Security and compliance are critical concerns for healthcare and government organizations because they handle sensitive information and operate under strict regulations. As a result, these organizations need cloud hosting environments that protect data, provide stable performance, and maintain clear audit trails. Choosing the right hosting solution helps ensure operational continuity while meeting regulatory obligations.

To address these requirements, hosting solutions must provide secure networks, structured access management, monitoring tools, and support for migrations from existing platforms. Platforms such as Atlantic.Net offer HIPAA- and PCI-compliant services. Consequently, organizations can operate sensitive applications in a secure, reliable, and compliant infrastructure.

Essential Hosting Requirements for Healthcare Organizations

Healthcare organizations operate under strict rules for managing patient data. These regulations influence the design of hosting systems, user access patterns, and backup strategies. Therefore, every component of the system must function together to ensure data security, operational reliability, and regulatory compliance.

HIPAA-Compliant Infrastructure

HIPAA’s Security Rule requires safeguards appropriate to risk; encryption at rest and in transit are “addressable” controls that most organizations implement (e.g., TLS 1.2+ for HTTPS and strong at-rest encryption) based on a documented risk analysis. Consequently, hosting environments must include secure networks, encrypted storage, and restricted user privileges. Providers that handle ePHI must sign a Business Associate Agreement (BAA). Implement audit controls aligned to HIPAA §164.312(b) with centralized log collection, time synchronization, and documented retention.

In addition, the infrastructure typically uses isolated servers to separate medical applications from other workloads, thereby enhancing overall system security. At the same time, firewall rules restrict network traffic to authorized sources, and detailed logs record user activity for auditing purposes. As a whole, these measures provide a secure and stable foundation, enabling hospitals, clinics, laboratories, and billing offices to operate efficiently and reliably.

Secure Access Using HTTPS

Healthcare applications are accessed from multiple locations. Doctors may connect from hospitals or clinics, patients from home portals, and administrative staff from offices or remote networks. All connections must be secured end-to-end.

HTTPS (HTTP over TLS 1.2 or higher with HSTS) encrypts communication between users and servers; disable SSL and early TLS and use modern cipher suites and certificate lifecycle management.

Consequently, critical data such as medical charts, laboratory results, billing records, and insurance information remains protected. In this way, enforcing HTTPS helps healthcare organizations provide consistent, reliable, and secure access to their applications, regardless of the user’s location.

Regular Backups with Extended Retention

Healthcare systems handle large volumes of critical data, including patient records, appointment schedules, diagnostic reports, and insurance forms. Unexpected events such as system failures, user errors, or data corruption can compromise access to this information.

Regular backups are essential, but frequency and retention should be driven by risk analysis and RPO/RTO—not a fixed rule. For example, nightly backups with point-in-time recovery and at least one immutable/off-site copy (3-2-1 or 3-2-1-1-0) are common. An example policy might use weekly full plus daily incremental backups with 30–365-day retention; routinely test restores. HIPAA requires a documented Contingency Plan and Data Backup Plan, not a specific “weekly/6-month” schedule.

Support for PostgreSQL and Java Applications

Many healthcare systems rely on PostgreSQL for database management and Java for application logic. These technologies support clinical modules, patient portals, laboratory integrations, and billing systems. Therefore, hosting platforms must provide reliable environments to ensure the uninterrupted operation of these applications.

Harden databases and runtimes: enable PostgreSQL TLS, point-in-time recovery, and replication for high availability; tune autovacuum/VACUUM/ANALYZE; secure JDBC connectivity; and right-size JVM heap/GC settings for predictable performance.

Structured Migration from AWS

Healthcare organizations may migrate from large public cloud platforms to achieve more predictable performance, controlled support, and dedicated services. However, migration can be complex and carries potential risks if not carefully planned.

A structured migration process involves reviewing the current environment, preparing a parallel hosting setup, testing application workflows and database connections, and then performing data migration with DNS cutover. Strengthen the plan with lower DNS TTLs before cutover, repeatable data validation (e.g., checksums), rehearsed rollback, license/egress-cost analysis, and post-cutover monitoring. This risk-based approach helps maintain continuity and protects sensitive patient information throughout the transition.

Critical Hosting Requirements for Government Agencies

Government agencies handle sensitive data that impacts public services and operations. Therefore, their hosting systems must meet specific requirements to ensure security, reliability, and regulatory compliance. While some principles overlap with healthcare, government workloads demand additional capabilities due to legacy systems, complex operations, and strict regulations.

High-Level Security and Compliance

Government workloads must follow strict internal policies similar to standards in specialized cloud regions. Consequently, hosting systems should provide robust network isolation, defined permission structures, and continuous monitoring. In addition, reliable access is essential. Databases and internal portals must remain available at all times and deliver consistent performance under heavy workloads.

For U.S. federal workloads, align with FedRAMP Moderate/High baselines (NIST SP 800-53), use FIPS 140-2/140-3 validated cryptographic modules, and consider deployment in AWS GovCloud (US).

