The Big Health Data Orgy Happening In The Cloud

Forbes on Monday detailed recently developments involving the combination of big health, data and the cloud. As this is a never seen before combination of radically different sectors, the question remains how it will all come together.

According to Forbes, International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM) is hoping to become a major player in creating the cloud aspect. The company can use its Watson artificial intelligence to "make sense" of the "flood" of medical data that will be created.

IBM is boosting its workforce in anticipation of the new collaboration. The company already has 2,000 employees that will be working in a new "Watson-in-medicine" unit. On the acquisition front, IBM indicated it will acquire Explorys, an analytics company that has access to 50 million medical records along with Phytel, a healthcare services company.

"We are convinced that by the size and scale of what we're doing we can transform this industry," John Kelley, Senior Vice President, IBM Research told Forbes. "I'm convinced that now is the time."

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Naturally, IBM can't act alone and has several partners already lined up.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) will be integrating Watson-based apps into its HealthKit and ResearchKit tool systems.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) will use Watson to create a "personal concierge" service to prepare patients for knee surgery and cope with the post-surgery recovery.

Medtronic PLC (NYSE: MDT) will use Watson to create an "Internet of Things" around its medical gadgets as it will collect data for patients' personal use to better understand how well its implants are working.

IBM is attempting to position itself as a "middle man" in the healthcare system and revolutionizing the industry with a new, cloud-based architecture based on its deep breadth of experience.