CGI helps Caprion acquire a powerful biocomputing platform for its medical research

A biotechnology company specializing in proteomics (the study of the nature and functions of proteins in the human body), Caprion needed an enormous computing power and a gigantic storage capacity to handle the algorithms that its laboratory develops to facilitate research and speed up the discovery process of drugs.

To get an idea of the quantity of data generated in its Data Analysis Center: suffice it to say that one single mass spectrometer operating 24 hours a day, seven days a week produces 4 terabytes of data a year – enough to fill a row of diskettes placed side by side over a distance of 200 kilometers and Caprion expects 18 of these machines to be on line by the end of the implementation.

Looking for a company with expertise in the development and installation of large systems and in the management of technological infrastructures, Caprion called on CGI for help in the acquisition and installation of a powerful biocomputing platform which would meet the needs of its research.

The Challenge
For CGI, it was a major challenge. The company had to perform not only as an expert in system integration, in project management and in consulting but also as an expert in the development of the necessary supporting software.

Such software had to give scientists the ability to integrate the biological data generated at the Center and, with the available computing power, enable them to analyze and store the proteinic differences existing between healthy and diseased cells.

But the biggest challenge was the aggressive schedule laid out for the project: less than six months to complete the implementation of the platform at a time when the business process was being defined, when Caprion’s project team was being selected and integrated and when the computing functions and infrastructures were non-existent.

The Strategy
While Caprion prepared to move to its new research center, CGI began by hosting Caprion’s equipment and managing the temporary Web site of the company.

At the same time, it devised a plan for the installation of CellCarta, a biocomputing platform, with Sun Microsystems and Oracle as partners.

Together, Caprion and CGI had chosen powerful processors manufactured by Sun (known for their reliability) and databases manufactured by Oracle (also well known for their practically limitless capacity). Some of Oracle’s development tools were also selected.

CGI was then put in charge of the CellCarta installation project which was composed of a number of subprojects that had to be completed by Sun Microsystems, Oracle and CGI itself to ensure the integration of the various computing components into one single and complete solution.

The project required a team effort by more than 30 consultants provided by CGI and its partners working in close cooperation with the Caprion team.

"This cooperation was remarkable at all levels with CGI playing a vital role as the main operating agent," notes Dr. Paul Kearney, Director of Bioinformatics at Caprion.

In September when Caprion moved into its new offices, a large group of CGI consultants were on hand to ensure that the first phase of the project dealing with the Data Analysis Center was completed as planned and that all the components were operational and compatible.

Besides installing the CellCarta platform, CGI took charge of Caprion’s office automation and networking and became the company’s ISP ensuring its access to Internet as well as to its Data Analysis Center.

The Technology

• Sun Microsystems Servers
  
• Oracle Databases
  
• CGI Supporting software

The Results
The first phase of the implementation proved to be a great success.

"There is no doubt that CGI did a lot for us," says Paul Kearney, "CGI played a vital role in the implementation of our Data Analysis Center and we have been very impressed by the degree of cooperation which existed with Sun Microsystems and Oracle."

Upon completion of the first phase, CGI was awarded a five-year contract for support and maintenance of the equipment.