Cloud adoption has transformed how life sciences organizations operate, offering scalability, flexibility, and cost efficiency. But this transformation comes with challenges—especially around governance, visibility, and compliance. In an expert panel hosted by PTP and CloudCheckr, leaders explored how Cloud Centers of Excellence (CCOE) can help biotech teams achieve secure and efficient cloud adoption.
What Is a Cloud Center of Excellence (CCOE)?
A CCOE is a cross-functional team that drives cloud strategy and governance across the organization. For life sciences companies, a CCOE helps coordinate cloud efforts across research, clinical, and IT departments—ensuring efficient use of resources, cost control, and adherence to regulatory standards like HIPAA and GxP.
Challenges for Large Organizations
Enterprises with legacy IT systems often struggle with interdepartmental silos. During the panel, Mike from PTP shared an example where a large company had 12 different IT teams involved in a file-sharing migration project. Without a centralized governance model, cloud adoption efforts were delayed, budgets overrun, and compliance gaps emerged. A well-defined CCOE can address these obstacles by streamlining decision-making and enforcing standards across departments.
Benefits for Biotech Startups
Startups and smaller research labs also benefit from a CCOE. With limited internal resources, many partner with providers like PTP and CloudCheckr to build out governance, automation, and security structures from the start. These partnerships help implement managed cloud services for life sciences while allowing the internal team to stay focused on research and innovation.
The Role of Cloud Management Tools
Platforms like CloudCheckr provide visibility and automation that are critical for maintaining secure and cost-efficient AWS environments. From real-time alerts to cost-saving recommendations, these tools support cloud optimization and security compliance—especially in regulated research IT infrastructures.
Bridging IT and Development
Cloud adoption often highlights a divide between development and IT operations. Developers seek speed and autonomy, while IT is tasked with governance and risk management. The panel emphasized that a successful CCOE promotes collaboration and trust between teams. Rather than slowing innovation, a CCOE can enable secure DevOps practices by providing standardized policies, shared cloud landing zones, and compliance guardrails.
Conclusion: Why CCOEs Matter in Regulated Environments
Whether you're a genomics research startup or a multinational clinical trial organization, a Cloud Center of Excellence offers structure, accountability, and strategic alignment for cloud growth. With a well-established CCOE and the right partners, life sciences teams can accelerate time-to-market, reduce risk, and control cloud spend—without compromising innovation.
If you're considering AWS or already navigating a hybrid environment, contact PTP to learn how we help life sciences teams implement secure, compliant CCOEs backed by 24x7x365 managed services and cloud governance support.