EHR Cloud Hosting and Migration Insights for Healthcare IT Leaders

If you’re responsible for managing EHR systems (or EPR, as it's called in the UK), you know the pressure is on. Between growing cybersecurity threats, escalating infrastructure costs and the demand for always-on access, on-premises environments are getting harder to justify.

Healthcare providers are responding by accelerating cloud migrations, especially for their most critical workloads. In fact, the 2025 Gartner® Market Guide for Electronic Health Record Cloud Hosting and Migration Services reflects just how quickly the market is evolving and why cloud-based EHR solutions are becoming foundational to healthcare IT strategy.

Rackspace Technology is recognized in this Market Guide as a Representative Vendor. From my perspective, that inclusion reflects the work we’ve done to help healthcare organizations modernize securely, meet compliance requirements and focus on what matters most: patient care.

In this post, I’ll break down key insights from the latest Gartner research, share what we’re seeing in the field and offer practical takeaways for IT leaders who are planning or accelerating their EHR cloud journey.

What’s driving the move to cloud-hosted EHRs

EHR systems are mission-critical, but many remain tied to complex on-premises infrastructure. That’s changing quickly. We’re seeing more healthcare organizations prioritize cloud migrations to improve resilience, agility and innovation readiness.

We’re learning from the 2025 Gartner® Market Guide that healthcare providers are making this shift in order to:

• Reduce operational costs tied to aging infrastructure and on-site support
• Improve scalability and accessibility across clinical settings
• Strengthen disaster recovery and cybersecurity capabilities
• Enable next-generation tools like real-time analytics, AI and IoHT applications

For many CIOs, this move also creates space to focus on higher-impact goals like data governance, care optimization and population health initiatives. Cloud migration clears the way for more strategic use of IT resources.

How to prepare for a successful EHR cloud transition

Moving EHR systems to the cloud requires thoughtful planning across operations, compliance and clinical support. Based on insights from the Gartner Market Guide and our experience supporting healthcare migrations, here are three essential steps.

1. Understand the full cost picture

Start by evaluating your current costs, including hardware, software, maintenance and support. Then compare them with cloud service options. Go beyond line-item costs and consider operational impacts, downtime risks and the opportunity costs of delayed innovation.

2. Choose a hosting model that fits your environment

Each model comes with tradeoffs. Hyperscalers offer flexibility but may require internal cloud expertise. EHR vendors provide tight integration but can limit custom options. Third-party providers like Rackspace Technology can bridge the gap with a mix of infrastructure, platform and managed services tailored to healthcare needs.

3. Build a detailed migration plan

A clear timeline that accounts for thorough testing and contingency planning helps protect clinical workflows and reduce the risk of disruption during migration. Gartner emphasizes the value of working with experienced integrators. In our experience, coordination between IT, clinical teams and vendor partners is key to avoiding disruption and protecting patient care during the transition.

Trends shaping the future of EHR cloud hosting

The market is shifting rapidly. Gartner notes a growing emphasis on platform and EHR-as-a-service models, especially as providers seek scalable, cloud-native solutions that reduce overhead and support clinical transformation.

Key trends shaping this evolution include:

• Major EHR vendors moving toward hosted-first deployments
• Rising demand for real-time data access and AI-powered tools
• Increasing pressure on IT teams to deliver more with less
• Expanding regulatory frameworks around data residency and sovereignty

In this climate, cloud hosting decisions are increasingly tied to broader strategic goals. Healthcare providers are looking for solutions that meet both technical and organizational needs, from compliance and performance to agility and long-term value.

How Rackspace Technology supports healthcare modernization

Inclusion in the 2025 Gartner® Market Guide for Electronic Health Record Cloud Hosting and Migration Services reflects what we see across the healthcare landscape. Providers are asking for secure, flexible and healthcare-aware support for their most critical systems.

At Rackspace Technology, we help organizations manage and migrate EHR workloads across IaaS, PaaS and SaaS environments. Our teams have deep experience with HIPAA- and HITRUST-compliant solutions and include engineers certified in Epic Systems. Each engagement is supported with 24x7x365 access to technical experts and proven migration practices tailored to the demands of healthcare IT.

We also bring deep experience in private and hybrid cloud, which many healthcare organizations rely on to address data residency, latency and integration concerns. Whether your goals center on compliance, digital sovereignty, continuity or innovation, we’re here to help you move forward with confidence.

Moving forward with the right insight

EHR systems are foundational to patient care, and migrating them to the cloud is a high-stakes decision that demands careful planning and trusted expertise. The 2025 Gartner® Market Guide for Electronic Health Record Cloud Hosting and Migration Services offers valuable guidance for healthcare IT leaders navigating this transition.

We’re proud that Rackspace Technology is included as a Representative Vendor, and we believe this recognition speaks to the value we bring to healthcare modernization.

If you’re planning a migration or exploring your options, read the full report here.

Gartner, Market Guide for Electronic Health Record Cloud Hosting and Migration Services, 7 July 2025, Andrew Meyer

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