Future-Proof Your Lab With the Latest LIMS
Whitepaper
Published: January 16, 2025

Credit: iStock
Today’s labs need cutting-edge solutions to keep pace with evolving scientific demands. Traditional on-premises laboratory information management systems (LIMS) can no longer provide the flexibility, security and efficiency required for modern data-driven research.
This whitepaper explores how the latest LIMS transform lab operations by providing automatic updates, improved security and zero-touch maintenance, all of which empower researchers to focus on scientific discovery, not IT management.
Download this whitepaper to learn:
- How a software-as-a-service (SaaS) LIMS automates updates and eliminates IT burdens
- Key benefits of transitioning from legacy LIMS to SaaS, including cost savings
- Steps for a seamless LIMS migration and long-term operational success
Transfer Responsibility with SaaS | 1
As today’s labs continue to evolve, the software solutions
that support them must too.
Likewise, laboratory and organization leadership must be open to the advancements available to them from modern technologies. Laboratory Information
Management Systems (LIMS), when delivered as Software-as-a-Service (SaaS),
now go much further in enabling organizations to build the lab of the future
by integrating the digital lab into the data ecosystem. Making one strategic
decision – to upgrade to a SaaS LIMS – leads to a wide range of benefits from
the benchtop to the boardroom.
Organizations with older on-premises LIMS releases have much to gain when
they upgrade to a current SaaS version, including:
• Automatic updates and patches to the latest productivityenhancing functionality
• Access to artificial intelligence (AI) innovations
• Guaranteed uptimes and automated backups
• Latest cybersecurity protections and ongoing scans
• Dedicated time for science instead of IT
Missing out on today’s LIMS capabilities prevents users from performing
at their fullest potential. These labs may be struggling with redundancies
between departments, inadequate full-system visibility, reliance on paper
notebooks and printed spreadsheets, and manual recording of data without
automated SOPs for regulations, data integrity, and more. In addition,
third-party consultants, internal administrators, and shadow IT can layer on
hidden costs and inadvertently create a hybrid of patches, add-ons, customizations, and work-arounds that are difficult to maintain, let alone upgrade.
These operational headaches can be a distraction. It doesn’t have to be that
way, thanks to modern technology. A SaaS LIMS deployment with expert
services is the answer.
In this white paper, learn
how a SaaS-based LIMS
modernization program
optimizes data management,
fosters collaboration, and
improves decision-making
to stay at the forefront of
scientific innovation.
Transfer Responsibility with SaaS
TRADE OUTDATED LIMS TECHNOLOGY AND IT HASSLES FOR ZERO-TOUCH MAINTENANCE
Transfer Responsibility with SaaS | 2
Why SaaS
SaaS is a software delivery method using secure cloud services to provide software applications over the internet as paid annual or monthly subscriptions, instead of as on-premises
perpetual licensing. This enables scalability, adaptability, and cost-efficiencies needed for
labs to navigate the complex terrain of data-centered scientific research and manufacturing.
Embracing updated laboratory informatics delivered via SaaS is a necessary step in
optimizing data management, fostering collaboration, speeding decision-making, and
staying at the forefront of scientific innovation.
According to the SaaS Academy, “The SaaS industry is experiencing an unprecedented surge,
cementing its position as a cornerstone for businesses worldwide. From tech to healthcare,
SaaS has penetrated every sector, and now many companies are transitioning to a fully SaaSbased model, fueling the demand for SaaS solutions.”
The global software as a service market size was valued at USD 261.15 billion in 2022 and is
expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 13.7% from 2023 to 2030.
“In today’s era where growth is not merely a choice but a necessity for organizations, the
significance of cloud computing or SaaS migration cannot be overstated,” says one expert.
“Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) migration has emerged as a transformative force, empowering
businesses to enhance customer experiences, lessen overhead expenses, and embrace
unparalleled growth.”
SaaS bids farewell to cumbersome infrastructure, costly maintenance, and the hassle of
product upgrades that can be disruptive to the entire workplace – and are therefore often
long overdue.
