Why This Low-Code Platform Leads in the Health Industry: Backed by Baidu and Strategic Partnerships with Leading Pharma Companies
In 2014, the renowned consulting and research firm Forrester introduced the concept/tools of low-code/no-code: achieving desired configurations through permutations and combinations, much like assembling building blocks or solving a Rubik’s Cube.
It was also in this year that China ushered in the era of “Mass Entrepreneurship and Innovation.” Zhang Tong resigned from his position as General Manager of the Middleware Division at HAND Enterprise Solutions, joining the wave of entrepreneurship by founding Shanghai Definesys Information Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Definesys”), which focuses on core areas of digital transformation such as low-code aPaaS and integration Platform as a Service (iPaaS).
At that time, the two parties resembled athletes at the starting line—novices with little recognition. However, over the past eight years, amidst several waves of technological innovation and propelled by favorable market trends, they have joined forces to emerge as industry leaders and favorites among investors. The multi-point investments and repeated capital injections from top-tier venture capital firms such as Sequoia China, Qiming Venture Partners, and SIG, along with external investments and internal incubation initiatives by tech giants like BAT (Baidu, Alibaba, and Tencent), have all demonstrated strong confidence in the low-code sector through concrete actions.
As the industry garners increasing attention, Definesys has already emerged as a leader in the low-code sector. By collaborating with large, leading enterprises across multiple industries—including pharmaceuticals, finance, automotive, and real estate—it has accumulated significant brand recognition and a strong reputation.
In the broader healthcare sector, intense market competition and regulatory pressures have long driven companies with inherently low profit margins to pursue cost reduction and efficiency improvements, creating an urgent need for implementation through digital tools and applications. Meanwhile, a vast number of undigitized scenarios within enterprises provide fertile ground for the incubation of low-code solutions. Furthermore, in the post-ERP era, traditional systems dominated by commercial software have receded into the background, while scenario-based applications oriented toward business operations and end users have emerged in abundance, offering substantial opportunities for low-code platforms to thrive.
Definesys has emerged as a leading low-code provider in the digital health sector. Its roster of partner clients includes industry leaders such as Pharmaron, Chipscreen Biosciences, Sansure Biotech, China Resources Double-Crane Pharmaceutical, China Resources Sanjiu, and Novartis, to name just a few. The reason behind this success lies in our collaboration withZhang Tong, Founder & CEO of Definesys Informationin the interview.
Definesys boasts a team of enterprise service professionals who have turned their passions into careers, and driven by their dedication, they continue to scale and strengthen their business.
Shanghai Definesys Information Technology Co., Ltd. entered the broader healthcare industry at an early stage. As early as 2014, it began to gradually collaborate with renowned pharmaceutical companies such as Sinopharm Group, China Resources Double-Crane Pharmaceutical, and Novartis on the cooperation and development of core systems. Meanwhile, it recruited top experts in the pharmaceutical field to deliver tangible business value to its clients, providing professional advice and implementation support for key operational areas of high concern to pharmaceutical enterprises, including Good Supply Practice (GSP) and Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP).
As the Definesys low-code PaaS platform matures, Definesys products have not only become a leader with widespread adoption in the manufacturing sector and large conglomerates, but are also increasingly recognized by industry leaders in the broader healthcare industry. Prominent enterprises such as Lei Yun Shang, Hutchison Whampoa Pharmaceuticals, Pharmaron, and China Resources Sanjiu have partnered with Definesys to jointly develop software solutions for the healthcare sector. These collaborations span multiple domains, including marketing channels, rebate management, logistics, R&D, and industrial integration, driving accelerated growth for Definesys in the healthcare industry across its products, customer base, and services.
In terms of team building, Definesys Information is continuously optimizing various aspects, including the recruitment, training, and management of specialized personnel in the big health sector, as well as streamlining delivery processes and enhancing collaboration between delivery and product development. With its headquarters in Shanghai, the company has established branches and offices across China, forming a mature three-tier operational system comprising headquarters, branches, and local offices, which facilitates rapid response to business demands nationwide.
As Defanesys’s specialized enterprise service team for the greater health sector took shape, its professional product matrix was also established. In terms of product portfolio, Definesys Information Technology leveragesDeCod Low-Code Platform (aPaaS) and DeFusion Integration Platform (iPaaS)The integration of two core products provides enterprise clients in the broader healthcare sector with dual capabilities in “application development” and “integration services,” achieving native interoperability at the underlying layer. These complementary strengths establish Definesys Information’s first-mover advantage with its low-code PaaS product portfolio in the healthcare industry.
