LIMS Software 2024 Buyers Guide | G2

What is LIMS software? 

A laboratory information management system (LIMS), also referred to as LMS (laboratory management system) or LIS (laboratory information system), manages the workflows, administration, finances, and operations of a laboratory. Depending on the needs, research focus, and functionalities of your laboratory, the features of LIMS can look very different between vendor solutions. Additionally, current LIMS software has evolved beyond the initial data collecting and tracking capabilities of the very first LIMS in the ‘80s. Now, LIMS allows labs to standardize workflows and the process of data collection and ensure the proper calibration and operation of lab equipment. With LIMS software, researchers and scientists do not need to manually record or keep track of data for any quality control or audit, shifting their focus from administrative tasks to more valuable work.

Key benefits of LIMS: 

• Increases productivity and efficiency within a lab by defining workflows and automating standard tasks and record-keeping
• Improves compliance efforts and data integrity by reducing the margin of human error
• Centralizes and standardizes the storage of sample information for easy access and effective use
• Interfaces with standard lab equipment, instruments, and resources
• Provides direct or supports third-party integration with billing software to enable accurate and efficient financial management

Why use LIMS software?

Many labs still rely on spreadsheets to organize and store their research data. While options (such as Excel) can work for smaller labs, this method isn’t scalable or customizable to the nuances of specific industries and requires immense manual effort. LIMS solutions streamline the recording and processing of the data that is collected, stored, and analyzed by research, clinical, industrial, or any other kind of laboratory. LIMS tools can deftly handle the massive amounts of data that go in and out of labs, significantly reducing the time it takes humans to upload and track any sample data that flows in and out of a laboratory. Additionally, LIMS ensure labs keep their operations efficiently running as well as meet regulatory requirements like Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP), Food and Drug Administration (FDA), 21 CFR (Code of Federal Regulations) Part 11, and Good Laboratory Practice (GLP). With LIMS software, labs can keep track of supplies, certifications, instrument updates, and field data.

• Accuracy - Labs lean on LIMS software to produce more accurate results and processes that can be repeated. A LIMS software can manage test scheduling, instrument calibration, equipment monitoring and maintenance, and inventory stock.
• Efficiency - LIMS solutions help automate lab operations, from data logging to instrument maintenance to streamlining workflows. The automation of the system reduces margins of human error, helps create an audit trail, and offers an effective data management solution.
• Lab management - Every LIMS system has the capability to transform a lab’s sample management processes. On top of that, a LIMS tidies up lab operations, including repetitive and regularly occurring tasks like meeting compliance, regulatory, and privacy standards.

Who uses LIMS software?

While some one-size-fits-all LIMS exist, they are the minority. Today, specialized LIMS software exists for nearly every type of lab. Furthermore, most LIMS solutions seamlessly integrate with physical lab equipment, instruments, and other lab-specific solutions to better serve the needs of labs. This is helpful, considering that all lab workers, scientists, researchers, and support staff will come in contact with the LIMS, no matter their role. Quality control and quality assurance personnel, lab supervisors, IT professionals, scientists, and researchers benefit from the accuracy, efficiency, and transparency facilitated via LIMS software.

Kinds of LIMS

Differences between LIMS depend on vendor offerings and industry needs. For example, the focus of a food and beverage lab differs from the focus of an industrial lab. There are even differences between clinical labs and research and development (R&D) labs.

The more straightforward way to differentiate LIMS apps is by application type and deployment type. LIMS can be deployed on the premises, in the cloud, or remotely.

• On-premises - On-premises LIMS are purchased, installed, and run on servers that are owned and located on the actual site of the lab facility. The downside to on-premises software is that it is time consuming and expensive to implement and manage. Additionally, on-premises solutions put a strain on seamless data sharing or scalability potential.
• Cloud SaaS - Cloud software as a service (cloud SaaS) LIMS allows users to subscribe to the solution without having to permanently own either the system or the server to operate the LIMS. Cloud SaaS LIMS requires a secure connection to make the system’s license work. A cloud-based LIMS lives and dies according to the level of customer support that the vendor provides its customers.
• Remotely-hosted - Remotely hosted LIMS software live between an on-premises and cloud-based solution: While the lab would permanently own the LIMS it bought, the software is installed and hosted at a remote data center, which relieves any infrastructure or IT management needs.

