LABORATORY INFORMATICS GUIDE 2022
A digital journey
Sophia Ktori looks at the role software companies play in driving digital transformation in the laboratory
D
etermining the best approach to a digital transformation effort can be a confusing and
complex task for most organisations, suggested Dave Dorsett, principal software architect at information technology consultancy, Astrix. ‘No single approach exists to transport you from a current state of paper processes, siloed technologies and inconsistent data sets to the digitally transformed laboratory of the future. The reality is the digitisation journey will be different for everyone, based upon the unique set of circumstances surrounding your business.’ However, three pillars build the foundation for all successful digital transformation initiatives: people, process and technology. Think of the example of a three-
legged stool, he continued. All three legs must be present and solid for the stool to provide support and its intended function for long-term use. ‘The most important “leg” (or pillar) for the support and sustainability of your digital transformation strategy is people,’ said Dorsett. ‘Having the right leadership in place is absolutely critical to providing a culture of innovation to foster the dramatic change that will take place in your organisation. The people within your organisation are essential not only to carry out the effort itself, but also must embrace the changes that will continue to drive your digital transformation strategy.’ The second pillar, process, is the biggest single tool necessary for digital transformation. Achieving practical
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process analysis to support digital transformation means keeping your eye on the goal, not on the process itself, Dorsett maintained. ‘Basic operational process improvement opportunities are likely to be found across the organisation, and include eliminating the manual entry of data and automating what people are doing repeatedly. ‘Before embarking down the path
to directly eliminate these practices, take the time to determine what people are doing before and after. The key to creating a truly transformative environment is to develop a roadmap of your “as is” and “to be” future-state scientific processes, then mapping out the data from end to end.’ The third and final pillar of a
successful digital transformation strategy is technology. Perhaps one of the most commonly misunderstood elements of digital transformation programs is the tendency to focus on the operational systems within the laboratory: LIMS, ELN, CDS and SDMS, to name a few. ‘The goal is to address
the data created and consumed by the organisation, not to implement systems per se,’ Dorsett stressed. ‘It is not a “buy and deploy it” project: no vendor sells what is required to operate as a data- driven organisation.’ Accessibility of data is, Dorsett continued, ‘everything!’ Achieving a state of ‘analytics-ready’ is about R&D data flow throughout every aspect of your operations. ‘Siloed technologies and manual processes impede the flow and accessibility of data. Achieving seamless R&D data flow also has cultural requirements (data governance) and technical requirements (semantic tooling).’ Exponential growth in R&D data has, in addition, generated immense interest in whether and how R&D data may be used more effectively. ‘Efforts to become data-centric to enable “running with algorithms” and machine learning (ML) for predictive purposes have become commonplace,’ he added.
Iterative progress Digital transformation isn’t a linear
www.scientific-computing.com
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