Recently I met with a genomics executive at a Biotech who expressed frustration that by appearances, NGS software vendors appear similar. I agree with his assessment if you just look at the web sites. Customers can play a role in helping the vendor community communicate (and compete) better by asking this simple question: “What are you best at?” Why? Because everybody appreciates and accepts that you cannot “be all things to all people” and it therefore forces choice, on the part of the vendor and the customer.
At this stage, vendors are probably best at 1 or 2 things, like SDM, LIMS, client side visualization, or assembly. I’m skeptical that any vendor in the field is really best at ALL the needs for an NGS infrastructure, including GenomeQuest.
For customers, asking the question forces a different consideration: “what key requirement is necessary for us to solve FIRST?” This brings clarity to the trial activity and helps the vendors prioritize and communicate better the value of their offerings, instead of trying to solve all the customer problems for which they may not be most well suited.
