The news: Healthcare data analytics startup Truveta selected Microsoft Azure as its exclusive cloud partner:

• Truveta launched in February of this year and is backed by 17 US health systems, including Northwell Health, CommonSpirit Health, Providence Health, and Trinity Health.
• Its platform sifts through the collective health systems’ deidentified patient data using AI and machine learning to help providers deliver efficient, high-quality, personalized care.
• This partnership comes a few months after Truveta’s $95 million Series A funding round—which it said it would use to build out its platform’s infrastructure and cloud computing costs.

Why this is a strategic deal for both Truveta and Microsoft: For its part, Truveta can leverage Microsoft’s Azure cloud platform to tighten up its cybersecurity measures and stay on top of evolving regulatory changes.

Meanwhile, Microsoft can tap Truveta’s network of health system partners to gain a stronger foothold in healthcare.

• Although Microsoft already works with healthcare partners like Mayo Clinic, Epic, Cerner, and Change Healthcare, its partnership with Truveta would give it access to major health systems from across the US.

Teaming up with a company with lots of backing from more traditional healthcare entities could help Microsoft build up credibility in healthcare.

• Microsoft’s peers have encountered many twists and turns in their attempts to go from Big Tech firms to health tech firms.
• Google recently disbanded its healthcare division (Google Health) in August.
• IBM’s Watson Health came under fire for producing erroneous treatment recommendations and struggled to retain major hospital clients in 2018.
• And Facebook’s digital health attempts (like its preventative health tool) never really took off.

What’s next? Truveta is a young yet powerful startup—which means it's in pole position to be acquired by a bigger company, maybe even a tech giant like Microsoft.

Big Tech companies have been trying to ride the tailwinds of the pandemic-era digital health boom, but many have faced challenges along the way—namely, mistrust among consumers, cybersecurity breaches, and regulatory hurdles.

• Acquiring a startup like Truveta—that’s backed by the nation’s largest health systems—could be a major win: 64% of US adults trust the US healthcare system at large—meanwhile, 56% of consumers said they don’t trust tech companies with their health information.
• Moreover, Truveta has access to 15% of all health data in the US via its health system partnerships—combined with Microsoft’s cloud platform and AI-powered analytics, it could help providers make even faster and accurate clinical decisions.