Digital technologies and data hold tremendous potential to unlock new possibilities for discovery and innovation. World-leading pharmaceutical, cosmetics, and agroscience organizations are embarking on a digitalization journey to meet the ever-growing need for harnessing the power of data. While this path may be challenging and demanding, it is the people driving this transformation who are at its core, emphasizing cross-functional collaboration and shared vision.

As a digital-first company, L’Oréal has been continuously developing robust processes, infrastructures, and organizations aiming to offer ever more effective products with the highest standards in quality and sustainability. With a strong commitment to scientific progress and innovation, particular attention has been paid to the digital transformation of its Research and Innovation centers. There, the collaborative aspect of the transformation process is of utmost importance.

As a part of these critical collaboration efforts, Discngine has played a crucial role in the data digitalization journey at L’Oréal research facilities by deploying a digitalized assistant to help labs easily and efficiently analyze their experiments. Our new goal was then to facilitate the migration of the local Discngine Assay screening data management software to the cloud, ensuring a smooth transition and aiming for enhanced efficiency. Together, we have achieved the advancement of research and innovation by enabling seamless access, analysis, and sharing of screening data.

In this story, we give insights from leaders on the project, including the Laboratory Manager at High-throughput screening labs, Ludwig Baux and Product Owner, Diane Genest, on their experience of the successful cloud migration and collaboration with Discngine.

The implementation of the Discngine Assay at L’Oréal and its usage with Ludwig Baux, HTS Laboratory Manager

How did you introduce Discngine Assay in your Lab?

Over a decade ago, we encountered significant challenges in effectively managing our screening data, primarily due to the limitations of our outdated legacy software. The existing system was difficult to both maintain and use, resulting in low data quality and slow performance. Consequently, we risked missing out on the benefits of modern technological advancements. Therefore, we decided to find a viable alternative to address those shortcomings. Despite evaluating various commercial solutions, none proved to be sufficiently adaptable for seamless integration into our laboratory system.

Given our established trust and prior successful collaborations with Discngine, we made the strategic decision to involve them in our ongoing laboratory mission. Their track record of delivering exceptional results on multiple projects at L’Oréal, coupled with their deep scientific expertise beyond mere software development skills, contributed to the final decision.

We collaborated closely to jointly develop the Discngine Assay software by introducing specific functionalities and interface features and deploying it as an on-premise solution. Now, our collaboration is evolving further as we continue to work together to ensure its future usage and Software as a Service (SaaS) migration, following our company's policy.

How does Discngine Assay solution help in your activity?

Primarily, our utilization of the software covers the evaluation of raw materials, data analysis, and result publication. Within this framework, two key expert roles come into play. First, the lab technicians are responsible for loading the data, performing the analysis, and ensuring data quality. As the lab manager, I conduct a thorough review and subsequently publish the results in the Discngine data warehouse.

The fact that this data analysis workflow is seamlessly integrated into a single platform and automated significantly saves us valuable time and empowers us to make informed decisions accordingly.

Furthermore, we rely on the software to analyze data obtained during the test development phases when establishing new protocols. Leveraging its robust visualization capabilities, we swiftly gain comprehensive insights into the dynamics of our protocols and identify areas for improvement.

The technical aspects of the migration journey with Diane Genest, Product Owner

Why did you decide to migrate Discngine Assay to the cloud?

This project is an integral part of the L’Oréal Group’s vision to fully embrace cloud technology, leveraging its scalability, flexibility, and efficiency, as well as capitalizing on the benefits offered by cloud-based infrastructure. Aligned with the Group’s strategic politics, we have decided to systematically migrate all the applications, including Discngine Assay, to the cloud environment.

Moreover, until now, multiple internal profiles have been involved in time-consuming operational tasks, including release and deployment processes, and providing IT support. The migration aimed to streamline the general evolution and release deployment procedures, as well as improve IT support efficiency and data safety. As a result, valuable time has been saved, allowing the reattribution of resources towards innovation and more impactful value-added tasks.

Could you explain the Discngine Assay migration process and hosting?  

Since L’Oréal worked with Discngine to develop some customized functionalities that address the specific needs within the lab, one of the significant challenges was ensuring their smooth migration while adhering to security and IT requirements.

To tackle this challenge, we adopted an iterative approach, delivering multiple versions of the SaaS functional platform over time. Each version was thoroughly tested by the identified key users to validate its deployment. Simultaneously, we made concerted efforts to maintain the functionality of the On-premise software until the final SAAS delivery, ensuring a seamless transition for our lab operations.

