Comparison
Researcher Center vs shared drives and internal wikis
Shared drives and wikis are still necessary. They store files. Researcher Center sits on top of trusted lab material so the team can ask questions and check the evidence.
Storage is not the same as usable knowledge
| Question | Shared drive / wiki | Researcher Center |
|---|---|---|
| Primary job | Store and organize files or documentation | Answer questions across trusted lab documents |
| Retrieval | Manual search and folder knowledge | Plain-language questions with cited evidence |
| Onboarding | New members must learn where everything lives | New members can ask the lab corpus and open sources |
| Source verification | Possible, but manual | Built into the answer experience |
| Missing evidence | The user may not know the file is missing | Refuses and shows the gap |
| Best role | System of record for files | Evidence-grounded question-answering layer |
Category comparison reflects common behavior of shared drives and wikis as of July 2026. Individual products vary; verify current details before deciding.
Keep the files. Add a way to ask them.
Start with the protocols, theses, and notes your lab already trusts.