SRL Ranbaxy: Web Ahoy!

Some of the greatest innovations of our times seem more a
product of common sense than intelligence. Take the case of the safety pin or
the Dixie cup; it is hard to believe that someone really 'invented' them.
This is very much the feeling that one gets when one speaks to Radhakrishna
Pillai, CIO, SRL Ranbaxy.

Since, the turn of the new millennium, the pathology labs have
been delivering reports to patients through the Internet, mainly email. The
concept is unique in terms of its commonness, ie, it is such a common sense
idea, one wonders how no one thought of it. But Pillai did; and not only that he
went ahead and put in the first web-based pathology reporting system in place.

SRL Ranbaxy operates over 19 labs spread all across the country
that conduct tests on clinical samples. Of these 19 labs, six are directly
linked to a centralized lab in Mumbai that also acts as a data center. Thus any
tests conducted at these labs, are stored at the centralized servers in Mumbai
and uploaded on the Web for patients.

"IT is the backbone of our operation without which we could not have catered to the international market. Also, within India, IT has played a major role in reducing the turn around time for reporting the test results" -Radhakrishna Pillai, CIO, SRL Ranbaxy

By adopting Internet, SRL Ranbaxy has been able to tap the
international market as well. Currently the company tests samples from countries
like the UK, the UAE, Kuwait, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. "IT is the
backbone of our operation without which we could not have catered to the
international market. Also, within India, IT has played a major role in reducing
the turn around time for reporting the test results," says Pillai.

The benefits of the system are there for all to see, as the
patients get their reports via email in a PDF. "Since, this is an encrypted
PDF, patients can even take a printout and take it to the doctors for
consultation. We also have a login facility for our international clients as
well," adds Pillai. There are over 13-14 IBM high-end servers installed in
Mumbai and the rest are spread across the labs in different locations.

While the company was extensively using the Internet since 2000,
it was a hub and spoke model. It was in 2005, that the system was centralized
and six labs were connected to the data center in Mumbai. As part of the
roadmap, the rest of the labs are also being connected in real-time. But the
best part of the story is that instead of choosing an off-the-shelf solution,
Pillai went into for development of a tailor made solution.

"Initially, we had hired a company to develop the whole
application. Now we have an in-house team of IT professionals taking care of
enhancing the product and maintaining the software suite," says Pillai.
What are the benefits of a customized solution over off-the-shelf solutions?
"The most important difference is that a tailor made solution completely
matches or suits the business need and is also quite economical if one were to
take into account all the licensing fees, etc," clarifies Pillai.

SRL Ranbaxy labs test over 3,500 samples in Mumbai daily and
over 2,000 samples across the rest of the country. "Today over 75% of
Indian patients are using the online system and 100% of our clientele in the
international markets. With real-time reports, the recuperative treatment can be
started soon. It's immense pleasure to see how the patients have
benefited," says a happy Pillai.

Shashwat Chaturvedi

maildqindia@cybermedia.co.in