The other day, at Web 2.0, Jeff Huber, Google’s VP of Engineering, said something that really resonated with me
What we see is applications fundamentally changing. Just like the model for content changed from monolithic sites, now applications are going to be feeds and containers.
A lot that you have heard here is about platforms and who is going to win. That is Paleolithic thinking. The Web has already won. The web is the Platform. So let’s go build the programmable Web.
The internet as platform is going to become a recurring series here on bbgm, adding to the one on personalized medicine. There are two areas that I am fascinated by and “think” that I know something about.
Anyway, lets start with a simple example of the web as platform in the life science space. Via GenomeWeb, I learnt about Assay Depot, an online marketplace for “drug discovery services”. According to the site
By serving as a large repository of “on-demand” drug discovery services, the Assay Depot marketplace levels the scientific playing field, enabling drug researchers from around the world and in laboratories large and small to access the data they need. In addition to bringing together multiple research service providers onto one website, the Assay Depot also carries out core business functions needed to run a successful drug discovery service business, including marketing, billing, service agreement negotiation, sample management and data reporting. In this unique way, the Assay Depot offers service providers the opportunity to increase revenue and gain market share with only a minimal investment in additional business infrastructure.
If I understand correctly, Assay Depot is providing as an online resource for service providers and outsources services, essentially acting as an virtual laboratory and assay broker. The company has already raised $1.8M in series A financing.
The companies platform has not yet been launched, but there was a reason I chose it today. Like Amazon.com, Assay Depot would do well to provide APIs that can make it very convenient for service providers and customers requiring services. I can easily see an IT group at a pharma company setting up an internal store built on top of an Assay Design API that adds a company-level business layer on top of marketplace services. Similarly service providers can also benefit from the APIs and build widgets, etc that can funnel business their way.
Why do I think Assay Depot is likely to do it right and get the web … just look at the blog. They have Ruby on Rails, Ubuntu and Virtual Computing as categories.
I’ll be following Assay Depot closely. Is the industry ready for virtual services model?
The web as platform: A bioassay marketplace
The other day, at Web 2.0, Jeff Huber, Google’s VP of Engineering, said something that really resonated with me
The internet as platform is going to become a recurring series here on bbgm, adding to the one on personalized medicine. There are two areas that I am fascinated by and “think” that I know something about.
By serving as a large repository of “on-demand” drug discovery services, the Assay Depot marketplace levels the scientific playing field, enabling drug researchers from around the world and in laboratories large and small to access the data they need. In addition to bringing together multiple research service providers onto one website, the Assay Depot also carries out core business functions needed to run a successful drug discovery service business, including marketing, billing, service agreement negotiation, sample management and data reporting. In this unique way, the Assay Depot offers service providers the opportunity to increase revenue and gain market share with only a minimal investment in additional business infrastructure.
If I understand correctly, Assay Depot is providing as an online resource for service providers and outsources services, essentially acting as an virtual laboratory and assay broker. The company has already raised $1.8M in series A financing.
The companies platform has not yet been launched, but there was a reason I chose it today. Like Amazon.com, Assay Depot would do well to provide APIs that can make it very convenient for service providers and customers requiring services. I can easily see an IT group at a pharma company setting up an internal store built on top of an Assay Design API that adds a company-level business layer on top of marketplace services. Similarly service providers can also benefit from the APIs and build widgets, etc that can funnel business their way.
Why do I think Assay Depot is likely to do it right and get the web … just look at the blog. They have Ruby on Rails, Ubuntu and Virtual Computing as categories.
I’ll be following Assay Depot closely. Is the industry ready for virtual services model?
Technorati Tags: Assay Depot, Virtual Marketplace