In the age of the \u201clab of the future,\u201d companies are embarking on multi-year journeys of pursuing automation, connectivity, digital transformation, data standardization, and a plethora of other buzzwords. While these are all worthwhile endeavors, one of the first initiatives companies can focus on is connecting their lab to the cloud. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
What does it mean to connect to the cloud? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n A cloud-connected lab is a physical lab enhanced with Internet of Things (IoT) technologies that allow parts of the lab to go from edge to cloud. Going from edge to cloud means that edge or on-site devices such as instruments and sensors collect and process data sent to cloud-based servers (Microsoft Azure, AWS, Google Cloud) for storage, analysis, and visualization. Depending on the lab, the extent to which instruments, software, data, and people are connected to the cloud can vary. The more a lab is cloud-connected, the more contextualized data you can capture, analyze, and store.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Why should I connect to the cloud? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Cloud connectivity leads to several benefits related to operating and managing your labs. Specifically, you can leverage:<\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition, connecting to the cloud enables companies to leverage the significant advantages of computing power, deployment flexibility, and enhanced security infrastructure. <\/p>\n\n\n\n So, do I need a cloud lab?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Labs today can start leveraging the power of the cloud by using \u201ccloud labs,\u201d becoming a \u201ccloud-connected lab,\u201d or even a combination of both. While \u201ccloud lab\u201d and \u201ccloud-connected labs\u201d are often used interchangeably, key differences exist in how they are implemented.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A cloud lab is typically operated by an external vendor rather than in-house. In this case, scientific groups will ship their samples to this off-site lab for processing and analysis. As a result, these scientific teams do not own or maintain the instrumentation required for running their samples.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Outsourcing the operation and maintenance of a lab can be helpful for an early-stage company or scientific team with fewer team members and resources. However, companies that can invest in building their own physical labs or want to keep samples on-site can still bring their lab to the cloud. By bringing these capabilities in-house, groups can also achieve remote control of their lab, which is unlikely to be offered by cloud labs managing samples from multiple customers and labs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n How Artificial helps connect labs to the clouds<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Building a cloud-connected lab can be daunting, even for the largest organizations, which is why Artificial has created the Artificial Suite. The Artificial Suite makes it easy for companies to turn their labs into cloud-connected, smart labs:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
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