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Marketing Audit of Agilent Technologies, Inc.’s Microarray Business
Organizational Overview – Agilent Technologies
Agilent Technologies is a global organization focused on being the premier supplier of test and measurements solutions. The company is largely composed of two main divisions – Electronic Measurement Solutions and Bio-Analytical Measurement Solutions – supported by Agilent Labs, the primary internal innovation driver (Fig. 1). This marketing audit will focus primarily on the DNA microarray business, which is nested within the Life Sciences section of the Bio-Analytical Measurement Solutions division. As described by Agilent, a microarray is “a glass slide holding thousands of bits of genetic material used to analyze the processes of life. The category also includes scanning instruments for reading microarrays, chemical reagents, data analysis software and instruments for checking the quality of genetic material used in this type of analysis.“ I have chosen to profile this particular strategic unit because I currently consult for Agilent’s microarray business and their service providers.
Microarray Business and Marketing Environment Analysis
Political and Legal Context
As is presently the case with most biotechnology-related businesses, the DNA microarray landscape is well-covered in terms of patents and intellectual property, which in turn affects the types of products that can be offered and where. Some of the main technology patents in this area have established the types of microarrays available to the customer. The ink-jet method for depositing DNA onto the glass slides, developed by Agilent, is one such paten ...