Pitney Bowes is embracing the cloud, and healthcare could soon see the benefits.

The Stamford, Conn.-based company, which provides hardware, software and services designed to link physical and digital communications channels in a wide range of businesses, recently unveiled Volly, a cloud-based digital mail communications platform designed to allow consumers to communicate more efficiently with businesses. Company officials say the new service will allow consumers to pay their bills online and manage coupons and other content from multiple providers on one platform.

Among the verticals most likely to benefit from Volly is the healthcare industry, in which Pitney Bowes does considerable business with healthcare providers and insurers.

“This cuts across the spectrum of all verticals, and healthcare will definitely see the benefits,” said Bernie Gracy, Pitney Bowes’ vice president for business development and Volly operations, in an interview shortly after the Jan. 6 unveiling of Volly. “We needed to create an experience for consumers that lowers the cost to communicate … and allows them to manage content from multiple locations.”

Gracy said Volly will allow healthcare consumers to view and manage their bills in a more convenient manner, communicating with insurers and paying their bills online in a safe environment. He said Volly offers a more economical communications platform for insurers who are “spending millions of dollars now building out portals.”

“With the trend toward self-directed, self-managed and self-insured, healthcare workflows have gotten more complicated … and payments have gotten much more complicated,” Gracy said. “Insurers are in the middle of this lake. Volly offers a mutually managed experience that gives insurers and providers a better way to reach and engage with consumers.”

Pitney Bowes sprang into life in 1920 with the introduction of the postage meter, and has grown into a $5.6 billion global company with more than 33,000 employees. Gracy said the company has long focused on the financial services market, and is now building up its healthcare business.

“In this multi-channel world, consumers are demanding choice in channel and control of their content,” said Murray Martin, the company’s chairman, president and CEO. “As a natural extension of our existing business, we will capitalize on our legacy of innovation, expertise, previous acquisitions and our intellectual property to enable our customers to better communicate with their customers, using the channel they prefer.”