Blogs & News
Collaborative Research just got a Major Upgrade: Workspaces 4.0
It has been about three years since we introduced any new major releases of the DRE Workspaces (we have of course added many hundreds of improvements and new features to it in that time though!). A lot has happened since summer 2022 so we are really pleased to be able to announce the public go-live of Workspaces 4.0. This is an exciting new version of Workspaces which consolidates significant UI upgrades as well as introducing many new features, and provides a platform for further significant updates going forward.
Native Office document support
Office Read/Write capabilities are now included as standard in all workspaces. Collabora allows users to open Office documents for review and, as of this release, edit these documents using the built-in app. Word .docx files, Excel .xslx spreadsheets, PowerPoint .ppt presentations, .CSV, along with lots of other out-of-the-box supported OpenOffice file types, can now be opened directly from the file menu.
An Excel document running natively within a workspace using the new Collabora functionality.
To foster collaboration, multiple users can open and edit documents simultaneously and see each other’s changes in real time. For a full description of how to use this new feature and for the full list of supported documents, check out this page on our Knowledge Base.
Introducing AIRA, the embedded AI assistant
AIRA is a secure, offline, large or small language model (LLM/SLM) framework embedded within the DRE. It is designed specifically for healthcare research and enables researchers to harness AI capabilities without compromising sensitive data such as Protected Health Information (PHI) or their proprietary insights. AIRA runs entirely within the locked-down Azure environment ensuring zero data, prompt, or inference exfiltration, full regulatory compliance (including HIPAA and GDPR), and robust auditability. With OpenAI-compatible APIs, dynamic resource scheduling, and support for custom models, AIRA empowers clinical trial analysis, genomic research, and literature reviews—all while maintaining absolute data sovereignty.
Read more on our website or reach out to your Aridhia contact for a demo and more information.
App Container Registry
Workspaces have long had the ability to run containerised applications like RStudio and Jupyter Notebook. We are excited to launch the new container registry that will allow our users to upload and run their own apps in Workspaces. Containerised applications can be uploaded and made available to either all or selected workspaces, where they will be presented in the user’s app list and be runnable natively within the workspace environment.
Seamless Database Creation
So, you’ve transferred a pile of CSVs into your workspace and now you want to convert them all to DB tables to carry out your analysis using SQL from Python or R, or another app hosted in your workspace? Flat file datasets, including those transferred from FAIR, can now be effortlessly converted into structured database tables with metadata and schema details intact. A new, enhanced wizard guides you step-by-step through the process for each table. The wizard supports type checking and metadata editing, simplifying the transition from raw data to usable data tables.
The new database table creation wizard.
Background Task Execution
Have you tried executing long-running R or Python scripts and come up against issues with your environment timing out? In the DRE, this is no longer a problem; you can now kick off background tasks with a click and let them run while you focus on other work, or close down and log out of the workspace entirely. Outputs are saved automatically, so you can return to them whenever you’re ready. Utilising existing workspace infrastructure to ensure data sovereignty and boundaries, the background task executor is the second pair of hands you’ve been waiting for.
Network Restricted Workspaces
Security takes centre stage with IP-restricted access. Workspaces can now be locked down to specific IP ranges, enabling compliant research on personally identifiable information (PII) via an Enterprise VPN. Tenant administrators can control which address a workspace can be accessed from.
Output Checking with SACRO
Additional security and output governance is now available through the ACRO output checker and SACRO app which can be deployed to any DRE workspace. The library and app assign a risk score to data which can then be used to identify risky data being removed from the platform. Reviewers can assess these scores before approving downloads or data removals, ensuring secure data governance. My colleague Alicia has previously blogged about SACRO and also created a short video showing it in use; you can see this here.
Improved FAIR linkage
Along with the new SACRO App, the Aridhia Customer Engineering Team have developed a FAIR Publisher ‘helper app’, available to those users in workspaces who need to take workspace-hosted data and make that available to others via FAIR. The Publisher app guides users through curating and organising their data so that it can be returned to FAIR Data Services.
The FAIR Publisher app in action.
We have also improved the FAIR-Workspaces connection by implementing enhanced geofencing support for datasets which are only approved for use in restricted geographical regions, which align with their Data Use Conditions. When users request one of these datasets, they will only be offered the option to transfer it into a workspace in an Azure region where the dataset can be stored.
Reviewer Role
A new role enforces a read-only interaction with workspaces. A Reviewer can be added to a workspace to review the contents, but they cannot edit the data there. Reviewers can view data, reports, and graphs without modifying any of the workspace data; they can comment on items in the activity list and approve airlocks, streamlining oversight without compromising data integrity. This role is designed for output checking or other project overseers who wish to view the workspace materials without the risk of changing the project’s contents.
Flexible Layout UI
Workspaces’ flexible UI has been in development for a few years, and we are excited that it’s shaping up to be a very useful feature. You can now drag, drop, resize, and layer tabs however you like. Want to view a dataset next to its visualisation or compare code with generated output? The new UI lets you customise your workspace layout for maximum efficiency.
We’re really excited about this new release and hope our users take advantage of all the new functionality on display. If you would like to reach out to us with feedback or questions about the Workspaces 4.0 release, please get in touch.