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LIMS systems are used in most commercial laboratories. These systems range from simple off the shelf lab management software solutions to highly customized systems validated in highly regulated industries.

The reason LIMS systems are widely used is because they offer a cost savings to businesses by both automating and streamlining tasks which are routinely performed in laboratories and manufacturing facilities.

Benefits of Using a LIMS in Your Laboratory

Automate routine calculations and chromatography data collection
Automatically assign test and sample statuses by comparing test results to test limits
Automatically generate required reports and labels at various stages of a sample's lifecycle (sample labels at login, certificate of analysis at sample approval, etc)
Allows live access to all laboratory data throughout the facility
Automated determination of reduced testing schedules
Allows for easy access to electronic data for statistical analysis such as process control and process capability studies
Automated sample logging for equipment calibration and maintenance as well as automated tracking of the status of these instruments
Automated tracking and expiry of chemicals and reagents
Automated tracking of retain samples and hold times
Automated assignment of due dates for samples in the system
Reduction in paper trail (less paper, still have not seen paperless!)
Date and time stamps for each stage of a sample's lifecycle to be used for turn around time studies

Each system is different and configured to meet the regulations of various industries. Because of this, any specific system may not offer all of the above listed benefits or may offer more.

Customizing a LIMS system can be a double edged sword. The more a system is customized for your specific needs, the more on site validation required. In other words, the more you need to tailor a system to your specific needs the more up front investment will be required. Much of this cost is also dependent upon the regulatory requirements of your industry.

I work in the pharmaceutical industry in LIMS implementation, validation, customization and support. In this capacity, I try to stay up to date on new software products in this field. This website is a work in progress and a compilation of laboratory information management vendors. I have tried to include a mix of suppliers; from off the shelf, inexpensive solutions to more complex, customized systems used at large corporations.

SaaS - Software as a Service

It seems like each week I am updating a vendors page to add the fact that they are now offering their data management software over the internet for a subscription fee. Thermo Fisher Scientific just announced in March at Pittcon 2010 that they are offering an online LIMS. If this is new to you, it is called SaaS or "software as a service". This is just one more example of how we are all shifting to and becoming more accepting of cloud computing.

SaaS is a much more cost effective way for a laboratory to access a LIMS. The cost of implementation, validation, software and server maintenance and repair are all shifted to the software vendor. This business model makes the benefits of this software within the financial reach many smaller to medium sized labs that could never have afforded to implement a system in house.

Because this shift is becoming so prominent in the industry, I will soon be adding a page that lists all of the vendors offering the use of their software online. I am guessing that there is or soon will be a flood of these smaller labs that have been waiting for an affordable way to take advantage of the benefits of a system that has thus far been out of their reach.

If SaaS is so great, why then would any company stay with an in house system? My guess is that unless you are willing to pay a pretty sizable fee, the LIMS is not going to have the degree of customization that you can get from a system you control yourself. I do not say this to detract from the value of a SaaS system, it is still going to be a great improvement for laboratories that are manually documenting all data, manually compiling all reports, turn around times and relying on spreadsheets.