IBM Joins With Apple, J&J to Analyze Health Data in the Cloud

It was recently announced that IBM is joining with Apple Inc., Johnson & Johnson and Medtronic Plc are joining together to create a technology that will make it easier for health-care companies to analyze patient data.  I find it truly remarkable and renowned that three prestigious companies are joining forces and   International Business Machines Corp. announced a cloud-computing platform, called Watson Health Cloud, which can store and analyze anonymous patient data. An entirely new business unit will be created around the offering with at least 2,000 specialists, IBM said in a statement. According to an IBM representative: “IBM has been seeking growth in newer areas like data analytics and cloud computing as tumbling demand for legacy hardware and services has dragged down revenue. The company has increasingly relied on industry-specific partnerships to help boost sales, like these latest tie-ups in health care.” The information technology will not only increase revenue for all three companies, but will also make humongous strides for healthcare management.

“It’s a huge bet for IBM,” John Kelly, senior vice president for solutions portfolio and research, said in an interview. “We looked around for areas that were high growth where if we entered we could make a substantial difference and capture substantial share. None of us are satisfied with the outcomes in the health-care industry.”

Technology has made it much easier for patients and physicians to gather large quantities of health data, which in turn improves overall health of not only customers, but the population in general. It will be interesting to see where these innovations take the future of the world’s health.