Cloud computing’s benefits are widely known for the collaboration, performance, automation, and advanced analytics gains the cloud delivers. Cloud computing is a strategic imperative for life science firms, where R&D demands surpass conventional on-premises computing scalability.
Companies in the life sciences industry have several specific requirements that the cloud addresses. Vast quantities of data must be accessible quickly, often by multiple teams in different locations. By linking individual laboratory bench instruments directly to a database, data collection from R&D experimental workflows needs to become automated. Large datasets can be processed and analyzed quickly on demand.
Any data loss is a catastrophic setback, and thus a reliable and efficient backup/recovery of data is vital to the mission. When sensitive, regulated, and proprietary information is involved, data security is a high-stakes game. And strict criteria for compliance require keen and consistent monitoring — all against the backdrop of growing production speed pressure.
Given all of this, it is surprising to see reports from Deloitte and others dedicated to digital transformation in life science companies (notably biopharmaceuticals) during that lag behind other industries.
Smaller, more flexible start-ups have the benefit here because of many launches in the cloud. Today, there is a lack of technical and data-savvy resources to handle, sustain, track, and automate the cloud ecosystem on a continuing process.
New, valuable cloud technologies arise at a dizzying speed, and keeping them on top takes immersion into the world of cloud technology. Cloud management can quickly turn into a distraction from the organization’s primary mission.
The 2019 Global Life Sciences Outlook by Deloitte indicates that collaboration and partnerships with firms outside the life sciences will provide access to the digital and technology expertise needed for innovation. In Medtech (third-party) tech companies may have the technological capabilities required to enhance device efficiency, data management, and generation of insight, the report states.
It is useful advice for life science companies, enabling them to focus on technology, not infrastructure, in a world where speed is the name of the game, and where the winners are companies producing, analyzing, and making rapid data-driven decisions.
While conventional approaches to computing limit the speed at which a scientist, department, or company may develop, it is time to make cloud-based computing a strategic imperative. And a third-party cloud expert like PTP can really make the difference between a company’s mission success and failure.
