Anyone who works with software for life sciences R&D has probably heard of the Pistoia Alliance, which counts among its members most of the large pharmaceutical companies. The organisation has lately been working on an app strategy, to help both vendors and customers design and build mobile apps and accompanying cloud-based services to make them more useful and more accessible to their customer base. And conversely making it easier for customers to help guide the way these products are built, in order to solve real problems. The strategy includes the creation of an enterprise app store, which provides an alternative way to deliver apps.

The details are starting to be unveiled. I’ve been helping out by providing technical expertise, since I have learned a few things by being in the middle of the action for the last several years. My blog entries kick this off (see part 1 and part 2; the secret ghost-writer is Deborah Ausman). If you’re interested in apps for life sciences R&D, and you’re not already a member of the Pistoia Alliance, you might want to start thinking about joining!