Not having to worry about hardware and servers also brings a cost savings. Accenture
reports that cloud migration can result in savings of up to 30-40% in total cost of ownership
(TCO). This leaves funds available for other growth projects.
CIO Dive reports that SaaS adoption continues to rise as organizations demand scalable,
agile solutions. “IT leaders have a profound opportunity to drive digital disruption with
SaaS applications, which are easy to consume and enable business users to bypass IT,”
the article’s author, Manjunath Bhat, VP analyst at Gartner, says.
SaaS in the Lab
Once organizations realize SaaS deployments are a strategic decision, business leaders can
focus on their primary missions while experts manage and care for systems and applications. This particularly applies to laboratories, where the work is highly specialized, mission
critical, and often regulated or process intensive. The lab workforce has a passion for science,
discovery, and problem solving – not tedious manual workflows or IT management.
An updated LIMS, deployed via SaaS and supported by expert services, frees teams from
the hassles of managing non-lab-related issues like hardware, infrastructure, routine maintenance, backups, and security. Scientists and other lab technicians can focus on the tasks that
bring meaningful outcomes, without worrying, for example, if their research is safe, if data
is adequately encrypted to protect patient privacy, if their quality parameters are being met,
who is monitoring for cyber threats, and more.
FREE UP FUNDS FOR ADDITIONAL
GROWTH PROJECTS
Accenture reports that cloud migration
can result in savings of up to 30-40%
in total cost of ownership (TCO).
Transfer Responsibility with SaaS | 3
Transfer Responsibility
A shift to SaaS transfers the responsibility of LIMS platform maintenance and more to
the vendor, freeing laboratory staff to focus on science. Here’s a breakdown of who owns
what responsibilities when comparing on-premises deployments to SaaS:
On-Premises SaaS
Daily maintenance
and backups Lab/IT Vendor
Encryption and security Lab/IT Vendor
Disaster recovery Lab/IT Vendor
Upgrades
Lab must pay to install each
upgrade and is responsible
for all supporting activities
Vendor sends updates.
Lab decides which
features to engage
Customer Care Pay for support level
Comes with subscription;
tiered levels of support
for every budget
Leverage a LIMS Modernization Program
Implementing, upgrading, and migrating a LIMS can be daunting. But the risks taken in the
lab with outdated software or manual processes are too great to postpone new technologies.
A modern LIMS from an experienced vendor can alleviate many of the perceived headaches
of implementation and deliver the benefits of automation, analytics, cybersecurity, data
integrity, and more.
LabVantage’s LIMS modernization program makes the effort worthwhile. It delivers the
features, functionality, and support that organizations need to break free of legacy trappings
that interfere with dynamic change and growth. By taking a careful look at what a SaaS
upgrade includes, you’ll see that the benefits of modernizing and moving to cloud deployment far outweigh the time and effort that goes into a successful transition. Here are some
reasons to switch:
New Functionality SaaS deployment means ongoing updates are automatically sent to you,
so your solution always stays relevant and equipped with the latest features and functionality.
You never have to go through a manual upgrade process again, but your solution is always
modern.
Subscription Model The SaaS model means your LIMS related costs are smaller, steady
operational expenses, rather than one large capital expense that can be highly disruptive
to cashflow and followed by hidden costs you didn’t anticipate. With a subscription, you
know exactly what the cost is each month, and you can scale up as needed.
High-value Services With a SaaS subscription, you take advantage of zero-touch maintenance. That means the infrastructure and hardware are provided for you, and applications
are managed daily. You don’t need to worry about servers, maintenance, and backups,
or protection against cyber threats. It’s all handled for you by highly qualified experts
employed by your SaaS solution provider.
A TRANSFORMATIVE FORCE
Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) migration
has emerged as a transformative force,
empowering businesses to enhance
customer experiences, lessen overhead
expenses, and embrace unparalleled
growth.
