Development of dedicated system and Business Intelligence platform in Managed Services cooperation model

The representative of the pharmaceutical industry was looking for dedicated teams for the projects in the area of software development, Quality Assurance, as well as BI systems and data warehouses maintenance.

Project description

The HealthTech industry, including pharma, has strict product security regulations and laws. For this reason, some of the main activities of organizations include the development of systems for collecting, processing, and analyzing data, especially in terms of side effects in patients.

The need  

The client needed support in terms of team building for projects in three areas:

• Development and maintenance of Oracle data warehouse in which BI/ETL specialists are involved.
• Quality Assurance services for Business Intelligence application which requires competences in the field of software testing, BI, and Big Data.
• Development of custom applications in Java technology.

Since 2012, when the cooperation has started, about fifty Inetum’s IT specialists have joined three dedicated teams.

Registration of side effects  

The project aimed to expand the system for side effects registration and data processing with new functionalities. The first application serves registration and classification of adverse effects that occur in patients. The other one collects the data into packages and sends them to state authorities. Each day, about 2500 users take advantage of the applications developed by the Java dedicated team from Inetum.

The cooperation is based on the Managed Services model that allows for development team scaling. For the management, ITIL methods and SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) are used, especially in the areas of Incident Management, Change Management and Problem Management. The project team consists of Front-End developers, Java developers, Oracle engineers, testers, support specialists and technical specialists.

“What makes Inetum different from other companies is that their staff turnover is very low, and this is something that our clients appreciate.”   

Service Delivery Manager  

Challenges  

• In the quarterly release cycle, there is a high frequency of updates, especially for new functionalities.
• Head management of the IT department, as well as business stakeholders, are engaged in the CCB (Change Management Board) meetings.
• The whole process of development has to be conducted as per SOP procedures, from requirements gathering to building implementation packages.
• Validation in terms of change implementation requires detailed documentation.
• The team cooperates with many teams from all over the world, including Spain, India, and the USA.

Data warehouse maintenance  

Registered data about adverse effects are provided by patients as well as specialized doctors that collaborate with the client. In the EMEA region, new databases are being created continuously which calls for a good working maintenance process. The client uses a vast set of tools such as Tableau, SAP Business Objects, Oracle, Informatica PowerCenter and Informatica Data Quality to provide high-quality reports and information.

Inetum’s team is responsible for ensuring stability and development of existing Business Intelligence tools, including creating new reports and management dashboards. The team also takes care of ETL processes and the Oracle data warehouse. The majority of specialists in the team are Oracle and BI/ETL experts.

“We track KPIs such as time of response and delivery time. Inetum delivers on-time 98% of the time and tickets that are closed late are usually because of things outside of their control. (…) The communication is on a great level, and I rarely have to wait more than 5–10 minutes to get an answer.”

Service Delivery Manager  

Business benefits  

• Team of experienced engineers with high-level skills in their respective specialization as well as in niche technologies.
• Long-term cooperation with the nearshoring service provider having good knowledge of client’s processes and needs.
• High motivation and engagement of specialists who take care of the client’s business.

Technologies  

Depending on projects, there are various stacks of technologies and tools but generally, the teams use Tableau, SAP Business Objects, Oracle, Informatica PowerCenter and Informatica Data Quality, Java, JavaScript, Angular, SQL Developer, Jira, HP ALM, PL/SQL Scripts, JMeter, Postman.

About the client

One of the world’s largest BioTech companies and the leader in medical diagnostics.