Perhaps the most crucial decision today for laboratories is whether to transfer their LIMS to the cloud. In every industry, labs are driven by management to decrease expenses and increase efficiency due to competition. During the process, they are also expected to raise quality and remain compliant to regulations. Moreover, the growth of CROs (contract research organizations) and R&D (research & development) outsourcing business models in pharmaceuticals have led to laboratories gathering an ever growing volume of data from several partners, resulting in much greater complexity in laboratory workflows.

As a result, LIMS (Laboratory Information Management System) have seen a significant increase in adoption. Unfortunately, using conventional architecture is typically time-consuming, and implementation and management is expensive. All the effort a company’s IT staff has to expend on integrations, upgrades, and infrastructure keeps it from being agile and innovative. In addition, in-house infrastructure usually cannot scale adequately or quickly enough to adapt to changing business conditions.

During the last few years, several vendors in the informatics space began offering LIMS cloud services. Typically locating LIMS systems on either their servers or at a third party’s, this business model is termed SaaS (software as a service). Utilized by a variety of different industries for several years, this approach has yielded positive outcomes, such as greater laboratory innovation and efficiency.

Cloud-Based LIMS Benefits

As digital transformation accelerates in pace, it becomes even more important for labs to be both economical and efficient in the development, testing, deployment, and maintenance of proven IT solutions. As mentioned previously, the installation and implementation of on-premise systems take a considerable amount of time. This will deprive a company’s IT team of time needed for the enhancement of systems through innovation.

Part 2 will discuss the advantages of transferring your LIMS to the cloud and implementing a subscription-based SaaS solution.

Alpha Engineering LIMS Implementation

Alpha Engineering Associates, Inc. has been involved with the implementation of over 50 LIMS systems ranging in size from small, “off-the-shelf” software systems to very large, highly customized, multi-functional systems, including STARLIMS, for both governmental agencies and private enterprises. For affordable client-focused network consulting services and solutions, please call Alpha Engineering Associates today at (410) 295-9500.