Best HIPAA-Compliant Hosting Solutions: 5 Top Providers for Secure Healthcare Data

Finding the right hosting partner for electronic protected health information

Key Points:

• Healthcare organizations must select hosting providers that meet stringent HIPAA requirements when storing or processing patient data

• This comparison examines five leading HIPAA-compliant hosts: AWS, Google Cloud Platform, Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, Microsoft Azure, and Atlantic.Net

• Providers differ significantly in their approach, from purpose-built healthcare infrastructure to flexible enterprise platforms requiring careful configuration

Healthcare data security isn't optional. When your organization handles electronic protected health information (ePHI), the hosting provider you choose directly impacts your compliance posture, patient privacy, and operational security. A misstep here can result in regulatory penalties, security breaches, and irreparable damage to patient trust.

The landscape of HIPAA-compliant hosting varies dramatically. Some providers design their entire infrastructure specifically for healthcare workloads, while others integrate HIPAA eligibility into broader cloud platforms. This fundamental difference shapes everything from deployment speed to long-term compliance management.

We've evaluated five prominent HIPAA-compliant hosting providers to help healthcare organizations identify the best match for their security and operational requirements.

1. Atlantic.Net

Atlantic.Net specializes in HIPAA-compliant hosting with infrastructure specifically engineered for healthcare data workloads. Their hosting environment is HIPAA-audited, HITECH-audited, and supported by SSAE 18 SOC 2 Type II and SOC 3 Type II certifications.

Key differentiator: Atlantic.Net's compliance hosting platform is purpose-built for ePHI from the ground up, rather than offering HIPAA eligibility as one configuration option among many. Their infrastructure includes SOC 2 Type II and SOC 3 Type II certified systems validated through independent third-party audits of their data center facilities.

Available hosting configurations: Atlantic.Net provides both cloud and dedicated server options within their HIPAA-compliant framework. Their cloud infrastructure includes multiple instance types with flexible billing models to support growth. The platform features one-click HIPAA-compliant cloud deployment to reduce setup complexity. Organizations leveraging AI and machine learning for healthcare applications can access HIPAA-compliant GPU hosting.

Geographic coverage: HIPAA/HITECH-approved data centers operate across multiple US regions, including New York, San Francisco, Dallas, Ashburn, and Orlando, with London facilities available for UK compliance requirements.

Ideal for: Healthcare providers, medical clinics, telemedicine platforms, and digital health startups seeking compliance integrated directly into the hosting infrastructure rather than requiring extensive manual configuration.

Critical consideration: Atlantic.Net delivers HIPAA-compliant infrastructure, but organizations retain responsibility for proper application configuration including access controls, audit logging, encryption implementation, and backup protocols. Infrastructure compliance is provider-managed; application-level security remains the customer's domain.

2. Amazon Web Services (AWS)

AWS explicitly confirms that HIPAA-regulated entities can utilize their platform for processing, maintaining, and storing protected health information. Not all AWS services qualify for ePHI workloads, however.

Eligible services: AWS publishes a comprehensive list of HIPAA-eligible services encompassing popular options like Amazon S3, Amazon RDS, and Amazon EC2. Their documentation indicates over 166 services qualify as HIPAA-eligible when properly configured. They maintain relevant certifications, including HITRUST and various global compliance frameworks.

Shared responsibility framework: AWS emphasizes that merely using their services doesn't automatically achieve HIPAA compliance. Organizations must establish their own administrative, physical, and technical protections. Customers need to carefully select only HIPAA-eligible services, execute a Business Associate Agreement, and ensure proper encryption, monitoring, access controls, auditing, and backup procedures.

Scale and flexibility: The expansive AWS platform enables organizations to build everything from straightforward hosting to sophisticated analytics and machine learning pipelines using HIPAA-eligible services. AWS recently extended HIPAA eligibility to machine learning and AI services, creating new opportunities for healthcare analytics.

Ideal for: Health technology companies, research institutions, and enterprises with dedicated IT or DevOps teams who require flexibility and scalability for complex workloads or advanced analytics on ePHI.

Critical consideration: Configuration demands exceed those of specialized HIPAA hosting. Technical expertise is essential to properly architect your environment, and expenses can grow substantially depending on service usage patterns.

