The care sector is undergoing a wide-ranging digital transformation aimed at delivering better care and information sharing between the NHS and social care services. Cloud based IT infrastructure and communications supports this process in many ways. For example:

• Access to cloud-based care management and medicine management solutions helps to eliminate errors and make update-to-date records readily available to those who need them.

• Robust cloud provision 24/7 gives carers the information they need to manage patient care and even save lives at any time of the day or night, 365 days of the year.

• Access to data via the cloud means carers working from remote locations can provide emergency treatment.

• Where quality control and monitoring is required, for example by the CQC, applications accessed in the cloud provide an audit trail for compliance purposes.

• As with other industries, cyber security and data protection are critical for the care sector and properly implemented and managed cloud systems can support this.

A good cloud provider will work with any care organisation to understand their requirements and ensure that they can access critical applications without interruption and in a secure fashion.