Selection of the business model One of the biggest problems of exploiting commercial computational biomedicine solutions, in comparison to other sectors, is that this field is so young and immature that it is still unclear which will be the best business model to provide commercial access to these predictive models. If we look at the early start-ups, we see a range of different business models in play: companies that provide the software as Open Source combined with a consulting service, or companies that sell software as a service directly or via portals, such as xxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx, or companies that offer a combination of software and consulting, sometimes embedded in a membership fee model where you pay to be part of the club. Then there is the whole world of Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) business models where the software is provided to another company that commercialise it as part of a large suite, in combination with some hardware, or framed within specific services. Thus, at this stage, the choice of the business model is the most critical aspect for the exploitation of a computational biomedicine solution. As part of the best practices to be developed in T5.3 we will propose, in liaison with WP6 where relevant business models will be defined and explored, a systematic approach to this critical initial analysis. This will build upon the business models already described in Deliverable 4.3 Sustainability Plan (not currently published) produced in phase 1 of CompBioMed. It should be stressed that a possible “business” model for academic solutions is also to pursue a non-commercial route. However, in this case, it is even more critical to define the business model that should ensure the long-term sustainability of that solution, in absence of revenues from commercial operations. So even in this case the definition of a business model is mandatory.
