they will save GMHBA

from significant time and cost considerations.

Space Saving: By nature, the design of clouds saves space

and storage costs by housing a network of computers and

services at a remote location.

GMHBA will no longer need to maintain a large number

of computers and the associated storage space, instead it

will relying on the cloud provider to handle this

responsibility.

Financial Planning: The costs of cloud computing are

typically fixed or can be reasonably predicted. Subscribers

often pay a monthly service fee, and are able to

accurately predict this expenditure.

The uncertainty, demands, and fear that may result from

self-maintenance will be eliminated for GMHBA.

Environmentally Friendly: Through the shared use of a

network, computing is done more efficiently and thereby

uses less energy. Energy consumption and carbon

emission for GMHBA can be cut by as much as 30% using

cloud computing.

As evidenced by the length and diversity of this list, cloud

computing offers GMHBA a number of advantages that

would be otherwise unobtainable.

In fact, it is impossible to recount all of the ways in which can

cloud computing can empower GMHBA and its members, as

every member is unique and can benefit accordingly.

Every single employee and member will be able to profit from

the GMHBA’s adoption of cloud technology.

Common Uses of Cloud Computing The implications of cloud computing are vast, and given the

rapid, ongoing development in this technology, its use will

become more and more widespread in the health insurance

industry.

From the largest health insurers to individual members,

health participants are relying on cloud computing more than

ever.

Among the most common uses of cloud computing today are:

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File storage and sharing

File backup and disaster recovery

Email services

Database management

Web site hosting

Software and platform applications usage

eCommerce

Advertising

Customer relationship management (CRM)

Testing and development

Popular media usage

Renting services

Short-term projects and periodic capacity-

enhancement

Editing documents

Global collaboration

While this list highlights the most common uses of cloud

computing, it is not an exhaustive list all of the diverse ways

it may be used by GMHBA.

Nearly every business, organization, government, and

individual stands to benefit from cloud computing, and has

the ability to translate this dynamic technology into improved

efficiency and success. GMHBA needs to be at the forefront

of this change.

How Will GMHBA Benefit? After considering the purposes and characteristics of cloud

computing, think about the number of ways cloud technology

can help you improve your daily tasks at GMHBA.

GMHBA’s has the right experience and capability to build a

cloud environment in the best interest of its employees and

members. We will have access to industry-leading technology

and infrastructure to meet even the most complex demands

of employees and members.

ITSG is on a quest to position GMHBA at the forefront of this

exciting and developing technology by using world-class

technology, carefully designed infrastructure, and a more

personable, customer-centric approach to business.

Pairing the expertise and capabilities of GMHBA with your

knowledge of GMHBA’s operations will help unlock your full

potential as GMHBA employee.

“GMHBA has the right

experience and

capability to build a

cloud environment in

the best interest of its

employees and

members.”

Figure 5 A new era for GMHBA members and employees.

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ITSG Employee Spotlight

Wayne Cogan Wayne is an IT Administrator with GMHBA and will be helping

to bring GMHBA’s future IT strategy in to place. We sat down

with Wayne to ask him about his specific role with GMHBA

and the expected impacted of cloud technology on GMHBA’s

business.

When did you start with GMHBA?

I started with GMHBA at the end of May, 2016.

What is your role at GMHBA? My title is IT Administrator, also known as ‘the role with many hats’.

Where did you study and where are you from?

Although I’m originally from Traralgon, Victoria, my family moved to Lara in 1996. I completed my primary and secondary education in Geelong, before starting my university degree at RMIT. I finished my tertiary education with Charles Sturt University.

Where did you work prior to GMHBA?

The Victorian state Department of Education and Training (it went through three names changes during my tenure!), for six years.

What's a typical day in the life for you at GMHBA?

Full of challenges, and challengers, with which to test each of my hats. Although I provide support to end users, a large chunk of my time is taken up implementing, tweaking and otherwise learning IT systems.

What do you do to relax outside of work?

All of the nerdy things. Dungeons and Dragons, video games, films and of course books! Admittedly I also like to dabble in technology that I don’t otherwise get to play with at work – mostly Linux.

What impact do you think cloud technology will have on GHMBA staff and customers?

Cloud technology enables businesses like GMHBA to provide a versatile and scalable environment to developers and users alike. This ensures features and bleeding-edge technology is available for consumption much faster than traditional on-premise technologies.