As I look back on our week at SCOPE 2026 in Orlando, one word keeps coming to mind: Confirmation.
For years, the conversation around EHR-to-EDC interoperability was about “if” it could work. This year, that debate is over. Walking the halls and meeting with our partners and clients, it’s clear that IgniteData has moved from category creation to category confirmation. What began as a bold innovation has officially become the necessary infrastructure for modern clinical trials.
The Tipping Point for Automation
One of the most rewarding parts of SCOPE 2026 was seeing how clearly the industry is aligning around a single reality: clinical trial teams can’t scale on manual workflows anymore.
Across sponsor conversations, site meetings, and partner discussions, the message was consistent. The bottleneck isn’t willingness. It’s capacity.
And the data backs that up. Published research shows that manual data entry still takes 3–5 minutes per datapoint, which can translate into thousands of hours even in small patient cohorts. At the same time, more than 50% of clinical trial data is duplicated across systems, with roughly 20% of study costs tied to duplication and verification.
What’s changed in 2026 is that sponsors and sites aren’t looking for better “tooling” to manage these problems anymore. They’re looking for a structural solution that removes them entirely. Whether I was participating in panels or catching up with partners like CluePoints at our Topgolf event, the feedback was unanimous: automation is no longer a “nice to have.” It’s becoming the standard.
* Sundgren M, Santiago G, Lengfellner J. Streamlining Clinical Trials with eSource: Insights from MSK. Appl Clin Trials. 2024;33(8).
Why 2026 Defines the Standard
If 2025 proved our model, 2026 is about defining the standard. Our flagship platform, Archer, is meeting this moment by delivering 99.9% accurate, regulatory-grade data directly from the point of care. By reducing data delivery time from the industry average of 30 days to less than 3 days, we are enabling research teams to move at a speed that was previously impossible.
As we lead IgniteData into this next phase, our focus is squarely on scaling this business so more organizations can leverage the precision and quality of Archer. We are expanding beyond academic medical centers into community hospitals and global markets, ensuring that high-quality data moves efficiently regardless of where a patient is located.
A Future Built on Partnership
The success we celebrated at SCOPE is a direct result of the trust our partners and clients place in us. Seeing Joe Lengfellner present for the first time as our Chief Product Officer was a personal highlight, as it underscored our commitment to building technology that is, above all, easy for sites.
We are moving into a future where connectivity is not a “technical feature” but a foundational operating principle. At IgniteData, we are proud to be the connective tissue making that future a reality.
Thank you to everyone who made SCOPE 2026 such a milestone for us. Let’s keep building the foundation for faster research and faster access to life-changing treatments.