Bring your own code, data or tool

The 'Bring Your Own' services allow you to seamlessly integrate your existing resources into Secure Data Environments (SDEs) for research.

Using your own resources in a Secure Data Environment

SDEs allow you to seamlessly integrate your existing resources for research. The 'Bring Your Own' services enable enhanced analytical capabilities and deeper insights from health data. All requests to use 'Bring Your Own' services are carefully reviewed by the SDEs, ensuring compliance with strict NHS governance policies for research using health data.

There are 3 main types of ‘Bring Your Own’ service offered by the SDE Network:

Bring Your Own Code

The 'Bring Your Own Code' service allows researchers to integrate and execute their own code and scripts within a secure workspace. This gives researchers the ability to utilise custom-developed algorithms and analytical methods within SDE provided secure workspaces. Researchers can request code and scripts are loaded into the secure workspace for use with platform development languages such as Python, R Statistical Language, Perl and C++.

Bring Your Own Data

The 'Bring Your Own Data' service means researchers can request that data they provide be loaded into allocated secure workspaces for analysis in conjunction with datasets provided by SDEs.

Bring Your Own Tool

The 'Bring Your Own Tool' service enables researchers to use their preferred analysis tools and software within secure workspaces. This service allows researchers to work within familiar environments that suit their project needs. Once approved, tools are made available to researchers within the secure workspaces.

Empowering research

Enabling researchers to use their own code, data and tools within secure workspaces provides significant benefits.

reusing existing code libraries, validated algorithms and analytical methods developed during previous projects
using familiar analysis tools and software that are the best fit for project needs - also allows for a wider range of research methodologies

using code and script that is already compatible with established workflows and offers the ability to run highly specific analyses tailored to unique research questions
importing additional datasets to increase the richness and depth of data - linking diverse data sources within secure workspaces can make it easier to explore complex research questions

Use cases and examples

Data analysis: A researcher uses Python scripts to analyse large healthcare datasets for predictive modelling directly within the secure workspace.

Custom reporting: A public health team runs R scripts to generate a dashboard summarising vaccination statistics.

Advanced workflows: A genomic researcher integrates specialised bioinformatics tools for DNA sequence analysis without transferring sensitive data outside the environment.

Things to consider

Users must ensure that the features they bring comply with SDE security policies.

Certain features requiring access to resources outside the secure environment, such as internet or remote database access, may be restricted or have limited functionality within the secure environment.

Prior approval will be needed for some features, and this may extend the time required to approve access to, and establish, secure environments.

To discuss using any of the ‘Bring Your Own’ services, contact the SDE with the data needed for your research project.

Last edited: 29 August 2025 9:53 am