This week Illumina took a major step forward with the acquisition of BlueBee, a cloud-based software company that provides genomics analysis solutions for research and clinical labs. Over the past decade, BlueBee has developed and commercialized a suite of genomics software products that provide customized data analysis workflows, data management, and analytics – all which are very complementary to our Illumina Analytics Platform. BlueBee has consistently grown its customer base, proven its brand value, and demonstrated the long-term viability of its genomic solutions.

In Product Development, we are always working on solutions that enable our customers to maximize the value of their genomic investigations. To do this, we must push the boundaries on two fronts: sequencing and analysis. We must consistently ask what technology and tools do we want to buy and what do we want to build? How can we move faster and farther? How can we accelerate the pace of innovation?

The integration of BlueBee’s capabilities into Illumina’s cloud portfolio will give users the flexibility to run their own custom analyses or access industry leading options such as the DRAGEN® Bio-IT Platform, streamlining data processing and increasing their operational efficiency. Users also will be able to aggregate, explore and collaborate on data and methods directly in the cloud through a user-friendly, ISO-compliant, flexible interface. BlueBee capabilities include intuitive analysis management (BlueFlow), multi-modal data management (BlueBase), and data science and AI tools (BlueBench), as well as integrated business analytics, and multi-cloud or on-premise deployment modes. This is a substantial addition to Illumina’s cloud software portfolio which includes BaseSpace Sequence Hub, the most widely utilized software for sequencing run management and data sharing. This means lower cost of storing, sharing, and managing the enormous volumes of genomic data now being generated on our installed base of more than 15,000 sequencing systems. Ultimately, this acquisition will accelerate our informatics roadmap by at least 3 years. Game changed.

And that’s just the beginning. That’s just the technology. At the heart of this acquisition is a mutual culture rooted in innovation, entrepreneurship, and collaboration. I am also very pleased to welcome Hans Cobben to our leadership team as Vice President of Software Platforms and Solutions.