IT support for research-driven companies

Start with lab instruments, because this is the single most common conversation we have with Triangle clients. Sequencers, mass spectrometers, plate readers, chromatography systems, imaging platforms and analyzers all arrive attached to a control PC. That PC frequently runs an operating system years past support, and the instrument vendor will void support or invalidate qualification if it is patched or if antivirus interferes. Ignoring that is negligent, and so is breaking your instrument to satisfy a patching policy. The correct answer is architectural: those machines go on a dedicated, tightly restricted VLAN with no direct internet path, strict rules about what may communicate with them, monitored boundaries, and a controlled process for exporting data to a protected location. We do that as standard.

Second is research data itself. Biotech, contract research organizations, diagnostics companies and academic spin-outs generate data that is expensive or impossible to reproduce, and often carries integrity expectations, audit trails, controlled changes, retention. A backup that has never been restored is not a plan. We size storage for real data growth, keep immutable offsite copies where the platform supports it, run restores on a schedule and record the results, so the answer to a regulator or a partner is evidence rather than a shrug.

Third is the startup layer around downtown, the American Tobacco Campus and the Ninth Street area. Software, health tech and device companies here grow quickly and provision SaaS applications faster than anyone tracks them. The predictable result is orphaned accounts, inconsistent MFA and no central record of who can reach what. When an enterprise customer or an investor runs diligence, that becomes a deal-slowing problem. We consolidate identity into Microsoft Entra ID, enforce conditional access, wire single sign-on where the applications support it, and make offboarding a documented process. All of that sits inside our managed IT plan.

The fourth piece is the health and professional ecosystem: clinics, therapy and specialty practices, medical billing companies, and the law, accounting and consulting firms serving the research community. They need HIPAA technical safeguards done properly and email fraud defenses that hold. All of it runs through our remote support service with layered security included, under one flat monthly cost per user.