Azure Updates: Healthcare AI; Project Natick; Landing zones; Container Instances

Microsoft Ignite 2020 offered the Azure ecosystem the opportunity to get acquainted with some interesting new and improved cloud services. Many announcements from Microsoft focused on making an impact at the event, so others could easily get lost in the shuffle.

Microsoft Healthcare Cloud and AI director John Doyle highlighted Microsoft's stature in a new Frost & Sullivan Frost Radar report, which named Microsoft as the "undisputed leader" in global AI platforms for healthcare IT. Worldwide, AI-enabled healthcare IT spending is projected to top $34 billion by 2025, with much of the spending by government healthcare systems. Currently, for healthcare AI, Microsoft is providing wide-ranging offerings such as Health Bot, Text Analytics for Health and Cognitive Services. Partners are also entering the fray. For example, Nuance is working with Microsoft to develop ambient clinical intelligence, GE Healthcare is creating secure imaging solutions and Allscripts is building an Azure-backed EHR.