Understanding Organizations

Organizations in VariantMiner provide a multi-tenant structure that allows multiple institutions, laboratories, or research groups to use the same platform while maintaining complete data isolation and security.

What is an Organization?

An organization represents a top-level entity in VariantMiner, typically corresponding to:

  • Clinical laboratories

  • Research institutions

  • Hospital systems

  • Biotech companies

  • Academic departments

Each organization has its own:

  • User management system

  • Workspace collections

  • Data storage allocation

  • Administrative controls

  • Billing and usage tracking

Organization Hierarchy

VariantMiner uses a three-tier hierarchy:

Organization
├── Workspaces
│   ├── Files, Samples, Subjects
│   ├── Orders and Reports
│   └── Variant Data
└── Users (with roles)

Key Principles

  • Organizations contain multiple workspaces

  • Workspaces contain all genomic data and analysis

  • Users belong to organizations and have access to specific workspaces

  • Data isolation is maintained at the workspace level

Organization Features

Data Isolation

  • Complete separation between organizations

  • No cross-organization data access

  • Independent user management

  • Separate storage allocations

Administrative Control

  • Organization owners control user access

  • Workspace creation and management

  • Usage monitoring and reporting

  • Integration settings and configurations

Billing and Usage

  • Usage tracking per organization

  • Storage quota management

  • Processing time monitoring

  • Custom billing arrangements

Organization Roles

Organization Owner

Highest level of access within an organization

Permissions include:

  • Manage all organization users

  • Create and delete workspaces

  • Assign workspace permissions

  • View organization-wide analytics

  • Configure organization settings

  • Manage billing and subscriptions

Organization Admin

Administrative access with some limitations

Permissions include:

  • Invite and manage most users

  • Create workspaces

  • Assign workspace permissions

  • View organization analytics

  • Cannot delete the organization

  • Cannot modify organization owners

Organization Member

Standard user access

Permissions include:

  • Access to assigned workspaces

  • Cannot create workspaces independently

  • Cannot invite other users

  • Limited to workspace-level operations

  • View own activity and usage

Viewing Your Organizations

Organization Dashboard

Access your organizations through:

  1. Navigate to Organizations in the main menu

  2. View all organizations you belong to

  3. See your role in each organization

  4. Access organization-specific dashboards

Organizations DashboardOrganization dashboard showing members, workspaces, and management options

Organization Information

For each organization, you can view:

  • Organization name and description

  • Your role and permissions

  • Member count and user list

  • Workspace count and list

  • Storage usage and quotas

  • Recent activity

Switching Between Organizations

Organization Context

When working in VariantMiner:

  • You operate within one organization at a time

  • All data access is scoped to the current organization

  • Workspace lists show only current organization's workspaces

Changing Organization Context

To switch between organizations:

  1. Click the organization selector in the interface

  2. Choose from your available organizations

  3. The interface updates to show the new organization's data

  4. Your workspace list updates accordingly

Organization Settings

General Settings

Organization owners and admins can configure:

  • Organization name and description

  • Contact information

  • Default workspace settings

  • User invitation preferences

Security Settings

  • Password requirements

  • Session timeout policies

  • Two-factor authentication requirements

  • API access controls

Integration Settings

  • External storage configurations

  • Third-party service integrations

  • FHIR endpoint configurations

  • Notification system settings

Multi-Organization Access

Cross-Organization Membership

Users can belong to multiple organizations:

  • Each membership has independent roles

  • Data remains completely isolated

  • Separate workspace access for each organization

  • Independent billing and usage tracking

Managing Multiple Memberships

When you belong to multiple organizations:

  • Use the organization selector to switch contexts

  • Bookmarks and saved searches are organization-specific

  • Activity tracking is maintained per organization

  • Notifications are separated by organization

Organization Creation

How Organizations are Created

  • Typically created by VariantMiner administrators

  • Self-service creation may be available (depending on deployment)

  • Requires initial configuration and setup

  • First user automatically becomes organization owner

Initial Setup Process

When a new organization is created:

  1. Organization owner account is established

  2. Initial workspace is created

  3. Storage quotas are allocated

  4. Integration settings are configured

  5. User invitation process begins

Best Practices

Organization Structure

  • Keep organizations aligned with real-world entities

  • Don't create organizations for departments within the same institution

  • Use workspaces for project or department separation

  • Consider data sharing requirements when designing structure

User Management

  • Assign minimum necessary permissions

  • Regularly review user access and roles

  • Use workspace-level permissions for fine-grained control

  • Document user access policies

Data Organization

  • Create workspaces based on projects or studies

  • Maintain consistent naming conventions

  • Plan for data retention and archival

  • Consider collaboration requirements

Common Scenarios

Clinical Laboratory

  • One organization per laboratory

  • Workspaces for different test types or clients

  • Users assigned based on laboratory roles

  • Integration with LIMS and reporting systems

Research Institution

  • One organization per institution or large department

  • Workspaces for different research projects

  • Collaboration between multiple research groups

  • Data sharing agreements and controls

Multi-Site Hospital System

  • One organization for the entire health system

  • Workspaces for each hospital or department

  • Centralized user management

  • Consistent policies across sites


Ready to learn about user roles? Continue to User Roles & Permissions for detailed information about access control.

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