BEST Network

What BEST Network does

BEST Network (Biomedical Education Skills and Training Network) is a not-for-profit academic collaboration founded in 2012 and administered by UNSW Sydney. It operates a cloud-based platform that enables universities, biomedical educators, and students to share, view, annotate, and collaborate on high-resolution medical images — including very large (1–20GB) virtual slides for histology, pathology, and gross anatomy. The core product, Slice, is hosted on Amazon AWS infrastructure managed by technology partner OpenLearning Limited (ASX:OLL), and integrates into institutional Learning Management Systems via the LTI standard. The product portfolio comprises Slice (image viewing and annotation), Brainstorm (a neuroanatomy atlas), and the Histology Atlas (a tissue-examination resource launched in October 2025).

The network serves 20+ institutional members across Australia, the UK, the US, Canada, Southeast Asia, and Latin America, reaching 495 schools, 3,371+ biomedical educators, and 23,842+ students. The community has contributed over 23,001 medical images (including 8,423+ virtual slides) and generated more than 2.2 million annotations. Customer segments include universities with biomedical programs, individual academics, medical and biomedical students, and (secondarily) healthcare educators and specialist trainees.

BEST Network generates revenue through tiered annual subscriptions priced in Australian Dollars. Institutional membership tiers range from A$7,500 to A$20,000+ per year (with a custom per-student Tier 4), academic individual tiers from A$750 to A$3,750, and student access at A$30 (free at member institutions). Brainstorm is offered standalone from A$600 to A$2,000 per year. A usage-based component adds A$3 per uploaded image. Go-to-market is community-led, relying on academic publications, conference presence, peer referrals, and the BEST Management Committee's institutional relationships; LMS integration via LTI functions as the primary enterprise distribution channel.

Name

BEST Network

Legal name

BEST Network (Biomedical Education Skills and Training Network)

Website

https://best.edu.au

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

BEST Network is a not-for-profit university consortium, administered by UNSW Sydney, operating the Slice cloud platform for sharing, viewing, and annotating high-resolution biomedical images across global medical education institutions, academics, and students.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Biomedical Education Software

NAICS

Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (518210)

SIC

Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370)

akta.pro primary industry

Data Science & Analytics Learning Platforms (EDAFANAG)

Keywords

• Biomedical education software
• Virtual slide platform
• Digital pathology teaching
• Neuroanatomy atlas software
• Histology image annotation

Headquarters

HQ city

Sydney

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Institutional Membership Subscriptions: Annual membership fees paid by universities and research institutions to access Slice, Brainstorm, and the BEST Network community. Tiered pricing based on institutional size and feature access (number of tracked learners, lecturer accounts, teaching assistants, image contributors). Fees range from $7,500 to $20,000+ AUD per year for institutions, with student access free for students at member institutions.
2. Individual Academic Subscriptions: Individual academics and students can purchase personal subscriptions directly. Student access is priced at $30 AUD per year; Academic Tier 1 at $750/year, Tier 2 at $1,500/year, and Tier 3 at $3,750/year. All plans billed annually with a 30-day free trial.
3. Brainstorm Neuroanatomy Subscriptions: Separate subscription tiers for Brainstorm neuroanatomy program, ranging from $600/year for Tier 1 (50 learners) to $2,000/year for Tier 3 (unlimited learners). Available as standalone or bundled with Slice.
4. Image Upload Fees: Institutions and academics pay $3 per image for uploading custom images to the Slice platform, in addition to their base subscription tier fee.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

BEST Network provides cloud-based software tools for biomedical education, including Slice (an image viewing and collaborative annotation platform for high-resolution virtual slides), Brainstorm (a neuroanatomy atlas), and the new Histology Atlas. The platform enables universities, academics, and students to upload, view, annotate, share, and collaborate on biomedical images including histology, pathology, and anatomy specimens. Products are delivered via institutional memberships and individual subscriptions with LMS integration.

Product overview

BEST Network is a not-for-profit network of universities operating a platform-plus-products model for biomedical and life sciences education. The core platform, BEST Network Portal, comprises three interconnected components: the BEST Community (an online forum for educators, researchers and students to interact and share), Content Access (a shared image bank), and Tools (Slice image viewing and annotation software and the Brainstorm neuroanatomy program). The primary product, Slice, is an image-based online learning and teaching platform that hosts thousands of medical images including virtual slides, enabling annotation, organization, and collaborative learning. Brainstorm provides a neuroanatomy atlas. A recent addition, Histology Atlas, extends the platform's tissue-level coverage. All products are available through tiered membership plans for students, academics, and institutions, with LMS integration via LTI connecting Slice into institutional learning management systems.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Slice: Image-based online learning and teaching platform for biomedical education, enabling image upload, annotation, and sharing. Hosts thousands of medical images and virtual slides.
• Brainstorm
• Histology Atlas

Products and services

• Slice Image-based online learning and teaching platform that allows educators and students to upload, view, annotate, share, and organise high-resolution medical images and virtual slides. Supports collaborative annotation, LMS integration via LTI, interactive question tools, and the Collections image organisation feature. Used by universities, biomedical educators, and medical students globally.
• Brainstorm Neuroanatomy atlas providing a comprehensive collection of human neuroanatomical structures used in neuroanatomy courses worldwide. Available as a standalone program or bundled with Slice as part of BEST Network membership tiers. Designed for educators teaching neuroscience and neuroanatomy as well as students studying those subjects.
• Histology Atlas Comprehensive guide to tissue examination covering histology for biomedical education. Provides structured access to tissue-level imagery including histology images to complement the broader Slice image bank. Designed for biomedical educators and students in histology and anatomy courses.

