Information management using Web 2.0 technology

Abstract

Web 2.0, the ultimate platform for tacit based knowledge work has finally arrived. User driven, collaborative platform based tools including wikis, web mash-ups, discussion boards, linkage based search engines, and tagging have the potential to vastly change how information is managed and how knowledge work is captured. This thesis investigates how the new paradigms and tools of Web 2.0 can be applied to the Pharmaceutical Industry and assist with information management at The Novartis Institute for BioMedical Research (NIBR). Applying Web 2.0 tools to NIBR's chemical compounds, targets, assays, people, and projects in a well thought out framework has the potential to yield tremendous productivity improvements in the drug discovery process. Effectively harnessing the collective intelligence of thousands of scientists within Novartis's worldwide research network will enable a paradigm shift. A large, extremely knowledgeable user community can more effectively annotate metadata, hyperlink to important content, establish tags, and collectively author content. Such activities will not only improve the search ability of information but also allow important scientific connections to emerge linking biology to chemistry and furthering Novartis's understanding of disease.