Support for Legacy Systems

Many agencies still operate IBM AIX (a UNIX operating system) and IBM i (AS/400) systems for reporting, record management, and financial workflows. These systems are critical because they handle specialized functions that newer platforms cannot fully replace. Therefore, hosting systems must reliably support these legacy environments to ensure operational continuity. In addition, the infrastructure should facilitate gradual modernization with minimal disruption to essential services.

Multi-Server Architecture

Government applications often consist of multiple interconnected systems. For example, CRM platforms track public interactions, reporting dashboards, compile analytics, and internal services manage documents and approvals. Therefore, hosting platforms should provide multi-server architectures that separate these functions across servers. This approach improves stability, simplifies maintenance, and reduces operational risks. Define clear east-west network segmentation, document inter-service APIs, and organize resource allocation to further enhance efficiency.

User Access Controls and Authentication

Strict access control is necessary to protect government data. Hosting systems must enforce strong password policies, implement account lockout mechanisms, and monitor user activity. Add multi-factor authentication (especially for privileged and remote access), centralized logging/SIEM with alerting, and regular access reviews. These measures help prevent unauthorized access while enabling administrators to review logs and manage permissions effectively.

Flexible Storage Solutions

Agencies often require both centralized storage for consistent access and auditing, as well as regional storage to improve performance for local offices and reduce network latency. Therefore, hosting platforms should support both options, including lifecycle policies, WORM/immutability where needed, and edge/region-aware replicas, which enables agencies to tailor storage to operational needs.

Atlantic.Net’s Advantages for Healthcare Clients

Healthcare organizations select hosting providers based on trust, compliance, and reliability. Therefore, a provider must offer secure and well-structured environments that meet the unique requirements of regulated industries. Atlantic.Net supports these needs through a combination of compliance expertise, scalable infrastructure, strong access controls, and structured migration processes.

Scalable Architecture for Growing Demands

Healthcare workloads often expand over time. Applications, data volumes, and user numbers increase steadily. Therefore, hosting environments must scale without major redesigns. Atlantic.Net provides flexible setups that start with a single server and can expand to multi-server clusters. Capacity planning ties to measurable SLOs (e.g., p95 latency, error rates) to maintain performance as operations grow.

Advanced Access Controls and Audit Trails

Strong access management is essential for security. Atlantic.Net enforces password policies, lockout mechanisms, and audit trails. Add MFA for privileged and remote access, time-synced logging, and retention aligned to policy and regulatory expectations (e.g., documentation retained for six years under HIPAA). As a result, administrators can monitor user activity, detect unusual behavior, and ensure only authorized personnel have access to critical systems. This approach strengthens security and reduces operational risk.

Structured Migration Support

Migrating applications can be challenging, particularly in regulated industries. Therefore, Atlantic.Net guides organizations through planning, testing, and DNS cutover. Best practices include lowering DNS TTL, side-by-side testing with representative data, checksum-based validation, explicit rollback plans, and post-cutover observability. Side-by-side testing ensures that applications function correctly before going live. This structured approach minimizes disruption and maintains security throughout the transition.

Real-World Healthcare Hosting at a California Medical Center

A medical center in California reached out to Atlantic.Net to improve its hosting environment. Their application, built with PostgreSQL and Java, managed patient records, appointment scheduling, billing, and internal communications. The existing system was slow and sometimes unreliable. Therefore, the center needed faster performance, stronger security, and a more dependable hosting solution.

Atlantic.Net first analyzed the application and its infrastructure, including database usage, network flows, and access patterns. Based on this analysis, a new hosting design was proposed. The solution included encrypted storage, isolated networks, secure HTTPS connections, and weekly backups with extended retention. In addition, the design accounted for potential future growth and improved system performance.

For these types of deployments, Atlantic.Net supports the systems by working closely with the client. First, a parallel environment is established for testing before complete migration. Sample data and real application workflows are used to verify stability and performance. Critical functions, such as accessing patient charts, processing billing, and managing scheduling, are thoroughly tested within this environment. This approach ensured that all processes would operate reliably without interruptions once the system goes live.

After testing confirmed system stability, Atlantic.Net is there to assist with database migration and application deployment. The DNS cutover is completed without interrupting access to the application. As a result, the new hosting setup is improved with faster response times and strengthened security. It also provides a safe and compliant foundation for critical applications. This example shows Atlantic.Net working with healthcare clients to deliver reliable and practical cloud hosting solutions that meet their needs.

Final Thoughts

Secure and reliable cloud hosting is essential for healthcare and government organizations because they manage sensitive data and operate under strict regulations. Successful programs clearly distinguish regulatory requirements from best-practice controls and combine HIPAA Security Rule safeguards, PCI DSS v4.0 expectations, and—where applicable—FedRAMP Moderate/High controls with FIPS-validated cryptography. Moreover, scalable architectures, robust backup strategies, and structured migration processes are necessary to maintain operational continuity and adapt to changing workloads.

Platforms such as Atlantic.Net integrate compliance expertise, advanced access controls, and flexible storage options. As a result, organizations can secure critical applications, meet regulatory obligations, and enhance operational efficiency. By grounding designs in risk analysis (RPO/RTO, SLOs) and documenting controls, teams build durable, auditable environments that support long-term growth and security.