Reading through Michael’s previous blogs over the last few weeks has started me wandering along the topic of Web 2.0 and what the implications of this new era are for the biotechnology industry. Currently, the 2.0 concept has been largely focused on outsourcing in the IT industry with only minor forays into anything biological, and then only in the bioinformatics realm of molecular biology. In an article appearing on a mostly IT-related website, Arpit Kaushik, Founder & Director of Crystals Design Limited, pens the following words, “… some analysts … say we are already in the third wave of outsourcing, where 1.0 was about IT outsourcing, 2.0 was about business process outsourcing and 3.0 is about knowledge process outsourcing”. This might hold true for the IT industry, but where does it leave biotechnology. After all, the only difference between the two is the small point of biology!
Ah yes, biology. The study of nature and all her infinite twists and turns. A miracle that we’ve made it past 0.0. But surely in order to remain competitive and relevant in an ever changing world, biotechnology must embrace the technology aspect of its existence?
Enter 2.0 … the marriage of business efficiency and, dare I say it, biological function, bringing the biotechnology industry into the 21st century. And why not? It is, after all, about the improvement of process design. And biology is synonymous with process. Combine that with advances in current technology, the importance of outsourcing and … presto! Biotechnology 2.0.
But I digress. That is a topic for a later discussion.
In my pursuit to begin understanding the implications of 2.0 in the biotechnology industry, I undertook to wade through the mountain of literature available on the subject. As I read, whether overtly or (mostly) subliminally, I began to hear the mantra “Collaborative Outsourcing 2.0”. Then it struck me … biology is all about collaboration – one system working with (or within) another. We know, subject to philosophical debate, that nothing exists as a closed system in nature. So why should a business operate entirely independently? For that matter, why should the biotechnology industry? It would seem that the time for independence in the style of "How The West Was Won" is a thing of the past and we must begin to embrace Ubuntu.
The Outsourcing Institute has compiled the results of several interesting surveys conducted on the topic of outsourcing. These include “Top 10 Reasons Companies Outsource”, “Top 10 Factors in Vendor Selection” and “Top 10 Factors for Successful Outsourcing”. An interesting trend which emerged from the last survey is that over half of the factors were immediately dependant on collaboration.
Thus, begins the quest to understand “Collaborative Outsourcing 2.0”. Over the next few weeks, we will delve deeper into this subject and (hopefully) come to a well-balanced and profitable understanding of this new wave of business.
Ah yes, biology. The study of nature and all her infinite twists and turns. A miracle that we’ve made it past 0.0. But surely in order to remain competitive and relevant in an ever changing world, biotechnology must embrace the technology aspect of its existence?
Enter 2.0 … the marriage of business efficiency and, dare I say it, biological function, bringing the biotechnology industry into the 21st century. And why not? It is, after all, about the improvement of process design. And biology is synonymous with process. Combine that with advances in current technology, the importance of outsourcing and … presto! Biotechnology 2.0.
But I digress. That is a topic for a later discussion.
In my pursuit to begin understanding the implications of 2.0 in the biotechnology industry, I undertook to wade through the mountain of literature available on the subject. As I read, whether overtly or (mostly) subliminally, I began to hear the mantra “Collaborative Outsourcing 2.0”. Then it struck me … biology is all about collaboration – one system working with (or within) another. We know, subject to philosophical debate, that nothing exists as a closed system in nature. So why should a business operate entirely independently? For that matter, why should the biotechnology industry? It would seem that the time for independence in the style of "How The West Was Won" is a thing of the past and we must begin to embrace Ubuntu.
The Outsourcing Institute has compiled the results of several interesting surveys conducted on the topic of outsourcing. These include “Top 10 Reasons Companies Outsource”, “Top 10 Factors in Vendor Selection” and “Top 10 Factors for Successful Outsourcing”. An interesting trend which emerged from the last survey is that over half of the factors were immediately dependant on collaboration.
Thus, begins the quest to understand “Collaborative Outsourcing 2.0”. Over the next few weeks, we will delve deeper into this subject and (hopefully) come to a well-balanced and profitable understanding of this new wave of business.
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