Transfer Responsibility with SaaS | 4
Reliability By partnering with top-tier hosting providers, LabVantage delivers highly reliable,
stable systems with connectivity seldom interrupted. With multiple data storage facilities,
your data is always safe in case of natural disasters. Disaster recovery is fast and easy.
Trusted Advisor You transfer responsibility for maintaining the system from your internal
staff to our experts. We stay close to your team, with regular check-ins to talk about
needs, issues, and ways to maximize performance. We get to know your business model
and workflows, proactively helping you find new ways to optimize efficiency.
Product Expertise With deep product knowledge, LabVantage Customer Care and product
support are the best resources to offer advice on capabilities, how to leverage specific
features, when to turn on/off modules, or the best way to set up a specific desired workflow or use-case.
LabVantage Vision: Get and Stay Ahead With SaaS Conversion
We don’t know what the future of technology and science will bring. We do know that
labs and their solutions providers, like LabVantage, must work together to be prepared
and respond to changing needs.
LabVantage is committed to supporting customers with next-generation technology that
is reliable, easy to use, and meets all industry mandates and regulations, from 21 CFR
Part 11 to HIPPA, GMP and ISO to SOPs.
To help our customers take advantage of LabVantage’s investments in product development
and enterprise SaaS, we’re offering on-premises customers the opportunity to shift to SaaS
and expedite an upgrade to the latest LabVantage LIMS release via our modernization
program. Here are some specifics of what you can expect:
Smooth Upgrade, Support, and Continued Services
• Expediting a move to the new LIMS environment, LabVantage forms an implementation
plan, which includes steps for migrating existing data, including any data clean-up that
is needed before data can be stored in the cloud. This is mapped out as part of the transition and handled in phases, so day-to-day functions are minimally impacted. During the
implementation stage, users are trained on any new functionality or processes.
• LabVantage SaaS customers choose from multiple levels of service packages, from
basic escalation to zero-touch. Customers select the best option for them. This can mean
24/7/365 support for round-the-clock operations or local time-zone support during
traditional work hours.
• LabVantage assigns a support team member to your account who stays in regular touch.
Management review calls are scheduled quarterly or as needed. By staying in contact,
we can help you get the full value out of your LabVantage LIMS. Proactive interaction
helps you stay informed about functionality newly available, best practices, and ways
to optimize features for best results.
• Organizations can work with their LabVantage team to improve the user experience,
from users at the bench looking to eliminate tedious steps to managers wanting to boost
the team’s productivity. Today’s generation of early-career personnel expect technology
that is easy to use and anticipates their needs. LabVantage can work with you to make
sure bench users have the experience they want.
• LabVantage Customer Care services can advise and help with use cases and how to personalize the solution without risking system integrity or data security. Organizations can save
money by no longer outsourcing day-to-day tasks like back-ups or hiring consultants for
small projects. In fact, transferring responsibilities via a SaaS deployment can often offset
these third-party fees and other hidden costs.
• Always focused on innovation and bringing new technology to customers, LabVantage
product development teams continually drive customer value through product enhancements and improved user experiences. These updates are rolled out semiannually with
full documentation and training for users that may be required.
• Because of the close support relationship created via Customer Care, customers are kept
well informed on the product roadmap, with timely updates about when major innovations
will be released. The communication is two-way. Labs can make enhancement requests,
sharing with LabVantage the types of issues they see emerging in the market and how they
would like to see the technology evolve. Organizations can also provide feedback on release
updates. This closed loop of timely, strategic level communication pays off in many ways
for the organization, putting company leaders in a position of influence and respect.
Advantages for Everyone – Bench to Boardroom
Different people in organizations have different priorities, but everyone can benefit
from a SaaS LIMS deployment.
CEO As owners of organizational growth, CEOs need information. Laboratories are
the centerpiece of organizational IP, but their data can often be siloed or disassociated
from enterprise systems. A modern SaaS LIMS brings the lab into the digital native
enterprise, easily integrated with the greater digital ecosystem for analytics and
insights beyond the lab. In addition to yielding greater lab productivity and performance, a SaaS LIMS contributes to better insights and decision-making and accelerated
products to market.
