IT Services for Biotech Companies and Life Sciences Firms
A biotech's value sits in files: sequencing runs, assay results, notebooks, the data package a partner will diligence before signing. The instruments producing that data often come with a locked-down Windows PC the vendor will not let you patch, the team doubles after each financing, and everyone who leaves takes a laptop full of intellectual property with them unless someone stops it. NetSys provides IT services for biotech companies that keep the lab running and the data intact, with the evidence to prove both to investors and partners.
The short answer
NetSys provides IT services for biotech, pharmaceutical services and life sciences companies from seed stage through commercial: help desk and 24/7 monitoring, lab networks segmented so instrument PCs are isolated but still deliver data, Azure environments for storage and compute sized to the current round and built to grow, Microsoft 365 with the identity and data controls that protect intellectual property, managed endpoint detection and device management on every laptop, immutable backups with restores timed, and documentation supporting data integrity expectations such as audit trails and controlled access for records that will face regulatory scrutiny. Privileged access management, disaster recovery planning and AI automation for document assembly and lab operations are part of the same month-to-month agreement. We implement the technical controls; quality and regulatory strategy stays with your quality lead or consultant.
Sound familiar?
- Instrument PCs running old operating systems the vendor will not let anyone patch, plugged into the office network
- Sequencing and imaging data outgrowing whatever drive was closest when the run finished
- A departing scientist whose laptop held two years of notebooks and no one able to stop the copy
- A partner's due diligence team asking how research data is protected and receiving a description of a shared folder
- Growth from eight people to forty in a year with IT set up by the first employee
- Audit trail and access control expectations for records that will eventually be part of a regulatory submission
Lab Systems, Isolated and Running
- Instrument PCs on their own network segment with controlled paths for data export
- Vendor remote access through named, time-limited sessions
- Lab Wi-Fi and wired drops planned around benches, freezers and cold rooms
- Monitoring that alerts on instrument workstation failures before a run is lost
Data Storage Built to Grow
- Azure storage and compute for sequencing, imaging and analysis, sized to today and expandable at the next round
- Azure migration from on-premises servers or a founder's closet when the time comes
- SharePoint and OneDrive structured by program and project, with retention rules
- Immutable backups with restores performed and timed, covering lab data and Microsoft 365
Intellectual Property, Protected
- Multifactor authentication, conditional access and data loss prevention across the tenant
- Device management with disk encryption and remote wipe for every laptop
- Offboarding that revokes access and preserves the departing scientist's files before the last day
- Privileged access management so administrator rights are not scattered across the team
Integrity, Diligence and Automation
- Access records and audit trails for data that will face regulatory review
- Evidence organized for investor, partner and CRO security questionnaires
- Disaster recovery planning that covers freezers, instrument data and cloud environments
- AI automation for document assembly, protocol drafting support and sample tracking where it fits
IT services for a biotech company between its seed round and Series A
A composite example of work we do, written so you can picture the first 90 days. It is not a specific client — our real, named engagements are in case studies.
A platform biology startup had moved from an incubator into its own lab space. The instruments arrived with their own PCs, each on the office network with the vendor's remote support tool installed. Data from each run was copied to an external drive and then to a laptop. The first employee had set up Microsoft 365 with everyone as an administrator. The company was preparing a data room for a Series A and a partnership discussion, and the partner's diligence checklist had a security section.
- Lab network segmented, with instrument PCs isolated and a controlled path for data to reach storage
- Azure storage built for run data with lifecycle rules, and an immutable backup with a restore performed
- Microsoft 365 rebuilt: administrator rights reduced to a managed few, multifactor authentication and conditional access enforced, data loss prevention for external sharing
- Every laptop enrolled in device management with encryption and remote wipe, and an offboarding procedure that preserves files
- A written security summary and evidence pack for the data room and the partner's checklist
The diligence security section was answered with documents. Run data lands in one place and is backed up without a scientist remembering to copy it. When the next hire starts, the laptop arrives configured, and when someone leaves, the company keeps the work.
Life Sciences & Biotech IT FAQs
Do you provide IT services for biotech companies that are still pre-revenue?
Yes. Early-stage companies are where the foundations get set, and it is far cheaper to set them before the first partnership than to rebuild after it. The month-to-month agreement covers help desk, monitoring, security, device management and backups, and it grows with headcount. Founders get a dedicated account manager with a cell number rather than a ticket queue.
How do you protect research data from theft?
Layers, with the emphasis on people leaving. Every laptop is encrypted, managed and wipeable. Data lives in company storage rather than on devices, with external sharing controlled by data loss prevention rules. Access is named and reviewed, administrator rights are limited and logged, and offboarding revokes access and preserves files before a departure. Research organizations have been explicit targets of state-sponsored theft, so the controls also cover email defense and endpoint detection.
Do we need to worry about 21 CFR Part 11 yet?
It depends on whether records you are creating now will support a regulatory submission later. If they will, the expectations for controlled access, audit trails and reliable retention are easier to meet from the start than to reconstruct. We implement the technical side: named access, logging, backups and disciplined storage practices. Whether a given system needs formal validation is a decision for your quality lead, and we work with them.
Should our data be in Azure or on a server in the lab?
For most companies, in Azure, with a small local footprint for instruments that need it. Cloud storage grows with each run, is backed up properly and can be shared with a CRO or partner under controls. On-premises servers make sense where instruments generate data faster than an internet link can carry it, and we design for that. Either way the backup is immutable and the restore has been timed.
Can you help us answer a partner's security questionnaire?
Yes. Partner, investor and CRO questionnaires ask about access control, encryption, incident response, backups and vendor oversight. We maintain the evidence as part of normal operations, so answering is a matter of assembling what exists. For companies pursuing a SOC 2 report or ISO alignment later, the same controls form the base, so nothing done now is thrown away.
Do you require a long-term contract?
No. Life sciences agreements are month to month, which suits companies whose headcount and needs change with each financing. Project work such as an Azure build or a lab move is scoped separately in writing, and the company keeps every configuration document we produce.
Guides for life sciences & biotech leaders
Services behind this work
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