3 Ways Enterprise Search Revolutionizes Innovation in Life Sciences

As organizations across the Life Sciences face the particularly daunting challenge of grappling with an ever-growing volume of complex and diverse data, enterprise search has emerged as a game-changing tool. In this sector, where available data stores can feel as impossibly vast as the ocean, enterprise search solutions can have a transformational effect. They accelerate research and drug discovery; They make Clinical Trial data analysis much easier; They bring impressive efficiency to drug development for faster time-to-market; And they create a connected workplace with a 360-degree view. For all of these reasons and more, enterprise search can benefit not only the life sciences industry, but also the quality of life for patients worldwide.

Enterprise search helps solve the biggest challenges in Life Science

Constant advancements in research, development, and technology create a growing deluge of data for life sciences organizations. Often this data is fragmented and dispersed across multiple siloed systems, making it difficult to access or derive insights. The lack of integration between systems also stymies collaboration and limits knowledge sharing.

But the sheer volume of data is only part of the challenge. Organizations in this sector must also contend with the complexity and diversity of data types. Crucial research information may be found in a variety of formats. Research and development notes (like those in ELN), lab reports (including the data recorded in LIMS systems), and Clinical data (often found across SAS databases) resides in various applications and locations. Important insights may be buried in scientific publications. Patient data exists in various medical records. Other crucial data may be found in emails, recorded patient interviews, videos, or other unstructured sources.

There is tremendous value in extracting usable insights from these sources, but the sheer volume and size of life science organizations makes it difficult to consolidate this data and make sense of it. As a result, organizations are unable to derive the full value of what they possess. Research and drug discovery processes are slowed down, which leads to longer development times for new treatments or devices. The difficulty of trying to innovate and bring new treatments to market is only growing.

To overcome these challenges, life sciences organizations need to implement advanced search solutions. Enterprise search breaks down silos, simplifies the access to information, and offers a 360-degree view to users. By facilitating collaboration and surfacing insights from vast amounts of complex data, it speeds up research and helps bring new treatments to market faster.

Enterprise search accelerates research and drug discovery

One of the key benefits of enterprise search is the way it provides fast and efficient access to information via a mechanism that any modern worker is familiar with: the humble search bar. While this makes the process simple for researchers to find what they need, the magic happens behind the scenes. Enterprise Search does much more for your organization than a simple web search by improving the entire search process with the ability to index and consolidate data from all your most important data sources – Private (internal systems like ELNs, LIMS, SAS datasets, Sharepoints, O365, etc.), Paid (Elsevier, Clarivate, etc.), or Public (internet sources, ClinicalTrials.gov, etc.). Researchers and scientists can find information faster, no matter where it is located or what format it takes. The intuitive search experience saves valuable time and allows users to focus on their core objectives.

Enterprise search leverages advanced technologies such as machine learning and natural language processing to develop a deep understanding of content and context. These sophisticated capabilities can reveal insightful trends, patterns, and relationships the the raw data would have otherwise hidden.

It also gives authorized users a connected view of everything from molecules and genetics, to diseases, drugs, and patient data. This helps surface valuable insights hidden in both structured and unstructured data. Such a data-driven approach enhances decision-making to provide rapid new discoveries and breakthroughs.

Scientists, researchers, and other experts can also work together more effectively using enterprise search. Whether it’s because collaborators are in another team, department, Contract Research Organization, or a newly merged company, Enterprise Search breaks down information silos by making everything searchable through one centralized interface. This easy access to shared knowledge encourages interdisciplinary collaboration, which leads to improved research outcomes and quicker drug discovery.

Enterprise search streamlines drug development for faster time-to-market

For life sciences organizations, time is of the essence. The capability to bring innovative treatments to market faster has immense value. Enterprise search accelerates the entire innovation process by ensuring that researchers can quickly locate important information and draw connections that might otherwise go unnoticed, realizing significant time savings in the drug development cycle as they do so.

The ease of finding and sharing information also aids development. Scientists, researchers, and other stakeholders in the drug development process can share knowledge. This makes the entire drug development process more efficient, further reducing time-to-market.

The speed and efficiency of enterprise search helps researchers uncover new applications for existing medications. Advanced search engine technology lets researchers tap into a wealth of information, including research papers and clinical trials. It delivers more relevant results, helping researchers discover new connections and insights. This offers new opportunities to find original off-label uses for existing drugs.

Enterprise search also helps organizations stay in compliance with regulatory requirements. It becomes much simpler to respond to regulatory audits, inquiries, and reporting requirements. Data is easier to locate and retrieve when needed, which reduces the risk of delays in the approval process.

Enterprise search creates a connected workplace with 360-degree views

Enterprise search is foundational for creating a connected workplace. It works seamlessly across various technologies, from electronic health records (EHRs) to customer relationship management (CRM) systems. It incorporates data from all sources and makes it available at a single, unified point. This centralized access gives users a 360-degree view of the information they need, no matter what form it takes or where it resides.

It also allows for personalization and role-based search experiences. An enterprise search system can be tailored to individual users to deliver relevant and contextual information based on the user's specific role, areas of responsibility, and requirements. Users get an unobstructed view of the knowledge they need to achieve their objectives. This empowers them to work more efficiently and be more innovative which in turn drives productivity higher across the organization.

This capability makes it fast and easy for users to share resources across the organization. Enterprise search breaks down information silos to support knowledge sharing. It offers every user a complete 360-degree view. Employees across departments, teams, and geographic locations can all work together more effectively.

Users have a greater ability than ever before to find and use the data they need to do their jobs, avoiding the massive time lost searching for information that so many other companies experience daily. They can work more effectively and make more intelligent decisions. This unprecedented level of visibility helps optimize workflows and processes to make them more efficient to reduce delays and bottlenecks… or avoid them altogether.

Enterprise search solves the unique challenges of life science organizations

Life science organizations face multifaceted and interconnected challenges. Vast amounts of data are generated and stored across various systems. Important information is fragmented across siloed systems. Data types are complex and diverse. Workers and experts are distributed around the world. Regulatory compliance requirements are involved, high-stakes,and subject to change.

Enterprise search offers life science organizations a powerful solution to unlock the full value of their data. It accelerates the drug discovery process by streamlining the access to information. It enables researchers to make informed decisions faster and speeds up drug development for faster time-to-market. It builds a connected workplace with a 360-degree view by giving users a comprehensive view of the information they need. It fosters collaboration and knowledge sharing across the organization. And it reduces time to data retrieval to improve overall efficiency and productivity.

As the life science sector continues to evolve, the importance of data-driven decision-making will keep growing. Adopting enterprise search is imperative for organizations to drive innovation, efficiency, and productivity. Ultimately, enterprise search not only benefits the industry but also patient outcomes worldwide, which has a transformative impact on global health.