4 Factors to Consider While Choosing the Best LIMS

The ever-evolving technologies continue to ease our lives.  From enhanced efficiency, accessibility, control, among other concerns, it is now easier to manage various operations than in the recent past. In hotspot areas, such as clinical trials that are highly controlled by the FDA with stringent compliance requirements, technology has made it easier by streamlining various areas of concern. With the right resources, such as LIMS (Laboratory Information Management Systems), clinical trial management is more comfortable and productive. While technology delivers numerous benefits, your organization can only realize such benefits if you choose the right LIMS. While selecting the best LIMS, among the top factors to consider include.

IT resources

LIMS require certain resources to implement and support, with some more demanding than others. If, for instance, your IT capacity is not that well-off, it would help if you opted for COTS (commercial off-the-shelf system that has extensive functionality configured or a tailor-made specialty system following your industry-specific needs such as the laboratory type. Such systems require fewer configurations, and with a cloud-based system, even lesser resources for successful installation and maintenance.

The budget

While considering budgetary concerns, determining the total cost of ownership (TCO) requires a thorough evaluation. Determining the best LIMS requires more than a blank stare at the initial capital injection, as you have to consider the ongoing costs as well. From required customizations to keep up with the changes, extra modules costs, annuity maintenance, standard functionality, and license costs, you need to diligently analyze the financial implication to select an ideal LIMS per your organization’s needs and budget.

Lab type

What LIMS features would best support your lab environment? For efficient management and productivity, for instance, R&D lab requirements differ from QA/QC labs. Before hitting the market, therefore, you need to understand your lab type and highlight essential consideration that a LIMS must-have to ease your search. You could, for instance, only consider LIMS with tailored functionalities for your specific lab type, such as configurations providing a portal for researchers to submit samples to the lab at various sites if you are running an analytical lab.

Industry

Compliance requirements vary from one industry to the next, so is operation management. The best part is that as tech advancements continue to revolutionize the sector, you can now find specialized LIMS tailored for your industry-specific needs. If, for instance, you are running a QC lab, you could go for LIMS with extensive features easing regulatory compliance such as chain of custody, instrument maintenance, and calibration, e-signature, reagents tracking among other essential considerations. If your industry regulations are not that demanding, however, you could opt for a LIMS with additional configurations aimed at enhancing workflow requirements.

Following the level of flexibility desired, moreover, you could consider general-purpose LIMS, such as more programmable options if you are operating in a rapidly evolving environment, or OOB (out-of-box) feature-rich LIMS is you are looking for a flexible system with lower TCO.

While choosing the right LIMS is a significant consideration, verifying that the supplier is reliable and reputable is equally essential. As you select a supplier, see to it that they are resourceful, experienced, and have knowledgeable and active customer support department to ensure that you enjoy a smooth and productive engagement.