“It’s like rebuilding an operating theatre while surgery is being performed”
Fabric Genomics
FABRIC GENOMICS lives at the cutting edge of Bioinformatics. Their ambition is to unlock the human genome to answer the question, “What’s causing the illness in this patient?”
To provide that diagnosis, FABRIC needs to analyse unimaginable amounts of DNA data. This includes homing in to analyse and compare specific genetic variants, then extract that information and present it in ways that can be used by health professionals to make critical decisions.
When FABRIC created their Cloud-based genomic analysis technology, it was to provide diagnostic insights for a small number of specialists. Then the commercial possibilities dawned on them. What if other health professionals could subscribe and use the software to unlock their own DNA diagnoses?
That’s when FABRIC encountered scalability problems. Their software architecture, adequate for handling FABRIC’s earlier needs, was unable to carry the increased data and analysis load placed on it commercially.
THEY CAME TO NETVALUE FOR HELP.
Our first task was to explore and comprehend the coding, from UI surface down to architectural bedrock. A five-person crew discovered inefficiencies and also found that huge volumes of data were being stored unnecessarily. Not only was this overloading the system, it also escalated Cloud storage and processing costs to a degree that made the enterprise untenable.
THE CLOCK IS RUNNING DOWN
Not only was the system inefficient, it also relied on technology that was soon-to-be obsolete. That set the clock ticking. The question was, where do we start?
Turning data into diagnosis
“It’s like rebuilding an operating theatre while surgery is being performed”
Clinical interpretation, not just data analysis
Fabric’s software speeds up diagnostics across the range of clinical applications.
ELIMINATING TECH DEBT
Our first task was to eliminate the most critical pieces of tech debt, the coding that kept FABRIC from building new features onto their product. After clearing this debt, developing new features was quick.
While dealing with the tech debt, we also gained an in depth understanding of the existing architecture. This enabled us to develop our own architectural roadmap. Not only would that roadmap structure and prioritise our work, it would also help NetValue’s software team to correctly develop aspects of the system to meet FABRIC’s business objectives.
ONE STEP AT A TIME
Reworking bioinformatic software takes time. The major headache to be fixed was moving FABRIC off the obsolete technology. Before this big task could be done, smaller milestones had to be sequentially reached.
After methodically working through these mini projects, NetValue was able to run FABRIC’s complex system on contemporary code.
To minimise disruption to existing clients, we employed a detailed Agile strategy. This allowed us to develop and test new software on our own machines before integrating them into FABRIC’s system in The Cloud.
ON TIME. AS REQUESTED.
FABRIC’s technological framework was upgraded and future-proofed before the software expiry date. It was, in the words of FABRIC CEO Martin Reese, “One of the fastest UI developments we've ever had.”