March 7, 2002 | The stunning convergence of information technology and life sciences research is transforming the landscape of the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, among many others. The biggest challenge facing life sciences researchers today is how to manage and interpret the copious quantities of biological, chemical and clinical data exploding out of academic and industrial institutions, while simultaneously taking advantage of myriad new targets and technologies for improving human health.
The IT community has been quick to react to this astonishing opportunity. Many familiar names from the computing world, including Compaq, IBM, and Oracle, have already signaled their commitment by providing supercomputers and databases to store and analyze huge volumes of genomic and proteomic data. Countless other firms around the world are developing a dazzling array of hardware and software technologies to spur biomedical research and expedite drug discovery.
For the inaugural issue of Bio-IT World, we are pleased to present a compendium of champions of the Bio-IT landscape. This is a candid view of 60 influential companies working at the interface of life sciences and information technology, expressed in the words of each company’s CEO or another senior executive.
For convenience, we have divided these 60 companies into seven broad categories:
• Computing & Computer Architecture
• Informatics Tools & Data
• Life Sciences Applications & Services
• Storage & Data Management
• Life Sciences Equipment & Services
• Systems Integration & Consulting
• Knowledge Management
Our goal for this first Bio-IT World Champions report is to chart the landscape of the Bio-IT arena, not to try to provide an exhaustive directory. (Indeed, the term champion was selected for its definition of advocate rather than winner—time will judge the latter.) We should note that in some cases, responses did not arrive before we went to press, while in others efforts were complicated by key personnel changes. A table listing all of the responding companies and the complete set of questions can be found on pages 80-82. The full, updated collection of surveys can be found at our web site: www.bio-ITworld.com.
We think this Bio-IT Champions survey provides an exceptional view of the priorities and challenges facing the bio-IT community. We hope you agree, and welcome your feedback at Kevin_Davies@bio-itworld.com.