Biomedical research in the Cloud: considerations for researchers and organizations moving to (or adding) cloud...

Area of Science:

• Biomedical research
• Computational science
• Data science

Background:

• Exponential growth in biomedical research data necessitates scalable storage and compute solutions.
• Increasing demand for enhanced collaboration and data sharing to improve research reproducibility.
• Cloud computing has emerged as a viable solution for many research needs.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the advantages of cloud computing in biomedical and computational research.
• To examine the considerations, including pros and cons, for adopting cloud resources.
• To assess cloud adoption scenarios for individual researchers, teams, consortia, and large organizations.

Main Methods:

• Exploratory analysis of cloud computing benefits.
• Discussion of scalability, on-demand resources, collaboration, security, and compliance.
• Scenario-based evaluation of cloud adoption for diverse research entities.

Main Results:

• Cloud computing provides scalable, on-demand resources for storage and computation.
• It facilitates collaboration, supports virtual work, and offers robust security and compliance.
• Cloud adoption is not universally optimal and involves non-trivial costs and considerations.

Conclusions:

• Cloud computing presents significant benefits for biomedical research data management and collaboration.
• A thorough evaluation of costs, benefits, and specific research needs is crucial before adoption.
• The suitability of cloud solutions varies depending on the scale and requirements of the research endeavor.