3. Google Cloud Platform (GCP)

Google Cloud confirms HIPAA compliance support across their platform, with their Business Associate Agreement covering GCP infrastructure. The covered entity bears responsibility for constructing a HIPAA-compliant solution using approved Google Cloud services.

Analytics and innovation strengths: GCP particularly excels in analytics, machine learning, and large-scale data workloads. Health technology companies requiring ePHI processing and analysis at scale will find GCP provides robust tools while maintaining HIPAA support. This makes the platform attractive for organizations prioritizing healthcare innovation and data-driven insights.

Configuration obligations: Organizations must verify they're using only HIPAA-covered services and properly configure encryption, access controls, and auditing. GCP provides documentation identifying which services are approved for ePHI workloads.

Ideal for: Research institutions, digital health companies utilizing AI, machine learning, or analytics on patient data, and organizations emphasizing scalability and innovation in healthcare technology.

Critical consideration: For simpler or smaller ePHI-hosting requirements, the comprehensive advanced stack might introduce unnecessary complexity. Assess whether the platform's capabilities match your actual needs.

4. Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI)

Oracle's documentation confirms they function as a Business Associate when engaging with covered entities and maintain HIPAA-assessed regions and services. Oracle Cloud has secured HIPAA certifications across its cloud portfolio and operates a global compliance program validated through independent third-party assessments.

Compliance validation: Oracle Cloud undergoes scheduled independent audits covering security, privacy, and HIPAA compliance. Their compliance framework extends across multiple regions and services within the cloud infrastructure.

Legacy system compatibility: Healthcare organizations or enterprises currently running Oracle systems—including Oracle databases or enterprise applications—will find OCI provides a logical migration pathway for legacy workloads into HIPAA-compliant cloud environments.

Ideal for: Enterprises leveraging Oracle's technology ecosystem (ERP platforms, database systems) seeking HIPAA-compliant cloud infrastructure, particularly for transitioning legacy systems or managing large-scale enterprise healthcare operations.

Critical consideration: Proper configuration remains essential. Services must maintain HIPAA eligibility, applicable BAAs require execution, and environments must satisfy all mandatory safeguards. The ecosystem receives less community discussion compared to AWS or Azure, potentially requiring additional research and validation.

5. Microsoft Azure

Microsoft Azure has implemented the physical, technical, and administrative protections mandated by HIPAA and the HITECH Act across their covered services. Azure extends a HIPAA Business Associate Agreement to both covered entities and business associates.

Compliance framework and tools: Azure delivers explicit guidance identifying which services fall within the HIPAA scope. They've integrated HIPAA/HITRUST control mapping directly into Azure Policy, streamlining compliance monitoring. However, Azure usage alone doesn't ensure compliance—proper configuration is mandatory.

Enterprise ecosystem advantages: Azure excels at hybrid and enterprise integration capabilities. The platform integrates natively with Microsoft 365, Active Directory, and on-premises infrastructure. Healthcare organizations with established Microsoft environments or legacy systems requiring cloud coexistence will find this integration particularly valuable during migration.

Ideal for: Hospitals, healthcare networks, medical practices, and SaaS developers already utilizing Microsoft technology who need ePHI handling in the cloud while preserving integration with current systems.

Critical consideration: Configuration responsibility lies with the customer. Organizations must select appropriate services, implement encryption, configure access logging, enable auditing, and establish backup procedures. Smaller teams without dedicated cloud expertise may find the cost and complexity challenging.

Selecting Your HIPAA-Compliant Hosting Provider

Your choice of HIPAA-compliant hosting provider should align with your organization's technical capabilities and infrastructure requirements. Major cloud platforms like AWS, GCP, Azure, and Oracle offer extensive flexibility and advanced features, but demand significant technical expertise for proper configuration. Specialized providers like Atlantic.Net deliver healthcare-focused solutions with compliance integrated from the start, reducing configuration complexity.

HIPAA compliance operates as a shared responsibility. While hosting providers manage infrastructure-level compliance, organizations must configure applications properly, implement access controls, maintain comprehensive audit logs, and establish reliable backup procedures. Assess your team's technical capabilities, budget constraints, and specific compliance requirements before finalizing your decision.