QED Farms Out IT

QED Farms Out IT

A pharmaceutical research organisation which has offices around the world has farmed out its IT.
 
QED Clinical Services is a Contract Research Organisation (CRO) which conducts clinical trials for the biggest names in the pharmaceutical industry. It is using the IT Farm’s Web-based IT for its offices as far afield as Russia, India and China so they can share information in real time and handle sensitive data communication in a very secure way – which is of paramount importance to its clients.  
 
From its UK-base in Milton Keynes, QED Clinical Services specialises in managing clinical monitoring, trial submissions and auditing for drug development processes in areas including oncology, CNS, cardiology, immunology and metabolic disorders.
 
According to managing director, Thomas Ogorka, any delays to its managing or reporting work on projects could potentially cost millions of pounds  so having an IT infrastructure which was both extremely reliable and that could be accessed by its offices across the world was critical to its operation.
 
“We are very responsive to the needs of global pharmaceutical and biotech sponsors and understand the importance of the work we carry out on their behalf and we have to have systems in place that simply cannot fail,” he said.
 
“Our business has experienced considerable growth and we currently have more than 25 offices around the world. We could have gone with a conventional IT system which we either managed ourselves or was managed for us from our base in Milton Keynes but it didn’t make sense.
 
“We chose the IT Farm because they are at the forefront of new Online technology which will soon become the way that all companies operate their IT because it’s extremely reliable, flexible, very cost effective and means we don’t have any of the hassle or headaches of having a traditional IT infrastructure.”
 
The IT Farm is the first of a new generation of Web-based IT providers and its services enable QED Clinical Services to access all its programs and data through a secure website from any PC, laptop or Mac with a broadband connection.
 
QED Clinical Services does not need to run its own servers or install software on any of its PC’. All of its teams around the world can access e-mail, file sharing, data back up and full use of virtually any Windows program, including the Microsoft Office 2007 suite,  by logging on to IT Farm’s secure website.
 
The move towards Web-based IT such as the IT Farm was strengthened last week when Microsoft announced that its next upgrade of Office software, dubbed Office 14, will include a version for use inside a Web browser. So the contract with QED Clinical Services is another major coup for the IT Farm – which was launched in September - as it continues to take a significant share of an emerging market which is rapidly becoming the norm for all firms to run their IT this way.
 
“Our contract with QED Clinical Services is another feather in the cap of our business,” said IT Farm CEO, Dr James Huntington.
 
“It is very gratifying that QED Clinical Services recognised the benefits of this emerging technology and is already using it to great effect to run its business all over the world.”
 
For more information please visit www.itfarm.co.uk.