The application is hosted on Discngine’s fully managed and maintained cloud platform (Discngine Cloud Infrastructure). Discngine is also a holder of the ISO27001 certificate, which represents the highest standards in information security management. Therefore, their cloud expertise and experience add another layer of confidence and trust when working together.

How was the collaboration with Discngine during the Discngine Assay migration to the cloud?

To ensure effective collaboration, we held daily meetings and weekly recaps with Discngine, allowing us to closely monitor the progress of the migration.

The collaboration with Discngine was smooth, and the communication was easy, which enabled us to address any concerns or issues promptly. They demonstrated exceptional management capabilities, successfully navigating the complexities associated with parallelized SAAS migration and On-prem software support. This task was further complicated by simultaneous important internal IT migrations taking place during the same period.

The benefits of Discngine Assay in the Cloud for L'Oréal research with Ludwig BAUX,​ HTS Laboratory Manager & Diane Genest,​ Product Owner

What impact is L’Oréal experiencing as a result of the Discngine Assay migration in the cloud?

The main benefits of the Discngine Assay SaaS version are many, but below are some of the most explicit:

Enhanced productivity: The web version of Discngine Assay offers a significant improvement in speed compared to the previous On-premise version. Navigating through software pages is now noticeably faster with minimal waiting time. This enhanced software performance translates to a huge boost in our lab productivity.

Accelerated innovation: Closely related to the point above, the software’s ability to swiftly analyze data allows us to perform efficient and in-depth analysis of experimental results. Instead of spending time on data gathering and tedious tasks, we focus on the generation of new insights and advancements. Personally, I now spend much more time on project management, data publication, and research tasks without getting overwhelmed with technical details.

Advanced support: With the adaptation of the cloud version, we now have the advantage of direct interaction with the Discngine support team through a dedicated communication channel. This simplified communication allows us to quickly address any questions or inquiries we might have. We have experienced outstanding response times, with initial responses received within a maximum of two hours and final answers provided in just one or two days. This advanced support system aligns perfectly with the digital strategy goal of streamlining release deployment procedures and maximizing IT support efficiency.

Ensured Security: Assay is compliant with the group politics and cloud infrastructure guidelines which ensure the highest security of data and IT assets.

Improved collaboration: Cloud migration has a significant impact on collaboration at a global level. By simplifying the deployment process, we have created tremendous opportunities to expand the software usage to other labs, fostering the establishment of new relationships and achieving enhanced collaboration. At L'Oréal, we now have the means to share our results, insights, and ideas with other research lab groups, thus creating a robust and data-fueled knowledge base for future projects.

Increased Data quality: The implementation of Discngine Assay on-prem had already demonstrated the improved quality of our data compared to the previous software. With the current transition to digitalized analysis, we have taken a significant leap forward.

The adoption of cloud-based infrastructure and its smooth data visualization capabilities improved the quality of our experimental and analytical procedures. We can now quickly distinguish between “good” from “bad” data, which is a true game-changer for data quality. Moreover, the implementation of data standardization procedures has contributed to this enhancement. We are now highly confident in the analyzed results.

This confidence allows us to mitigate the risks associated with false-negative results, ensuring that we never miss out on the potential valuable compound that could otherwise result in costly losses. The system has been carefully configured to minimize errors, further enhancing data reliability.

Could you share your thoughts on the collaboration with Discngine?

For over a decade, it has always been an absolute pleasure collaborating with the Discngine team. From the initial stages of software development to the recent migration to the cloud, they have been very professional and responsive.

Throughout our journey together, we have been building a strong relationship, resulting in our complete trust in the company. 

Our mutual communication has been a key to our success. It has never been a one-sided discussion but rather a continuous exchange of ideas, feedback, and suggestions. This collaborative approach allowed us to find common ground, make necessary compromises, and make informed decisions that align with our objectives.

This migration process serves as a testament to the exceptional collaboration and coordination between our internal and Digitalization departments, lab scientists, and Discngine experts. As a result, our operations have caused minimal disruptions, ensuring the continuity of essential activities without compromising productivity or efficiency.

Summary and future vision

As highlighted earlier in this article, the success of the digital transformation journey relies on the capable individuals driving it forward though through collaborative efforts and shared vision. This story exemplifies precisely that.

The foundation of trust and long-standing collaboration between Discngine and L’Oréal has been crucial to embark on the digital transformation journey and enhance research with robust assay data management tool on the cloud.  

Their efforts won’t stop there. Looking ahead the companies plan to undergo further optimizations to enhance software’s functionality, performance, and user experience while being at the forefront of technological advancements.

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