laboratory informatics ➤
example, from initial information exchange through results dissemination, collaboration interfaces should control who has access to data, assuming that appropriate authentication functionality is in place.’ Extracting information from the system should also be controlled, for example, by limiting reporting outputs to assure that information cannot be inappropriately extracted from the system without permissions/authentication to do so. Te third consideration is functional
specialisation. ‘Oſtentimes, proprietary and confidential information is summarised using abstraction and transmitted using electronic documents,’ Anderson point out. He concurs with Weiss and Uzzo that email is not the most secure mode for the transfer of potentially sensitive data. ‘Organisations retain a very document-centric approach that relies on email for communication. But scientific information exchange requires specialised language. By embedding such specialised communication functionality directly into the collaboration system, one avoids the ‘portability’ risk that electronic documents exhibit. Te Spectrus platform, for example, offers specialised communication functionality for experimental summaries in analytical measurement sciences. We also offer the data translation tools that allow authorised users to read data that has been sent in proprietary formats.’
Benefits outweigh risks Tere is no indication that this growth in partnering will slow and, despite ongoing concerns about security and confidentiality, the industry recognises that the benefits of working with solution providers that offer specific expertise and IP far outweigh potential risks associated with exchanging sensitive data, notes Megean Schoenberg, director of product management, informatics, at PerkinElmer. ‘Cloud technologies have had a major part to play in facilitating collaborative models. Go back five years and organisations were worried about the perceived safety issues of using cloud technologies. Today, the industry is far more willing to leverage cloud-based informatics platforms for sharing research, workflows, results and analyses. Setting up collaborations in the cloud means that each party has access to the same informatics infrastructure. At the same time, data exchanged as part of the joint work or service activities is kept corralled in the cloud, helping to ensure that in-house systems are at much less risk of breach.’ Despite a huge focus on security and
confidentiality, email still remains one of the most frequently used methods for transferring information, both within and between organisations, Schoenberg comments. ‘We
14 SCIENTIFIC COMPUTING WORLD
Users can post comments and ‘like’ entities in the system, helping to ease collaboration
EMAIL REMAINS ONE OF THE MOST FREQUENTLY USED METHODS FOR TRANSFERRING INFORMATION, BOTH WITHIN AND BETWEEN ORGANISATIONS
don’t yet seem to have realised that emailing and texting from smartphones are major risks to data security, despite the widespread availability of encryption soſtware. Even emailing documents from one department to another within the same company poses a security issue. Security issues aside, sending emailed updates as Word files aſter the event doesn’t provide context, and doesn’t allow the sponsor organisation or collaborator to follow workflows and experiments as they happen in real time.’ PerkinElmer recognises the need for a
flexible informatics infrastructures that will support secure communication and data sharing between research partners, CROs and their clients. ‘Tinking particularly about the huge growth in outsourcing to CROs, we are working with clients to develop an environment that will allow sponsors rapidly to set up a web-hosted collaborative environment for their CROs,
which will enable secure communication and information exchange. Tese environments can then be closed down quickly when the relationship ends. Data is transferred into the platform for access, but only for as long as it is needed. It can then be pulled back down behind the corporate firewall.’
A quick-fit, cloud-based ELN Tis flexibility is important when you consider that R&D organisations oſten have their preferred CROs, contributors and partners, who they may work with over many years, but perhaps only for short periods at a time in any one project. ‘Using a quick-fit cloud- based ELN environment means that links can be shuttered when there is no ongoing collaboration, reducing the risk of accidental or intentional transfer of sensitive data, or of third parties accessing proprietary information. ‘ Te requirements to keep data secure
should not be an excuse to stifle collaboration and outsourcing, which have transformed the R&D sector and demonstrated huge benefits in terms of innovation, cost savings and successful development, Schoenberg stresses. ‘Security issues should not hamper the exchange of the very data that will inform decision making and drive a project forwards. Informatics providers have a major role to play in ensuring that the technologies are available to aid safe and secure communication and data flow.’ l
@scwmagazine l
www.scientific-computing.com
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 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44