How It Works
The Idea. Software as a Service (SaaS) is a type of hosted computing service that allows people to access and use software without having to buy and maintain expensive hardware, networks and software systems. In this model, we own and operate all of the computing, networking and software infrastructure and you pay a fixed monthly service fee to use the software. You can start using the software today and never worry about the physical or cyber infrastructure required to operate the chosen caBIG® application. We take care of all the "behind-the-sceens" information technology details so you can focus on using the application.
What we provide. We provide supported web access to caBIG® applications, specialized application bundles and pre-configured development environments. To use the service you subscribe to a package, obtain your username and password and begin working. It really is just that simple. You do not need to buy any expensive servers, install any complicated software, or even load caBIG® tools and applications onto a machine at your site.
How it Works. When you sign up for one of our managed services you will be using caBIG® applications running inside machines located at our secure Rockville, Maryland hosting facility. To access the software you start an internet browser window (like Internet 
Explorer or Firefox), go to the web address provided, and log into your system. The application you will be using will be running inside a VMware ESX virtual machine that exists on one of our state-of-the-art dedicated SunFire 2.8 GHz 2 dual core X4100 M2 servers. This approach allows us to offer you a very cost effective and reliable solution that can scale to meet your future needs. All of our subscriptions renew automatically on a monthly basis. There are no long term contracts required and you can cancel service at any time by giving us 30 days written notice. SaaS computing brings the power of large scale computing resources to you without the need to make capital investments, employ specialized information technology staff or maintain infrastructure. We do all of these for you for a fixed monthly subscription rate.
To see more details regarding our offerings click here.
Our infrastructure and your data. Our dedicated facilities consist of a raised floor, temperature and humidity controlled environment that is monitored by ionizing radiation and temperature sensors linked to dry fire chemical suppression systems and emergency power shut-offs. In addition, entry to the hosting facility can only be gained through keyless entry points that are under 24X7 video surveillance. When you select one of our solutions you can be assured that your data resides in our secure HIPAA compliant hosting facility that operates 24 hours per day 7 days a week. These are not co-location facilities where hosting floor space is shared with other companies. These are dedicated facilities where only authorized HealthCare IT staff can gain physical entry. We automatically backup your designated user data and store it off-site in an encrypted format.
If I stop. If you decide to set up an infrastructure at your institution to use caBIG® applications or decide to discontinue service with us for any other reason your data will be sent to you at no additional cost in a format readable by caBIG®. Alternatively, since every caBIG® SaaS Hosting Solution subscription automatically includes a caGrid node you are free to move your data at anytime to any physical location that has a node on caGrid. There is no proprietary software involved in our caBIG® SaaS Computing solutions and no way for you to ever get locked into any infrastructure provide by HealthCare IT. You can always install the most recent copy of the caBIG® software on your local system and move your data from our servers to your local machine to ensure data retention and custody.