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
What we deliver for biotech companies
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
Research-data rules: FDA records, GLP archives and NIH data
Which of these apply depends on what you will submit to FDA and whose data you analyze. Your quality lead or regulatory consultant makes that call; we build and document the technical controls behind it.
Electronic records (21 CFR Part 11, §11.10)
Closed systems holding records FDA may review need validation, access limited to authorized people, and secure, computer-generated, time-stamped audit trails that never obscure earlier entries. Records must stay accurately retrievable for the full retention period, and the audit trail is kept at least as long as the record it describes.
GLP archives (21 CFR §58.195)
Raw data and documentation from a nonclinical laboratory study are kept for the shortest of three periods: two years after FDA approves the application they supported, five years after the results are submitted, or two years after the study ends if it is never submitted. Electronic archives have to outlive instrument PCs and software upgrades.
NIH controlled-access data (NOT-OD-24-157)
Since January 25, 2025, approved users of NIH controlled-access data, such as genomic data shared under the Genomic Data Sharing Policy, attest that their institution's systems meet NIST SP 800-171; a cloud or third-party system used for the analysis needs its own attestation. That turns a data use agreement into a concrete control set.
This is general information, not legal advice. Confirm your obligations with counsel.
Lab and research software we support around
Biotech teams typically run an electronic lab notebook, analysis tools, a quality system and a place to share large files. We manage the laptops, identities, storage and backups around them and coordinate with each vendor on application issues.
- Benchling
- LabArchives
- GraphPad Prism
- SnapGene
- Veeva Vault
- Egnyte
Product names are their owners’ trademarks. We manage the devices, accounts and access around these applications and work with each vendor’s support. A listing here doesn’t mean we resell an application or partner with its maker.
IT services for a biotech company between its seed round and Series A
The specific engagements behind this profile are under NDA, so it is written as a generalization rather than a named client. Our published, client-approved outcomes 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 intended result is a diligence security section answered with documents, run data that lands in one place and is backed up without a scientist remembering to copy it, laptops that arrive configured for new hires, and work that stays with the company when someone leaves.
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.
What do IT services for biotech companies include?
They cover the office and the lab. That means help desk support, managed and encrypted laptops, Microsoft 365 with access controls, segmented networks for instrument PCs, storage for run data that grows with each financing, immutable backups with timed restores, and evidence for partner and investor questionnaires. Quality and regulatory decisions stay with your team.
How much does IT support for a biotech startup cost?
It is priced per user per month, without a published rate card. Headcount, laptops and instrument workstations, lab network size, the cloud storage we manage, data-integrity documentation and on-site visits all move the number. Projects such as an Azure build or a lab move are quoted separately in writing, and the agreement runs month to month.
Do you work with CROs and partners who need access to our data?
Yes. External collaborators get named guest accounts or shared workspaces scoped to one program, with multifactor authentication, expiry dates and sharing rules that stop files leaving by accident. Large datasets move through storage built for them rather than email. When the collaboration ends, access is removed and the data stays in your tenant.
Do biotech companies need NIST SP 800-171?
Some do. Researchers using NIH controlled-access data, such as genomic datasets, must attest that the systems holding it meet NIST SP 800-171, and defense contracts involving controlled unclassified information bring the same standard. A company with neither usually builds to a lighter baseline and adds controls when a contract requires them.
How do you handle IT when the team doubles after a financing round?
We plan for it before the money lands. New laptops arrive configured with encryption and the right apps, accounts are created from role templates, and licenses, storage and network capacity are sized for the next headcount target rather than the last one. Onboarding a scientist becomes a single request, and offboarding preserves their work.
Guides for life sciences & biotech leaders
Other industries we support
Services behind this work
Scope support around the way your team works.
Tell us which applications, locations and deadlines matter to your life sciences & biotech team. We will discuss support, security, backup and project responsibilities in one clear scope.