Optimed NXT: cloud or on-premises server? How to choose

Optimed NXT runs either in the vendor’s cloud or on your own server, on-premises or hosted. The first option is Optimed NXT Cloud, the system in the vendor’s cloud on a subscription. The second is the full Optimed NXT on your own server. That server can sit in your server room, run in a private cloud or on virtual machines rented from a cloud provider (infrastructure as a service, IaaS). The Cloud version is intended for clinics and medical practices and needs no server of your own. In both options, the number of users depends on the licence you buy (Optimed NXT Cloud on the vendor’s website, in Polish, as of 2 September 2026).

We recommend the vendor’s cloud when a clinic needs no additional integrations and does not run diagnostic imaging. Clinics usually choose their own server when hospital modules, integrations with other systems or an imaging department with RIS and PACS are needed, or when they want to control the infrastructure themselves.

We describe the general difference between cloud and locally installed systems in our article HIS: the basics (in Polish). How we implement Optimed NXT is described on our Optimed NXT implementation page.

Comparing the Optimed NXT options

Criterion	Optimed NXT Cloud	Optimed NXT on your own server
Intended for, according to the vendor	clinics and medical practices	hospitals and multi-department medical centres, also smaller clinics
Where the server runs	in the vendor’s cloud	in your server room, in a private cloud or on IaaS
Users	according to the licence	according to the licence
Cost model	monthly subscription	licence plus server, backups and administration on your side
Hardware on site	computers with a browser, network	computers with a browser and the network; if the server is on site, also the server, a UPS and backup storage
Working without internet	no, the system runs in the cloud	yes, when the server is in the building; the internet is needed for P1 (Poland’s national e-health platform) and remote work, among other things
Who maintains the server	the vendor	your IT department or an external IT company
Backups	on the vendor’s side (check the scope in the contract)	on your side

According to the vendor, Optimed NXT runs in a browser on Windows, Linux and macOS computers, with no additional applications (Optimed NXT on the vendor’s website, in Polish). The choice of option therefore does not change the requirements for workstations. It changes the infrastructure on the other side of the browser.

Requirements for your own server

A server on site gives you control over the data and independence from the internet connection in daily work. It also makes you responsible for the infrastructure. For such an implementation we plan at least:

• a server sized to the number of users and modules, preferably with virtualisation, which makes it easier to restore the system after a failure
• an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) with controlled server shutdown
• backups of the database and the server, including at least one copy outside the building
• monitoring that reports a failing disk, low disk space or a failed backup before doctors notice
• updates to the operating system and software
• an internet connection for data exchange with P1, remote work and vendor support
• remote access over a VPN (an encrypted connection to your internal network) for doctors who work outside the building

These requirements also follow from the law. The Regulation of the Minister of Health of 6 April 2020 on the types, scope and templates of medical records and the manner of processing them (in Polish; consolidated text, Journal of Laws 2026, item 1391) requires, among other things, risk assessment and documented security procedures. It also requires software to be kept up to date and records to be protected against destruction or loss (§ 1(5) and (7), legal status as of 8 November 2026). With your own server, it is the healthcare provider that has to show how it meets these requirements.

The server does not have to be in the building. Optimed NXT can run in a private cloud or on virtual machines from a cloud provider (IaaS), and the requirements for backups, monitoring and updates stay the same. We help with such implementations and already maintain installations of this kind.

We select and configure servers and set up backups together with the team of Conetso Group, the business IT brand of the same company (CONETSO GROUP Sp. z o.o.). The scope is described on the hardware and server solutions page (in Polish).

What do you need for Optimed NXT Cloud?

With the Cloud version you do not maintain a server. You are still responsible for what happens in the building:

• a stable internet connection, because without it reception and consulting rooms cannot work
• a backup internet connection, for example a second internet provider or a mobile connection, switched over automatically by the firewall
• a reliable internal network and Wi-Fi in the consulting rooms
• up-to-date workstations with a secure browser
• a data processing agreement with the cloud service provider. Art. 28 GDPR requires one when an external company processes patient data.

With the cloud, ask the vendor where the data is stored, how often backups are made and how quickly they can be restored. The vendor’s website mentions secure data storage in the cloud and encryption. The details should be confirmed in the contract.

Questions to answer before you choose

1. How many users will work in the system now, and in two or three years? The licence depends on it and, with your own server, so does the size of the server.
2. Which modules and integrations do you need? Check whether you run a ward, an admissions unit or a diagnostic imaging department with a RIS (radiology information system) and PACS. Also check whether the system is to exchange data with a laboratory or other software.
3. How reliable is your internet connection? Check whether a second internet provider is available at the location.
4. Who will maintain the server? You need your own IT department or a contract with a company that takes care of backups, updates and responding to failures.
5. What does the cost look like over time? Compare the subscription over several years with the licence, server, backups and support.
6. How many locations do you have? With the server in one location, the others connect to it over encrypted site-to-site VPN connections. An internet outage at the server location then affects all of them. In the cloud, each location needs its own reliable internet access.
7. Do doctors work remotely? A cloud system is available through a browser from outside the building. For a server on site, you need to provide secure access, usually a VPN with multi-factor authentication.

The answers usually point to one option. One exception is a clinic that is planning a diagnostic department or new locations. In that case we compare the costs of both options over several years and the risk you are prepared to take on.

The price of an implementation and what we charge separately are given on our Optimed NXT implementation page. If you are changing systems, choose the option before the data migration.

We can calculate both scenarios for your number of users and locations. Let’s talk.