Persistent wins Databricks healthcare & life sciences

Persistent has obtained the Databricks Brickbuilder Specialization for Healthcare and Life Sciences, a designation that recognises work on data and artificial intelligence projects in regulated healthcare settings.

The specialisation covers Persistent's delivery of governed data and AI systems on the Databricks Data Intelligence platform for healthcare providers, payers, pharmaceutical groups, biotechnology companies and medical device businesses.

Healthcare and life sciences organisations are trying to speed up clinical trials, drug discovery and real-world evidence programmes while contending with legacy technology that often struggles to combine clinical records, genomics, imaging and patient data. Persistent uses Databricks software to bring these sources together in a single governed data layer that supports AI models and analytics.

The announcement adds to Persistent's existing relationship with Databricks, where it is a Global Systems Integrator partner at Silver Tier. Persistent has more than 900 certifications tied to the Databricks platform and a growing set of sector-specific tools.

Sector focus

The healthcare and life sciences market is moving beyond small AI pilot schemes towards wider deployment across clinical, research, commercial and operational work. In that environment, companies face pressure to prove systems are accurate, interoperable and compliant with industry rules.

Persistent's work on Databricks relies on Delta Lake for data management, Unity Catalog for governance and Mosaic AI for model development and deployment. These tools are being used for work including patient risk prediction, clinical trial optimisation and pharmacovigilance.

The company also pointed to project work with a contract research organisation and a scientific instruments and medical devices company as examples of activity in the sector. One engagement improved trial success rates, while another helped a client accelerate innovation on the Databricks platform.

Ganesh Nathella, Executive Vice President and General Manager - HLS Business, Persistent, outlined how the company sees demand changing in the market.

"For Healthcare and Life Sciences, the priority is shifting from simply accessing data to making it actionable across clinical, research and operational environments. Achieving the Databricks Brickbuilder Specialization for Healthcare and Life Sciences reflects the progress we are making in building the capabilities required to address this shift. Together with Databricks, we are helping payers, providers, pharmaceuticals, scientific instruments, biotech and medical devices organizations build more connected, insight-driven ecosystems that improve decision-making, accelerate innovation and enhance patient outcomes," said Ganesh Nathella, Executive Vice President and General Manager - HLS Business, Persistent.

Data pressure

The healthcare and life sciences industry has become a key testing ground for data platforms as companies try to combine growing volumes of structured and unstructured information. Hospitals, insurers and drugmakers are handling larger datasets from care records, laboratory systems, imaging, wearable devices and research pipelines, while regulators are placing greater weight on traceability and control.

That has made governance central to AI adoption in the sector. Businesses want to use machine learning to improve trial design, identify patient cohorts and support drug safety monitoring, but they also need systems that can show where data came from and how it is being used.

Sameer Dixit, Corporate Vice President - Data, AI & Integration, Persistent, said the company's work with Databricks is aimed at that challenge.

"Data readiness is critical to scaling AI in healthcare and life sciences, where organizations must bring together diverse data sets. At Persistent, we build enterprise-grade, governed and scalable data and AI solutions on modern platforms, including Databricks. Earning the Databricks Brickbuilder Specialization for HLS underscores the strength of our partnership and our ability to help organizations unify multimodal data, operationalize trusted AI and improve outcomes in regulated environments," said Sameer Dixit, Corporate Vice President - Data, AI & Integration, Persistent.

For Databricks, the designation extends its effort to deepen industry-specific work through service partners that build and deploy tools on top of its data platform. The company has sought to expand beyond general-purpose data engineering and analytics into regulated industries where customers need closer alignment with sector requirements.

Josh Meyer, Global Head of Partner Solutions and Industry GTM, Databricks, said Persistent had shown it could apply the platform to healthcare and life sciences workloads.

"Persistent's achievement of the Databricks Brickbuilder Specialization for Healthcare and Life Sciences reflects their proven ability to turn data and AI into real-world impact for the industry. Their solutions demonstrate how the Databricks Platform can be applied to complex HLS challenges-ranging from clinical insights and patient outcomes to AI-driven drug discovery and operational efficiency-helping organizations move faster with confidence," said Josh Meyer, Global Head of Partner Solutions and Industry GTM, Databricks.