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

AI capability2 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core, former and minor.

• OpenLearning Limited (OLL)coreTechnology or Integration · 23 November 2020OpenLearning Limited (ASX:OLL) is the operating and technology partner of the BEST Network since late 2020, providing software engineering, platform development, and cloud infrastructure services. OpenLearning hosts Slice on Amazon AWS, employs 60 people headquartered in Sydney with a Southeast Asia head office in Kuala Lumpur, and is led by founder Adam Brimo. The partnership focuses on expanding Slice's capability to solidify its position as the world's leading tool for teaching with biomedical images. UNSW holds the benefit of OLL's rights in trust.
• Smart SparrowformerTechnology or IntegrationSmart Sparrow was the original technology partner that developed the website and collaboration tools for the BEST Network. The partnership with Smart Sparrow underpinned the network's early operations and contributed to the BHERT 2017 award recognition. The relationship with Smart Sparrow concluded prior to the OpenLearning partnership beginning in late 2020.
• Amazon Web Services (AWS)coreTechnology or IntegrationAmazon AWS provides cloud infrastructure for the Slice platform, enabling cost-effective hosting and distribution of very large (1-20GB) virtual slide images to an unlimited number of students and educators globally. AWS cloud servers are deployed across multiple geographic locations to ensure fast access for international member institutions.
• 1EdTech (IMS Global Learning Consortium)minorOthers1EdTech is a global education technology consortium focused on advancing interoperability and learning impact. BEST Network's Slice was recognised with the 2022 Learning Impact Awards Platinum Medal. 1EdTech runs the annual Learning Impact Awards program that recognises innovative uses of education technology worldwide.
• UNSW SydneycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUNSW Sydney is the administering organisation of the BEST Network (ABN: 57 195 873 179) and contracting entity for all network agreements. Prof. Nicholas Hawkins serves as Network Director. UNSW is a founding member (since July 2012) and has held the network's IP rights since establishment. UNSW also employs the Manager/Secretary of the network.
• University of QueenslandcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity of Queensland is a founding member of the BEST Network (since July 2012) and is represented on the BEST Management Committee by Dr. Claire Aland (Senior Lecturer, School of Biomedical Sciences). UQ researchers including Dr. Suja Pillai have been instrumental in developing and testing Slice features for pathology teaching.
• EquEd (Equity in Education)minorOthersEquEd is a community partner of the BEST Network (member since June 2022), focused on equity in education initiatives that align with BEST Network's mission to democratise access to biomedical education resources.
• Translational Cancer Research Network (TCRN)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTranslational Cancer Research Network is a network member of BEST Network (member since June 2015), contributing to the network's mission of sharing biomedical education resources across research and educational institutions.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Complete Anatomy (Elsevier / 3D4Medical): 3D anatomy education platform widely licensed by medical schools for anatomy teaching. Competes with Brainstorm for institutional anatomy learning budgets at the same biomedical educator and student personas.
• Lecturio: Medical education platform combining high-quality video lectures, question banks and image-based learning resources for medical students. Comparable as a visual learning subscription product addressing the same biomedical student persona.
• Osmosis (Elsevier): Visual medical education platform serving medical, nursing and health science students with image-and video-rich learning. Targets the same medical/biomedical student audience as BEST Network and competes for institutional education budgets.
• Kenhub: Anatomy and histology learning platform built around labeled anatomical images, illustrations and interactive quizzes. Closely comparable to Brainstorm and Slice for image-based anatomy education at the university level.
• Visible Body: Interactive 3D anatomy and physiology learning platform used in higher-education anatomy, A&P and pathology courses. Comparable image-based human anatomy/physiology learning product targeting universities.
• PathPresenter: Digital pathology viewing and teaching platform that allows educators and pathologists to view, share and annotate whole-slide images online. Direct comparable to BEST's Slice product in image-based pathology education workflows.
• Smart Sparrow (Pearson): Adaptive learning platform originally developed for higher education, and the prior technology partner of BEST Network before OpenLearning took over in 2020. Highly comparable in the EdTech-for-biomedical-education niche and historical partner context.

Others

• Canvas (Instructure): Widely adopted learning management system (LMS) that BEST Network integrates with via LTI. Comparable as a higher-education learning platform layer through which BEST's Slice content is delivered to students.
• OpenLearning Limited: Online learning platform and BEST Network's operating and technology partner since late 2020, hosting Slice on AWS and providing software engineering. Comparable as an LMS-style platform serving higher education institutions across APAC.

Broad incumbents

• Aperio (Leica Biosystems): Established digital pathology scanner and viewer platform serving clinical and research pathology workflows. Overlaps with BEST's Slice viewer for whole-slide images but addresses clinical rather than primarily educational use cases.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-best-network-

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about BEST Network