configurability for flexibility However, efforts to standardise on information systems globally are not always straightforward, according to John Boother, managing director of Autoscribe. ‘There is a trend towards people wanting more standardisation and global business. This sounds great on paper and is probably driven by IT people,’ he notes. ‘However, trying to pick a global system is extremely difficult if it doesn’t have the flexibility to configure for differences.’ For this, Boother believes that configurability


is key. ‘When we do surveys about what customers want flexibility always comes out top,’ he says. ‘ We’re putting a lot of effort into


configurability of our solution and we’re able to go into any sort of lab and design systems even down to changing the screen design without changing the code. If we were going to go into the ELN business, we’d do it with configuration rather than with code too.’ John Gabathuler, director, industrial and


environmental of LabWare believes that a single product strategy is key to meeting customer needs. ‘For LabWare our continued single product strategy [LIMS and ELN], in- place enhancements and customer focus has ensured that both our existing and new customers systems have been readily adaptable to meet new business challenges and opportunities,’ he says. ‘It seems clear that major innovations for


and its ability to display third-party systems and fields, including other LIMS. Data migration is an issue that LabVantage


has had to handle since its 2010 purchase of SQL. According to LabVantage’s director of strategic solutions, Jeff Vannest, in a blog post on the topic, ‘LabVantage has a rich history of providing innovative and reliable data migration services. From small, spreadsheet- based systems to large, legacy or competitor LIMS, each migration project is planned, managed, and executed using the most reliable methodologies and toolsets available.’ He went on to explain that migration


planning – for merging the SQL customers into LabVantage and subsequent data migration projects – begins with an analysis of the data available in the legacy LIMS system and then visually mapping tables and columns between the source and target systems. ‘The goals of the data mapping exercise are


to review the business processes provided by the legacy system, to designate target tables and columns for existing data, and provide a chance to design and optimise the new workflows as they will operate in the new system,’ says Vannest. These designs are then provided to the


of customers who wanted to do their own instrument interfacing. What we’re finding now is that a lot of customers are just looking for that end-to-end solution from the vendor.’ The company’s new LabVantage Connect


product is based on software that Software Point has been using for a number of years and will be able to connect a wide variety of instrument types – from simple balances to complex CDS systems or clinical type instruments.


the future Informatics companies have faced many challenges over recent years and there will likely be more to come as they and their customers evolve and change. ‘Previously, informatics was implemented


‘prEvIouSLy InforMatIcS WaS IMpLEMEntEd MoStLy by chEMIStS, but thIS IS changIng’


the last decade or more have come from the independent LIMS and ELN vendors that have been able to grow sufficiently and profitably enough to sustain a substantial continuing programme of development and expansion to stay abreast of changing customer and market needs – vital for a successful software company.’


data migration This is a major issue for any customer switching from one LIMS to another or upgrading when their original LIMS supplier has merged with another company. This is because every system on the market has its own structure. ‘You can’t load just data from system 1 to system 2, but the upgrade path has to be low cost and allow data migration,’ says Autoscribe’s Boother. He says that the structure of Autoscribe’s


Matrix Gemini LIMS can help with the issue of data migration, because of its configurability


ETL (extract, transform and load) developers for construction. The company also has a close partnership with Expressor, which provides data integration software, and uses a semantic layer created by LabVantage for unifying names between different systems. ‘Developing an approach to custom LIMS


migrations will probably never be as simple as point, click, or drag. It can, however, be simplified and streamlined using a proper selection of technology, tools, and methodology,’ he concludes.


Instrument interfacing Another challenge that customers of LIMS and ELNs face is instrument interfacing and this was part of the thinking behind LabVantage’s recent purchase of Software Point. As Fred Hoffman, solutions manager of LabVantage explained in a recent video to customers: ‘Typically, in years past, we’ve seen a lot


mostly by chemists, but this is changing. I expect to see a continuation of growth in the area of biological data management, analysis handling and a continued uptake of ELN use by biologists,’ observes Clive Higgins of PerkinElmer, who adds that there will be a continued expansion in the adoption of mobile technology in labs. However, Higgins believes that the biggest changes for ELN customers – and hence for their suppliers – is the increase in outsourcing of R&D. ‘What that means is that instead of having everyone using the ELN infrastructure under one roof, the


information is vastly distributed, worldwide. The infrastructure, security and architecture that you have to build are quite different. ‘So, when a large pharmaceutical company


does the initial discovery and sends a sample for assay development, which is done in China, that process needs to be totally seamless for the company’s informatics infrastructure.’ And this brings challenges, because what


happens to the sample physically is not itself seamless. Instead, it has to be sent through DHL or


FedEx and flown around the world, with corresponding logistical challenges like shipping and customs documentation. Fortunately for these customers, informatics


companies are eager to address whatever challenges may arise – whether these challenges are in the informatics sector or in the industries they serve.


5


L IMS : a changIng L and S c a p E


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