BT and Ulteo today announced that the two companies are now working closely together to help life sciences organizations use technology to create collaborative and secure analytical environments, leveraging BT for Life Sciences Cloud Compute solutions combined with Ulteo Open Virtual Desktop (OVD).
By combining BT’s Cloud Compute platform with the Ulteo OVD, life sciences companies can access a common platform that allows team members to remotely access large-scale projects – including data sets that extend to several petabytes – in a matter of seconds. In a traditional setting, a project of similar scale may take hours to load, and in many cases, requires significant logistical support to ship large hard drives to offices around the world.
The platform can be accessed directly from a user’s desktop, and provides an experience that looks and feels like a local application on the user’s computer. Three desktop environments will be supported and available to be delivered: Linux Gnome, Windows PC and a portal interface that will allow users to select from a list of applications in their web browser and open an application the same way they would on their desktop.
To manage sensitive patient data, the platform is also secured using federated identity management and controls that allow customers to control access to data by file type and clinical data record content. Additionally, the platform offers controls that allow users to view and work with data, but ensures that all information is ‘air locked’ within the system so that sensitive patient data can be accessed only as encrypted display information. Actual patient data never leaves the data center, ensuring that it cannot be removed or stolen.
The mutual goal for BT and Ulteo is to allow life sciences customers to focus on developing transformational medicine, without the worries and hassles of how to access large data sets and manage complex information sharing.
“What we’ve been able to create with BT is more than simply a remote desktop. It’s a powerful platform that allows users to quickly access and share massive amounts of data while maintaining a firewalled, secure environment,” said David Austin, VP Business Development at Ulteo.
Yury Rozenman, Business Development Director, BT for Life Sciences said, “We know that the users of these platforms are scientists first and foremost. By making it easier for them to quickly access and share information, we are helping to create an environment where they can focus on improving their drug development pipeline, while honoring medical privacy, and ultimately creating therapies that positively impact patients’ lives.”
