New integration capabilities for the Platform for Science
One of the building blocks of the digital transformation is digital connectivity. In the connected laboratory, all of the essential instruments and systems communicate and share data. Digital connectivity enables the scientist to track samples, view test results and raw data, manage Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), monitor supplies and instrument performance, and demonstrate compliance with applicable regulations using one system, often a laboratory information management system (LIMS). Digital connectivity helps automate lab workflows, eliminating manual steps for improved efficiency and reduced errors. By automating the routine tasks, the connected laboratory gives scientists the opportunity to realize the value of all the scientific data in their labs.
Achieving system integration in the lab
The technical challenges to achieving digital connectivity are significant. Each instrument vendor has its own approach to sharing data. Some instruments can produce a file containing result data, while others use a database to store results. Modern instruments might connect to a cloud-native LIMS software solution to share data, while legacy instruments might keep data on-premises in proprietary data formats. To achieve a connected lab, scientists need tools to overcome technology differences. As laboratories pursue the benefits of a cloud-first approach to the IT infrastructure, they must also find ways to leverage their existing on-premises LIMS software systems and instruments. Only then can the laboratory have a complete picture of its scientific data, driving insights and informed decisions.
Integration Manager – a software integration tool
Thermo Scientific ™ Integration Manager ™ software is a tool designed to facilitate this connectivity. Integration Manager software includes all the tools to build the pipeline between cloud-native and on-premises instruments and systems, and the tools to translate data from the source format into a format the destination can consume. Once configured, Integration Manager software operates autonomously, sending notifications when an issue requires attention.
The latest product release provides bi-directional connectivity between cloud native solutions like Thermo Fisher™ Platform for Science™ software and on-premises instruments and systems. With Integration Manager software, the Platform for Science software user can easily and securely send experiment data from the cloud to on-premises software like a chromatography data system (CDS) with the click of a button. Once the chromatography testing is complete, the results are digitally transmitted back to the Platform for Science software. Integration Manager software maps the results directly to the appropriate experiments in the Platform for Science software. By linking these systems, Integration Manager software minimizes data entry errors and boosts lab efficiency.
Connecting instruments to LIMS software
This is just one example of the connectivity available with Integration Manager software. Once data is available in Integration Manager software, it can be shared with any connected instrument and system. Integration Manager software can also push data into any system with an HTTP-based API, which is common in cloud native solutions.
Integration Manager software is already used connecting hundreds of instruments and external systems to the LIMS. The expanded capabilities of Integration Manager software complement our existing Platform for Science software integration services like Thermo Scientific™ Core Connect™ software. Core Connect software is a suite of software integration services designed to make data in Platform for Science software available to be analyzed, used, and shared. Core Connect software meets the needs of developers and end users in scientific industries who need to integrate scientific data without adding complexity to their enterprise architectures.
Visit the Platform for Science, Integration Manager and Core Connect software product pages for more information on how these tools help drive the digital transformation.
Mike Ryan is a Product Marketing Manager at Thermo Fisher Scientific. His focus is defining digital connectivity solutions supporting the connected laboratory, accelerating scientific discoveries and streamlining lab operations.
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