Thermo Fisher Scientific and Agilent Technologies have announced they are continuing their agreement to the industry-wide Instrument Control Exchange Program (ICEP) – fostering compatibility among key vendors’ instrumentation and chromatography data systems (CDS). Organizations across the life sciences and applied industries will continue to benefit from the ability to select the hardware and software that most appropriately meets their application and business needs through the sustained involvement of key vendors.

Marking a significant step forward in the 15-year history of the ICEP, the latest enhancements to Thermo Scientific Chromeleon CDS software allow users to streamline quality control workflows through improved compatibility with Agilent’s gas chromatography (GC) and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) instrumentation. Additionally, for the first time, Thermo Fisher’s GC, HPLC and selected Ion Chromatography (IC) instruments can also be controlled in Agilent’s OpenLab CDS. This allows users to increase workflow flexibility and efficiency through the implementation of instruments suited to their needs.

"The lack of interoperability between different vendors’ instruments and software has traditionally presented a barrier to laboratories adopting the solutions that best meet the unique needs of their workflows," said Matt Hazlewood, senior director, global enterprise chromatography data systems, Thermo Fisher Scientific. "The renewal of our commitment with Agilent for mutual compatibility and third-party control of instruments allows customers to have continued access to our market leading Chromeleon CDS software platform, and deploy the analytical solutions they need without compromising the flexibility or efficiency of their workflows."

John Sadler, vice president and general manager, software and informatics, Agilent Technologies, said, "Agilent's open-systems approach to laboratory informatics allows customers to select the best hardware and software for their needs. That is why we invest in integrating third-party analytical instruments into our OpenLab software suite in collaboration with other analytical instrument manufacturers – our aim is to provide simple and complete support for our mutual customers."