Definesys Cloud DeCod Low-Code Development PlatformYesA no-code/low-code-centricDigital Application Development Platform, enabling enterprises to achieve digital transformation in a low-cost, short-cycle, and high-efficiency manner. It provides rapid application development and deployment tools based on cloud computing features and capabilities, characterized by fast development, testing, deployment, and on-demand adjustment and updates, helping users build application systems easily and efficiently. The Defan Cloud DeCod platform is available in both public cloud and private deployment versions.
DeFusion Cloud is a one-stop enterprise integration platform., horizontally integrate data connectivity, integration, modeling, and orchestration across the enterprise's existing and planned digital business systems to achieve cross-business process automation and resolve cross-process challenges among multiple applications.
DeFusion by Definesys Cloud offers over 300 technical and application connectors, along with visual integration orchestration capabilities. It enables rapid connectivity with various heterogeneous systems, data sources, and SaaS applications, thereby eliminating data silos and enhancing IT asset utilization. Furthermore, it strengthens enterprise integration management by providing comprehensive features such as asset aggregation for integration interfaces, full lifecycle management, monitoring and alert notifications, and an API portal.
“Previously, work deliverables were mostly steady-state systems such as ERP, with clearly defined service requirements; whereas“Definesys will have more agile projects to meet customers’ exploratory business needs, offering high scalability and agility.” — Kong Jin, Vice President of the Pharmaceutical Division at DefinesysSeveral application scenarios in the broader healthcare industry are outlined: rapid iteration of enterprise management software such as ERP systems for pharmaceutical companies; cross-process automation across multiple internal customer applications; and industry-specific digital solutions, including R&D laboratory management, order and logistics visibility, sales allowance management, and smart industrial parks.
Taking the case of Definesys providing a R&D-focused Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) to a large pharmaceutical company, Definesys identified through on-site assessments and requirements analysis in the early stage that the company’s existing systems for project communication, information dissemination, quality management, and regulatory compliance were no longer adequate to support operational needs following business expansion. Key challenges included low data quality, insufficient integration among ERP, CDS, and eCTD systems, and heavy reliance on manual statistical analysis.
In response, Definesys leveraged its low-code platform to rapidly build an R&D Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS), maintain backend master data, and address complex business logic requirements. In terms of usage outcomes, the pharmaceutical company’s R&D center optimized its workflows, achieving an 80% increase in operational efficiency; realized 100% cross-departmental information sharing, thereby reducing blind spots in quality management; and attained 100% visibility into project progress, enabling scientific and rational resource allocation and full traceability throughout the project lifecycle. Regarding system integration, newly added business systems at the pharmaceutical enterprise seamlessly interfaced with existing IT infrastructure, reducing usability complexity by 90%.
On the question of which types of low-code companies are more favored by large health enterprises, Kong Jin shared his views.
First, to meet the requirements of agile systems, low-code platforms must possess robust configuration capabilities and be easy to learn and use.
Second, for companies in the broader health industry, their operations possess a certain degree of specificity and complexity. Therefore, in addition to relatively general no-code capabilities, there are high requirements for integration with other heterogeneous systems, as well as for secondary development and extensibility.
Third, particular attention should be paid to low-code vendors’ successful case studies in the broader healthcare sector and their original manufacturer service capabilities.
Since its inception,Definesys Information established its strategic direction of serving large, leading enterprises, which has also been extended to the broader healthcare sector.“Large enterprises have extremely high requirements for software capabilities, technological foresight, and platform performance. The richness of their business scenarios and digitalization demands help hone our ability to rapidly respond with our products and services.” Definesys has always adhered to the principle of empowering industries through the accumulation of benchmark best practices.
According to Definesys, the company has achieved the highest low-code adoption rate among Fortune 500 and China Top 500 enterprises. It also maintains an undisputed leading position in the broader healthcare sector. Moving forward, Definesys will continue to deepen its expertise, delivering high-quality products to top-tier enterprises while empowering upstream and downstream partners to achieve seamless data integration and operational efficiency across the value chain.
Meanwhile, it continuously expands the overall competitiveness of its win-win ecosystem, providing customers with more diverse, comprehensive, and refined industry solutions. Over the past eight years, Shanghai Definesys Information Technology Co., Ltd. has partnered with 40 collaborators across different regions and industries. By leveraging three core capabilities—user-side KOLs and organizations, a product manager training system on the delivery side, and internal success operations on the customer side—it has enhanced the overall competitiveness of its ecosystem.
In September 2022, Definesys completed its Series A+ financing round, led by CRRC Capital and Shangqi Capital, with participation from Amber Capital and Yaohong Venture Capital. Earlier, Definesys had secured Series A investment led by Baidu Ventures, with Weicun Zhike as a participating investor. This capital infusion will continue to expand Definesys’s leading advantage across various industries and will undoubtedly drive the forward development of the low-code industry.