still getting accustomed to the technology its hosted ELN solution, Symyx will also be look before you leap
and customers that are naturally cautious offering hosted registration and inventory So, if the model supposedly provides simple
of hosting data outside their fi rewall. solutions, suited to large organisations start-up and low maintenance, why aren’t
Thermo Fisher will be launching a hosted looking to outsource chemical synthesis all laboratories outsourcing their data
LIMS offering in Q1 of 2010, although tasks to contract research organisations management requirements? In the majority
this could change to a true SaaS solution (CROs) and other partner organisations. of cases it seems to come down to a matter
in the future. ‘The multi-tenancy aspect This enables the partner to register of trust and the current mindset of scientists.
of SaaS is an area of concern to some of synthesised compounds into the larger The general consensus is that labs will move
our existing customers, because there is a company’s corporate repository without towards SaaS solutions in the future as the
s GUiDe 2010
perceived risk of contamination between having to invest heavily in IT infrastructure. industry becomes more comfortable with
different databases stored on the same server Collaboration is something McCarthy sees what that entails, but at present, there is still
tic
instance,’ states Shah. as becoming more commonplace, especially some trepidation about storing data outside
Symyx has recently launched a hosted within the pharmaceutical industry, where of the company’s fi rewall.
version of its electronic laboratory notebook larger organisations are outsourcing work ‘Fear over data security is very instinctive,’
(ELN) and John McCarthy, vice president of to CROs and academic labs. ‘Providing a notes Alexander Polonsky, product manager
product development and strategy at Symyx, hosted solution enables organisations to at iPad ELN, a French provider of ELN
echoes the opinion of Shah in that many of work together more easily without having software offering a SaaS version of its
its customers are concerned with the concept to install software on the partner’s server or enterprise system. ‘Scientists, especially in
of multi-tenancy. ‘In places where customers punch a hole in the fi rewall for the partner academia, where publication of research is
are more comfortable with the multi-tenancy to access the system,’ he says. everything and also in the pharmaceutical
torY inforMa
a
model, Symyx can support it and technically Michael Dippolito, president of DeltaSoft, industry, where the pressure about data
the multi-tenancy model is just as secure. We notes a further advantage of the SaaS model security comes from a legal perspective, are
have simply recognised that this is new to is the potential to improve standardisation very protective about sensitive data.’
a lot of its customers in early discovery and of ELN software. ‘Currently, there are a iPad ELN has conceptually agreed a
aBor
L
research, and that they’re more comfortable number of different vendors supplying partnership with American company,
having a separate environment.’ different version of ELNs that are not LabLynx, which supplies a web-based LIMS
Symyx’s hosted ELN is based on the compatible with each other,’ he says. ‘SaaS product. Polonsky makes the distinction
servers and the environment it has been could help standardise ELN systems, but between the type of data stored on a LIMS
using on its DiscoveryGate platform for the this is a possibility for further in the future.’ with that stored on an ELN: ‘ELNs are more
past seven years and is supported by Switch DeltaSoft, based in Hillsborough, NJ, US, research-oriented than LIMS software,
Communications Group, an information provides a SaaS ELN offering developed which is more concerned with managing
storage and protection specialist. As well as from its web-based enterprise ELN. routine information.’
5
LIG10 pp04-07 Saas.indd 5 18/11/09 17:34:54
Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32