Amazon Web Services is looking aggressively at the healthcare solutions sector

In December 2017, the Ministry of Information Technology and Electronics (MeitY) appointed Amazon Web Services (AWS) as the first international cloud services provider. Since then, the American multinational technology corporation has concentrated on assisting the Indian government in testing ideas using proof-of-concepts and prototypes, as well as cloud services. The use of cloud computing in India and Amazon Web Services’ (AWS) involvement in the country’s social sector were discussed by Max Peterson, Vice President, Worldwide Public Sector, at the event. edited snippets from a conversation.

BT: What are AWS’s opinions on India’s public sector using the cloud? Tell some Indian-related tales. 
 
MP: Over the past few years in India, we have observed a significant change in how government organizations think about and use the cloud. AWS has committed enormous resources to assisting India in realizing its digital potential and is still investing heavily in both the country and our Public Sector business. We have worked closely with customers over the years to make a big difference in a variety of industries, including agriculture, healthcare, education, e-governance, public utilities, smart cities, and urban infrastructure. AWS and NITI Aayog worked together to develop a Frontier Technologies Cloud Innovation Center in 2020. (CIC). 
 
Although the CIC is a well-known AWS programme globally, this was the first time a think tank affiliated with a national government cooperated with us. To speed up research guided by quantum computing and facilitate new scientific discoveries, MeitY and AWS established a Quantum Computing Applications Lab in January 2021. In order to support a national government’s initiative to spur innovation, this was the first quantum computing applications lab ever established on AWS. 
 
With unprecedented levels of digital engagement with citizens, COVID-19 sped up the digital transformation of public sector institutions by three to five years. Today’s citizens and residents demand the same cutting-edge technology from public sector enterprises that they do when they watch Netflix or shop online. Public sector organizations have changed the way they provide services to citizens as a result. It is quite inspiring to see how quickly C-DAC was able to construct the eSanjeevani OPD telemedicine solution on AWS and finally provide more than 30 million teleconsultations in India over the past two years.

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BT: Do you also collaborate with Indian state governments? How has cloud computing benefited these governments? 
 
MP: Today, cloud services are being used more frequently by government organizations to advance IT transformation and modernization. For instance, the file management system programme used by all 33 government districts in Telangana is hosted by the state’s on-site data centre by the department of information technology, electronics, and communications (ITE&C). In order to increase availability, scalability, and data security, the department discovered that its compute requirements had outgrown its current on-premises infrastructure. As a result, it turned to AWS. Eventually, the agency moved the workloads from all 33 districts to AWS, experienced zero downtime, and cut its computing expenditures by 30%. 
 
The cloud has solidified as the foundation for the Indian government’s mission-mode projects and digital innovation initiatives, which is evidence of the government’s leadership commitment and alignment to expedite change and produce favorable outcomes for the nation’s citizens. 
 
BT: Has AWS recently invested in clients in the healthcare industry? 
 
MP: The epidemic brought to light how technology and healthcare are still collaborating to provide care for more individuals, but it also emphasized long-standing social and structural disadvantages for marginalized groups. In order to assist organizations in creating solutions to advance health equity globally, we created a new global programme last year, committing $40 million over three years in AWS cloud credits and technical know-how. 
 
In order to advance medical research and healthcare solutions and ensure that people receive the care they require when they require it, AWS collaborates with its healthcare customers. The quick creation of the COVID-19 vaccine is a good illustration of this; Moderna used machine learning built on AWS to finish the sequence for their mRNA COVID-19 vaccine in just two days, and the first clinical batch was released only 25 days later.