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Discover how Semaphore empowered a leading Informatics Provider with Scientific Software Development
Contact usIn 2020, Semaphore was approached by a leading vendor of a biotechnology informatics solution who needed to grow the capacity of their customer engineering team. This team is responsible for customizing their solution for high complexity enterprise customers. The customer engineering team is a vital component of the vendor’s strategy to extend market reach through expert customization of the existing product. The Semaphore team continues to support this strategy with a dedicated, full-time team provided via a convenient, cost-effective engagement model.
To support growth, the company required highly skilled engineers with solid enterprise software experience plus laboratory domain expertise. In addition, the customer engineering team workload was very difficult to predict leading the company to explore flexible hiring models over traditional hiring. These challenges called for an outside resource to fulfill both a technical leadership role in designing implementations as well as a hands-on delivery role that would enable the company to grow rapidly through extending its offerings and attracting new clients. The company engaged Semaphore Solutions to support augmentation of the platform for existing clients and to custom tailor solutions for new clients. A core team of four senior engineers with decades of experience in systems design and laboratory implementation joined the vendor’s team to plan, execute, and continuously support customer projects. These experts also contributed to development of best practices, design patterns, and other productivity and quality improvements.
During the initial ramp-up phase, Semaphore team members were assigned to several projects and assimilated as full time members of the team, and given access to all the resources, knowledge and training for successful onboarding.
By combining the expertise and strategic thinking of a consultant with the practical on-the-ground execution of a contingent staffing assignment, the company was able to scale up quickly, meet its immediate project needs, and find additional ongoing value through the convenient staff augmentation model. Following the successful completion of the initial projects, the expert resources placed by Semaphore Solutions have played a much larger role in the operation of the company’s ongoing development efforts —applying their extensive experience and the knowledge acquired during their time working with the company to continuously generate value in form of leading, participating and contributing the important projects, helping to attract new clients and enhancing the offerings to existing clients. Thanks to their broad knowledge bases, all resources secured by Semaphore Solutions continue to engage the company through an extended full-time contingent staffing arrangement, and the company’s will to extend the contract for the 3rd time—is the best testament to the convenience and cost effectiveness of a quality staff in a sophisticated augmentation model when combined with niche life science expertise.
By combining the expertise and strategic thinking of a consultant with the practical on-the-ground execution of a contingent staffing assignment, the company was able to scale up quickly, meet its immediate project needs, and find additional ongoing value through the convenient staff augmentation model. Following the successful completion of the initial projects, the expert resources placed by Semaphore Solutions have played a much larger role in the operation of the company’s ongoing development efforts —applying their extensive experience and the knowledge acquired during their time working with the company to continuously generate value in form of leading, participating and contributing the important projects, helping to attract new clients and enhancing the offerings to existing clients. Thanks to their broad knowledge bases, all resources secured by Semaphore Solutions continue to engage the company through an extended full-time contingent staffing arrangement, and the company’s will to extend the contract for the 3rd time—is the best testament to the convenience and cost effectiveness of a quality staff in a sophisticated augmentation model when combined with niche life science expertise.
Over time, team structure evolved to best meet shifting customer demands. For example, two Semaphore team members soon formed a sub-team to independently customize a client solution. At a later date, another sub-team was formed including two of Semaphore team members to build a new subsystem for which many of the company’s clients expressed direct interest. A beta version of the subsystem was released successfully and the company attracted a list of interested clients.
The company now benefits from an established Semaphore team, capable of taking on the full scope of customer engineering responsibilities, including maintaining and upgrading existing projects and actively participating in new cutting edge development efforts.
In the rapidly evolving world of biotechnology and laboratory informatics, organizations must balance innovation with scalability. As demand for tailored solutions grows, the ability to rapidly expand engineering capacity—without compromising expertise or efficiency—becomes a critical differentiator. This case highlights the importance of having access to skilled professionals who not only understand enterprise software but also possess deep laboratory domain knowledge. By leveraging external expertise, the company was able to scale operations, improve implementation quality, and enhance customer satisfaction without the delays and risks associated with traditional hiring.
Beyond immediate operational benefits, this approach reinforces the broader trend of strategic partnerships in informatics. Companies that recognize the value of specialized, on-demand expertise can stay ahead of market demands, reduce implementation friction, and continuously refine their offerings. This case underscores how the right collaboration model can enable biotech and informatics vendors to meet complex customer needs while maintaining agility in an ever-changing landscape.
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