CFO SaaS enables organizations to shift LIMS costs from a capital expense to an operational one. The subscription model makes budgeting and planning simple and scalable.
Pay only for what you need. There’s no need for multiple contracts with third-party
consultants; instead one preferred vendor is the trusted partner.
CIO Shift responsibility of the LIMS environment to LIMS experts. The zero touch,
zero maintenance of the SaaS solution means daily maintenance, automatic backups,
disaster relief, and cybersecurity are managed by the LIMS vendor. So too is the daily
management and maintenance of the LIMS environment. Gain highly reliable uptime,
with minimal risk.
Lab Managers Get the most out of your LIMS platform and your scientists. With an
always-up-to-date LIMS managed by the LIMS vendor, your scientists are free to run
experiments, analyze data, run reports, and remain compliant. Your system is automatically patched, updated, and backed up; processes are automated; oversight is eased;
and accuracy and data integrity are ensured. You gain access to real-time analytics and
visualization dashboards to measure lab performance and productivity, providing a
much better view to quickly respond to changing business demands.
Bench Users Work with the latest technology and newest features. From R&D to QA/
QC, the SaaS LIMS brings up-to-date workflows and features to users, automating
processes, reducing repetitive work, ensuring accuracy and data integrity, enforcing
SOPs, and in general streamlining scientific work while reducing IT issues.
Transfer Responsibility with SaaS | 5
ABOUT LABVANTAGE SOLUTIONS
A recognized leader in enterprise laboratory software solutions, LabVantage Solutions dedicates itself to improving customer outcomes by
transforming data into knowledge. The LabVantage informatics platform is highly configurable, integrated across a common architecture, and 100%
browser-based to support hundreds of concurrent users. Deployed on-premise, via the cloud, or SaaS, it seamlessly interfaces with instruments and
other enterprise systems – enabling true digital transformation. The platform consists of the most modern laboratory information management
system (LIMS) available, integrated electronic laboratory notebook (ELN), laboratory execution system (LES), scientific data management system
(SDMS), and our advanced analytics solution (LabVantage Analytics); and for healthcare settings, a laboratory information system (LIS). We support
more than 1500 global customer sites in the life sciences, pharmaceutical, medical device, biobank, food & beverage, consumer packaged goods,
oil & gas, genetics/diagnostics, and healthcare industries. Headquartered in Somerset, NJ., with global offices, LabVantage has, for four decades,
offered its comprehensive portfolio of products and services to enable customers to innovate faster in the R&D cycle, improve manufactured
product quality, achieve accurate record-keeping, and comply with regulatory requirements. For more information, visit labvantage.com.
For more information, visit www.labvantageclinical.com.
©2024 LabVantage Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved. LabVantage is a registered trademark of LabVantage Solutions, Inc. Other product or service names mentioned herein are the trademarks of their respective owners. 2024-01
LabVantage Solutions, Inc.
265 Davidson Avenue, Suite 220
Somerset, NJ 08873
Phone: +1 (908) 707-4100
www.labvantage.com
Next Steps
The adoption of SaaS for LIMS modernization is not just a choice but a strategic
imperative for laboratories. Bringing scalability, adaptability, and cost-efficiencies to labcentered organizations will enable them to optimize their data management, encourage
needed collaboration, and inform and speed decision-making. Deploying the latest
technologies via SaaS is the ticket to staying at the forefront of scientific innovation.
Labs with on-premises deployments of LabVantage LIMS are invited to evaluate a
modernization option. With so much to gain from an improved LIMS platform, why
wait? Putting off a decision delays benefits, leaving you at greater risk of falling behind
the competition or losing the confidence of your customers. Your data may also be in
jeopardy if your current back-up system isn’t topnotch or your cybersecurity safeguards
aren’t stellar.
By making one strategic decision, you solve many challenges and ensure that your
organization will be ready for the future, whatever it may bring.
TO LEARN MORE ABOUT LabVantage’s LIMS modernization program, email
jeff.policastro@labvantage.com.
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