One of STEPCARE’s strengths is the pace at which new sub-studies can be activated. Because the infrastructure is designed to support that, lead investigators can open a sub-study at selected sites, enrol participants immediately, introduce new data fields or timepoints, and run multiple pieces of work in parallel — without slowing the main study.

When you think about what makes or breaks a clinical trial, the first things that spring to mind might be recruitment, protocols, or data monitoring. But there’s something much quieter, often overlooked, that has a huge impact on data quality: the humble Case Report Form (CRF).

Bugs can appear at any stage: in requirements, where gaps or ambiguity later reveal themselves; in design, where complexity can cause unexpected behaviour; in development, where even the best coder might overlook a detail; in testing, when features interact in surprising ways; and in deployment, where real-world use always uncovers something new. After thirty years in this field, I can say with confidence that every project has bugs. What matters is not their existence, but how you deal with them.

Data residency isn’t a checkbox; it’s at the core of ethics, regulation, and community trust. At Spiral, we see New Zealand as a powerful training ground for solving these challenges well. The standards we apply in Aotearoa translate directly to our work in Australia, the UK, the EU, and beyond.

How are we integrating AI? Over the past year, artificial intelligence has become a steady companion in our daily routines. Here’s how AI is showing up at Spiral.

Innovation is never about rushing to a solution. It’s about surfacing the best outcome. One that is going to last. One that saves time and headaches. And that genuinely works for the researchers we serve.

Why We’ve Added Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) to Clinical Projects. This paper explains why recommend this move, what the challenges are — especially in hospital settings — and how we make MFA flexible and fair.

At the heart of our work is our values. Openness. People-oriented. Results-focused. Innovative. And guardianship (kaitiakitanga). I’ll start with openness.

If security is the immune system in our application that identifies and neutralises threats, often before you notice them, then compliance is the memory and intelligence that guides it—knowing what to look for, how to respond, and when to escalate. Together, they protect the whole system.

White paper: randomisation methods. Pros, cons, and reflections from Spiral Software CEO, Audrey Shearer.

The GKPTN registry and the CAPTIVATE trial could find new treatments for people with kidney disease and change how trials are conducted in patients with kidney disease.