eClinical businesses must capture and manage large amounts of data from clinical trials and this requires a system capable of handling the load. Phase Forward is among the largest eClinical companies and, given the competitiveness of the market, it is important its systems run efficiently.
To achieve this it has turned to BMC, which will automate the provisioning, deployment and management of servers in its data centre and improve operational efficiency.
Thomas Winston, vice president of global technical operations at Phase Forward, explained that as the industry shifts from paper-based to internet-enabled data collection it is “imperative that we continue to invest in our hosting technology to meet customer demand”.
The deal with BMC will also help Phase Forward to “automate and standardise many of [its] key technology processes”, which will allow it to cost-efficiently scale the business. Winston anticipates Phase Forward making substantial cost savings over the next three years.
Furthermore, BMC is helping Phase Forward deliver simplified auditing and reporting to ensure the eClinical firm is in compliance with regulatory guidelines.
Rising demand, rising costs
The improvements to Phase Forward’s infrastructure have in part been driven by the growth of the company. In its last financial results the business’ revenues grew by 29 per cent.
However, it was hit by rising operating costs, which increased by 45 per cent, and this resulted in its net income declining. Adoption of BMC’s technology is predicted to cuts costs over the next three years and this could help Phase Forward’s net income match the trend of its revenues.