Snowflake Announces Launch Of Healthcare And Life Sciences Data Cloud, Consulting Services

The healthcare industry generates enormous amounts of data, much of which is inaccessible outside of the department or organization that generated it. This siloing can result in missed opportunities for critical process improvements or business insights, and the strict regulatory framework that protects patient health data often means that data stays locked away and unusable. Data cloud company Snowflake has recently launched a new cloud service and data marketplace to help healthcare and life sciences enterprises access large volumes of data at scale.

By combining its core analytics, data warehousing, and business intelligence offerings with a data marketplace and consulting services, the firm intends to help clients break down the siloing of their own data and collaborate with other industry partners by eliminating the need for traditional data sharing methods that require data copying and movement.

“While companies are still warming up to the idea of data sharing in healthcare, we are seeing an increasing trend. Data sharing is no longer a one-way street and our compliances with regulatory standards such as HIPAA [Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act] ensure that customers who are on Snowflake can easily share data with each other,” said Todd Crosslin, Healthcare and Life Sciences Industry Principal at Snowflake, in a statement to CIO.com.

The new data marketplace has attracted partners such as Compile, Equifax, Invitae, IQVIA, Precision X, and SameSky Health. The marketplace is designed to enable the secure sharing of critical datasets—rather than selling copies of data, participants are able to provide access to live datasets. On the consulting side, Snowflake is working with firms such as Cognizant, Deloitte, Infosys, NTT DATA, phData, and SDG. Clients can utilize these partners to speed digital transformations or cut down on time to market for new products, with multiple ways to engage system integrators or consulting firms.

Snowflake is packaging its core services in line with third party products and services as part of a new growth initiative for the company, reaching beyond data warehousing and analytics. The company has previously offered cloud services to the financial services and media industries. While data warehousing services are nothing new, Snowflake’s ability to meet the regulatory compliance requirements of the healthcare industry should give it a unique advantage in the market.