Recently, Byte and Switch published an interesting article Healthcare Seeks Storage Rx. It is particularly interesting to me as recently I have been working with storage projects in Medical Imaging area.
I agree with Robert Cecil of Cleveland Clinic mentioning that he wants to buy a solution not the box.
I have gone through numerous storage related issues, both operational and design, for at least half-a-dozen PACS projects. The common theme appears to be that majority of PACS implementation will need reworking within couple of years of installation. Why? Because data storage is afterthought for both PACS vendor and Clinics who are installing PACS. Considering the size and number of studies like Mammo and multi-slice CTs, storage is going to be single largest component of ongoing maintenance expense for PACS implementation.
"There's a big opportunity for somebody in the industry to sell a solution that will last for years and years." How can you have a solution which last for years and years when you buy PACS storage designed to handle studies generated during first year? Cleveland Clinic may be happy with what they got today, but tomorrow may be whole another story!