LIMS software features

While LIMS have evolved since their beginning iteration, adding an expansive array of features, any effective LIMS must be able to track and manage samples, query and report sample results, and create visibility among lab equipment and inventory. Any other functionality will be a bonus: enterprise resource planning, advanced data analysis, and any industry-specific functionality. The basic functions, then, are as follows:

• Sample management  - Any and all LIMS should offer sample management functionality, which is the most common reason why labs turn to LIMS. The sample management feature helps labs keep accurate records of each sample, from intake to processing to storage. LIMS minimizes the risk of mislabeling, contamination, misplacement, or any other human error.
• Workflow management - LIMS streamlines and can automate laboratory workflows. LIMS can assign tasks and tests to researchers, define and standardize workflow processes, and create essential testing points at any stage of the workflow.
• Inventory management - Lab personnel must accurately keep track of the samples, equipment, and instruments that are used in labs. It’s an unnecessary use of resources to manually keep track of inventory, and luckily, LIMS fully automates that process.
• Reporting - A significant benefit of LIMS is its ability to maintain, automate, and dispense reports accurately and timely. Keeping track of samples, inventory, and processing data is an expected feature of LIMS, and the reports that can be generated with the software are vital in optimizing lab operations and providing an audit trail for lab activity.

Additional LIMS Features

• Support - Vendor support for implementing and deploying a LIMS is helpful for the pain-free long-term adoption of the system in any lab. While vendors have realized that modern LIMS software needs to be user-friendly and intuitive, it still remains a complex technology, particularly if a lab wants to be able to use one to its full potential.
• ELN - There used to be a distinct difference between LIMS and electronic lab notebooks (ELN), but more and more, LIMS are coming with ELN functionality baked right in. ELN functionality further supports any documentation and notes archiving needs of a lab.

Trends related to LIMS software

• New regulation - Labs fall under the purview of regulatory bodies. Food, beverage, and pharma labs must align with FDA regulations, and clinical and biotech labs must align with the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), for example. Funding opportunities and restrictions impact a lab’s ability to innovate and produce new products. LIMS must evolve to support such compliance measures and any other close oversight resulting from changing regulatory issues.
• Off-the-shelf products - LIMS customers are becoming more willing (and more likely to want) to adopt off-the-shelf software that isn’t highly customized. In response, vendors should offer more standardized versions of their LIMS that require updates whenever new technology impacts industries that rely on lab data. More standardized LIMS software provides the potential to ease such upgrades as well as any implementation and installation processes.

Potential issues with LIMS software

• Too customized - LIMS vendors have responded to the individual needs of their customers by tailoring their systems to highly specific demands. The drawback of such customization is that the base product has become far less developed and lacking in functionality without a layer of customization. Another issue—similar to EHRs—is that a highly customized piece of software cannot scale or upgrade to new versions without significant depletion of resources.
• No such thing as one size fits all - While LIMS platforms have grown beyond their initial sample data recording and processing functionality, because specific industries need different things from their LIMS, a one-size-fits-all LIMS isn’t realistic or helpful to any lab. Labs should adopt the LIMS that best fits their needs and has the capability to grow with them. The best case scenario is to implement the LIMS that aligns with your lab’s priorities and can be configured to integrate with supplemental lab software.
• Implementation difficulties - LIMS are complex. Details like the kinds of labs the vendor regularly supports and how customized the LIMS is impact the implementation process. Something to consider as well is looping in the right stakeholders before purchasing the LIMS and determining what kind of deployment your lab requires. Not considering these kinds of details introduces the very real chance of undermining the successful implementation of the LIMS.

Software and services related to LIMS software

• Electronic lab notebook (ELN)  - Electronic laboratory notebooks (ELNs) are digitized versions of the paper notebooks that lab researchers previously filled with lab data. ELN software helps standardize lab work, promotes collaboration, and improves data quality. Some LIMS solutions offer ELN functionality, and some offer seamless integration with industry-relevant ELNs.
• Quality management (QMS) - Quality management software (QMS) can be used across any industry that undergoes regular audits. Manufacturing, supply, medical device, and food and beverage industries all leverage QMS to better keep track of, store, and maintain auditable data. Some labs are regularly audited, and not all LIMS software come equipped with reporting or data management functionality that is robust enough to handle compliance or regulatory tasks. This is when integration with QMS will come in handy.