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OSSI Helps Remedy Data Access Issues at Bristol-Myers Squibb
The Challenge: Information in Isolation
Technology is vital to the business and science of the Pharmaceutical Research Institute (PRI), a drug discovery group within healthcare giant Bristol-Myers Squibb. PRI's systems must capture vast amounts of scientific data not only to share findings internally, but also to meet the requirements of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and foreign regulatory agencies.
Yet, a review of information needs and workflow at PRI found its chemists, biologists, physicians, and clinicians were wasting too much time looking for information. Data they needed was often stored on a departmental server, a colleague's workstation, or in another lab. The internal review also found different kinds of data within PRI required different storage and access strategies.
An added challenge: PRI was required to file plans for its new information system with the FDA before it could begin an upgrade. To pass regulatory muster, the system would have to be robust and scalable enough to store files for at least 65 years.
The Solution: Design a Central Data Repository
Bristol-Myers Squibb's IT group determined to build a central repository for mission-critical documents, files, and databases that would give PRI scientists access to the data they needed. With the client's vision in mind, OSSI developed a storage strategy that included a wide range of existing hardware – such as SGI, Sun, and Cray computers – geographically distributed across PRI facilities.
OSSI storage experts then installed and configured similar storage components at each PRI research facility. Each configuration includes:
- a 400-500GB MetaStor RAID array, running off a dual processor Sun Ultra Enterprise 450 server;
- DLTtape™ units from Mountaingate and ATL Products;
- HP 320 SureStore optical jukeboxes; and
- LSC's SAM-FS Hierarchical Storage Management software to move files from one storage medium to another based on configurable criteria.
OSSI's storage solutions passed the FDA review without incident.
Results: Demonstrated ROI and Data Integrity
Today, PRI's storage system supports over 40 different Oracle databases and a critical Documentum document management system with full-text search indexes in a 24/7 environment. More than 4,000 users move and access information daily – accessibility that has resulted in a 20 percent improvement in productivity.