Server/Cloud Based Solutions: Benefits and Disadvantages Review

Modern dental practice requires proper data management for effective work. Electronic health data is a prominent universal technology that lets doctors access important clinical information such as treatment history, patient's medical contradictions, previous prescriptions, etc., in a few clicks.

Still, data processing requires massive storage for records, files, and software. Currently, dental services providers have two options – server storage or its clod-based analog. Both have pros and cons, and clinics should choose one according to their business model and financial capabilities.

However, recently, the Dental Economics media published an opinion of Lionel Vary, chief information officer of West Coast Dental (a local US dental facility), and Mike Huffaker, chief revenue officer at Planet DD (digital dental solution provider), who comprehensively described the benefits of cloud-based options for clinics.

We should notice that this is an utterly unilateral review because speakers are obviously fans of cloud solutions. Still, his arguments are meaningful and clearly describe the real benefits of such a system:

• Price. Physical servers are much more costly since you first need to purchase the hardware components (according to Lionel Vary, between $ 12,000 – $ 16,000 and then spend around $2000 – 4000 annually on licenses, maintenance, and technical support. Cloud services instead offer subscription-based options that are MUCH cheaper.
• Physical protection. The cloud's physical storage is located in a special secured place equipped with high-tech safety measures; instead, clinics' own servers, located in the facility, may be vulnerable to various events such as fire, flood, or another disaster that can damage physical medium.
• Data safety. Though cloud storage is more often a victim of large hacker attacks, your own server is at the same risk. It depends only on how soon your clinic becomes so large that it can attract the attention of bad actors. In the age of spam abundance, personal data stealing – is not a big deal.

Generally, the mentioned factors come down to cloud-based approach feasibility, as it is applicable to any dental facility, providing the same (or higher) quality of data storage and management services for less price. This approach greatly benefits your business compared to server-based solutions since you can significantly cut your expenses on maintaining IT specialists and infrastructure.

We highly recommend you check out our other articles about digital dental solutions:

• Digital Dentistry: Integration and Work Criteria
• Benefits of Subscription-Based Applications: Security and Usability