How Anthos Helps Genomic Research Push the Boundaries of Medicine and Biology

The Challenge

The client is pushing the boundaries of biology and medicine through genomic research, collaborating on critical international projects such as the Human Cell Atlas. It provides services such as data analysis and microscope imaging across huge volumes of genetic information to drive valuable insights. To manage this, the team uses a complex technology stack, including a High Performance Compute (HPC) cluster to support the large size of the workloads, and Kubernetes to orchestrate containerised applications.

Many of the client‘s applications need to remain on-premise due to the sensitive nature of biological records such as DNA, and so the Kubernetes clusters were run via a private cloud platform. However, the platform couldn’t provide the reliability needed for increasingly complex workloads. With the team working at the cutting edge of research, it needed access to the latest technology and features, but upgrading the platform was a long and difficult process, and was often put off accordingly.

The Solution

Qodea worked with the client to pilot a migration of its containerised workloads across to the Anthos application modernisation platform. With Anthos GKE (Google Kubernetes Engine) on-prem, the client is able to keep its sensitive workloads within its premises, but can still manage these through the Anthos interface – as though they were sitting on Google Cloud.

Anthos gives the client access to the industry-standard GKE environment for running Kubernetes containers, with all the benefits of a single management plane, world-leading security wrap, cost efficiencies and frequent updates. The service is highly-available and monitored, giving the client the world leading technological backbone it needs to support its innovative work.

The Results

The client was so impressed with the pilot that the project is now moving from the initial phase to full production. Anthos not only guarantees complete control and security over the existing applications, but supercharges upgrade and release cycles and ensures the client can easily remain at the leading edge of research in the future.