The Complete Guide to LIMS

 

Exploring The Types Of LIMS And How They Can Help You Better Manage Your Manufacturing Processes

In research and testing facilities, manufacturing processes management is key to ensuring facilities run at optimum efficiency and capacity,  so it’s important to have a management system that produces these outcomes. Laboratory information management software (LIMS) is the most commonly utilized tool to support labs to manage their research facilities. So what do you need to know about LIMS and how do you know the best choice for your laboratory?

There are two types of LIMS you can introduce to your laboratory - on-premise software and cloud-based. On-premise is the more traditional form of LIMS, usually a one-off purchase from a vendor with a database that is installed usually from a CD-ROM or web-link. Once an on-premise LIMS has been installed, the laboratory’s IT department would be responsible for its running and upkeep.

Cloud-based Software as a Service (SaaS) LIMS is the newer offering from software companies. SaaS LIMS is usually licensed out by the software company (as opposed to sold as a one-stop software). This means that the software management responsibility falls on the software provider, not the laboratory licensing it.

Limitations of On-Premise Software

Both on-premise and cloud-based LIMS have their advantages, so it’s important to break down the benefits of each to see why many laboratories are now opting for the SaaS solutions over their traditional rivals.

One of the key benefits of on-premise LIMS is software customization. Having ownership over the software once it has been installed means that a lab’s IT department would be able to uniquely customize the LIMS to meet the lab’s specific needs.

This in itself though can have drawbacks. An on-premise LIMS that requires consistent internal IT support to run effectively can be a huge financial drain on a lab’s resources. And to keep one-off sales profitable for LIMS providers, the initial software implementation can also be very costly.

So how do cloud-based LIMS options outweigh their on-premise counterparts?

Benefits Of Moving To A Cloud Based Solution

 

If you don’t have an infinite budget and a large IT support team on hand, chances are that you want to find the most affordable and effective LIMS for your laboratory. Cloud-based LIMS have grown in popularity over the last decade, and these are just some of the reasons why:

 

Cost

Instead of purchasing a software license for your LIMS, SaaS LIMS allows labs to pay lower monthly subscription fees, usually with no contract. This allows you the freedom to try out a new LIMS without the huge implementation costs that come with the on-site options.

 

Less internal IT resources required

Unlike on-site LIMS, where you need a team of highly skilled IT specialists to run and optimize the software, with cloud-based LIMS, this heavy lifting is taken care of for you. Often, cloud-based LIMS opinions will come with full IT and customer support from the software provider, throughout your subscription period.

 

Scale

Your goal is to grow your lab - and cloud-based LIMS is here to help you do that. By choosing a subscription based LIMS, you can add and remove users easily, allowing you to manage more employees as your lab grows.

 

Silabmed LIMS is a cloud-based management solution built to fit the needs of all labs, regardless of size. Empowering your lab with tools that can help you to optimize your processes, reduce turnaround times and increase outputs, it’s ready to help support your lab with growth and scale, every step of the way.

 

Speak to our expert team today to find out how Silabmed could be a good fit for your laboratory: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.