[ome-users] which commercial software vendors or microscopy hardware vendors are supporting OME today (December 5, 2008) ? What are the benefits people are getting?

[Lysakowski, Rich]

Dear Colleagues,

Which commercial software vendors or microscopy hardware vendors are
supporting OME today??  (December 5, 2008)

At a company I am working for, we are specifying purchase of a software
product right now, so we want to know if it is realistic to put in OME
support as a requirement for purchasing.

My initial thinking -- until I learn more -- is that OME needs to be a
primary requirement for all imaging software and hardware/software
purchases in life sciences research (where image data handling is
crucial).  

To make widespread OME adoption happen, buyers must mandate OME as a
condition of all purchases (from today forward).  Products with
equivalent functionality for imaging application that don't support OME
should be passed over.  

How important do you consider imaging informatics to your future imaging
research?  Microscopes have evolved so much, to where the differentiator
is often not the microscope, but the image data handling capabilities
and your ability to use the image and annotation data for your intended
purpose.  

Based on over 20 years working for the buyer side of the lab software
industry, if people do not mandate standards, vendors do NOT invest, and
you stay caught in the old "Catch 22".  

Without OME (or some proprietary and open equivalent) image informatics
or analytics will be constrained unnecessarily, especially for image
collections and repositories with images from different microscopes.  

Imaging Scientists lose analytical capabilities you didn't know you
could have.  (Sometimes... ignorance is bliss... but not in Science.
;^))  

What have been your experiences at imaging conferences and trade shows?


Are vendors showing significant applications and benefits of OME in
their shipping products?  

Are there good industrial applications papers being presented that show
its capabilities and benefits?  

Has OME made it to mainstream in industrial companies yet? 

Thank you for your answers...

Rich Lysakowski, Ph.D.
Scientific Software Specialist




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