There’s been a lot of hoopla around the NFL and their new partnership with Microsoft surrounding the Surface tablet, now deemed the official tablet of the NFL and, of course, Seattle Seahawks QB Russell Wilson’s favorite toy. The deal, in part, outfits NFL teams with tablets to improve communication on the field, photo viewing, and play calling.
The NFL has long relied on good, old-fashioned paper for their game-time intelligence. Before 2014, on any given Sunday (or Monday, Thursday, and 
sometimes Saturday), an army of printers sat on the sidelines, continuously spewing photos of plays for players and coaches to review, analyze, and learn from. It was the closest thing they had to real-time data capture and analytics. But, the process was riddled with problems: it was too slow, the images were only black and white, the paper and ink were always running out, the printers kept jamming, and the weather wreaked havoc on the machines and supplies.
Although it was only introduced this season, the Surface has already started to change old habits. With tons of full-color snapshots sent to myriad tablets on the sidelines and booths instantaneously, anyone can do a quick review of past plays and draw up new ones. No more delays. No more worrying about supplies. No more printer jam frustrations. And, the weather? The Surface can take it all because of its, well, surface, as well as its weather-resistant case.
But, the Surface has its share of problems, too. The biggest complaint among players and coaches is that the battery doesn’t last long enough (although, it seems to me that they must have tons of power strips on the sidelines from all of the old printers, so they could just plug these puppies in, right?). And then there’s the question of user adoption: The younger generation has welcomed tablets with open arms, but older folks are having a more difficult time adjusting. So, for the time being, some printers are still running on the sidelines, in case of technical glitches and for those who just can’t seem to move forward.
While Microsoft and the NFL offer only a handful of capabilities thus far, much more is planned. Teams are most looking forward to having 
playbooks, video replays, and real-time analytics, all on the tablet. Eventually, paper, ink, printers will be a thing of the past.
This story sounds all too familiar. We have seen a similar progression in the way the life sciences industry handles clinical trial data, starting with the move from paper clinical data collection to electronic data capture (EDC).
In recent years, we have seen a shift from paper-based site monitoring reports to electronic trip reports that are created (and even approved) directly in a clinical trial management system (CTMS). Some of the most cutting edge organizations have actually provided their site monitors with tablets for completing trip reports in real-time, instead of at the end of the day in their hotel rooms on their laptops.
The biggest demand we’re seeing now – across the board at drug, device, and research organizations – is for serious analytics. More than ever, life sciences and healthcare companies want to be able to dive deeply into their data and take quick actions based on what they learn.
In our highly competitive industry, much like the NFL, life sciences organizations can’t afford to be bogged down by paper, and they need real-time analytics in order to perform at the top of their game.
