The Scientist’s Survival Guide:
Navigating complex LIMS implementation
Struggling with long and tedious lab platform implementation processes? Read on as we unpack the top challenges scientists and lab team members encounter with LIMS rollouts, like extensive customization and challenges with data migration, and discover how a science-aware solution can help you overcome them.
Good news: you finally convinced your organization to implement a new LIMS! Bad news: The implementation process has been dragging on for months, with no end in sight.
This frustrating scenario is a reality for many labs. While labs are stuck in limbo between the inefficiencies of their old system and the incomplete rollout of their new one, daily operations and research timelines suffer. We discuss this dilemma in Episode 2 of our #savethescientist video series. You can watch the video below.
If part of the core purpose of a LIMS is to enhance efficiency, why do so many LIMS implementations drag on? And, most importantly, how can scientists make the important choice to modernize their lab platform without sacrificing their pace of discovery? If you’re a research scientist or lab leader considering a new LIMS but hesitating because of implementation woes, read on. This blog was written for you.
What problems do scientists and research IT encounter in the LIMS implementation process?
If you’ve ever been through a LIMS rollout before, the word implementation probably conjures up some unpleasant memories. While implementation challenges vary by system and organization, they typically boil down to four overarching challenges. Let’s take a look.
Lack of configurability, requiring extensive customizations
Many labs, especially those specializing in areas such as NGS, bioanalysis, and bioprocessing, require highly specific and complex workflows. Unfortunately, most LIMS aren’t built to handle these workflows out of the box. Instead, labs are forced into complex and costly customizations, which can extend implementation timelines by months—or longer.
Worse, these customizations often rely on complex coding that requires ongoing IT involvement. With complex and custom code comes system fragility, and it is not uncommon for these kinds of customizations to require ongoing maintenance with each software update.
In some cases, a system may not effectively adapt to lab workflows even after extensive customization, leaving scientific teams to manage manual and inefficient workarounds. All this might leave scientists wondering why they chose to adopt a new solution in the first place.
Questions to consider
- How much customization did your LIMS need?
- Were you able to do any of this customization yourself?
Difficulty with data migration
Data is the lifeblood of the modern laboratory, so it’s not surprising that data migration is our second challenge. With diverse data sources ranging from raw instrument outputs to regulatory documents—scientific data migration can be a monumental task. Adding to the complexity, data often exists in diverse formats, and structures, many of which may not be natively supported by the new .LIMS.
Poor native compatibility between systems often results in data corruption, loss, or duplication during migration, requiring extensive validation. This can stretch the process for months and introduce errors that compromise research integrity.
Questions to consider
- Have you ever encountered issues with data migration?
- What was the result?
Complex and insufficient system integration capabilities
Data migration is a formidable threat to the smoothness and timeliness of most LIMS rollouts. But it is important to note that the LIMS is not the only solution in the lab.
Labs rely on a variety of interconnected systems, from electronic lab notebooks (ELNs) to quality management systems (QMS) and data analytics tools. Without proper integration, these tools remain siloed, and the lab loses its “single source of truth.”
For this reason, system integration is a critical step in the implementation process, but integrating into a new LIMS can be extremely tedious, requiring intensive data mapping, validation, and testing. For lab platforms built on older, rigid architectures, the process is even more cumbersome, resulting in extended rollout times and data inconsistencies.
Questions to consider
- How many systems are currently used in your lab?
- How smoothly do they integrate with your LIMS?
Lack of responsive, hands-on support
Every implementation presents a unique set of challenges that can be difficult to predict—ranging from compatibility issues with existing lab systems to unexpected data migration errors. More than delaying the LIMS rollout, these challenges can also disrupt workflows and potentially compromise the integrity of scientific data, underscoring the need for immediate, expert support.
Too often, LIMS hiccups mean waiting for an IT specialist or consultant to assess the situation, formulate a solution, and finally, issue a fix. This lag time can be costly—not just in terms of implementation delays, but also the potential impact on experiment timelines, data accuracy, and lab productivity.
More critically, once a LIMS goes live, the stakes are even higher. Sluggish ongoing support can lead to extended operational downtime, threatening your ability to generate reproducible results and meet compliance standards.
Questions to consider
- How well supported was your last LIMS implementation?
- If you need help, where do you go?
How can the right lab platform and partner streamline LIMS implementation?
When you consider all the moving pieces required for a successful LIMS implementation, it’s easy to see how the process could drag on. But 6-month rollouts don’t have to be an accepted norm.
A platform and partner that puts scientists first is made to overcome LIMS challenges from the very start, empowering scientists to accelerate adoption and, by extension, discovery.
Here are some key signals that a lab informatics platform will be easy to rollout. Keep an eye out for these things in your solution search.
Built-in scientific tools ensure your solution is ready to support your science, but what about your workflows—which are highly unique to your organization?
A modern lab informatics platform should provide no-code configurability, allowing scientists to adapt workflows on the fly without relying on IT support. In addition to accelerating rollout, this capability ensures labs can quickly adjust their processes as research evolves or new protocols emerge, all while maintaining data integrity and accuracy. An advanced lab informatics platform may even provide artificial intelligence as a tool to help scientists accelerate and optimize workflow setup.
Let’s assume a genomics lab needs to adjust its workflow to accommodate new sample preparation protocols. Using a no-code platform, it can easily modify its LIMS setup without waiting for IT. Without prior coding knowledge, scientists can tweak parameters, define new sample tracking steps, and configure automated alerts, keeping research on track and eliminating bottlenecks caused by IT dependency.
Many LIMS vendors will try to say that data management is not in the charter of the LIMS, but instead in a separate SDMS. But your data is core to your workflows, and insufficient data management capabilities is a leading reason LIMS fall short. That is not to say you must get rid of your SDMS—many labs run LIMS and SDMS in parallel. It is just to say that the LIMS must view data management as a core competency.
The right platform should be specifically designed to handle diverse scientific data formats, structures, and volumes. Effective data migration requires more than just moving files—it requires understanding scientific data hierarchies, ensuring sample lineage is maintained, and automating data standardization so that insights remain valid and reproducible.
For example, in a proteomics lab migrating decades of mass spectrometry data into a new LIMS, it’s vital to preserve instrument-generated raw data, metadata, and experimental conditions. A scientifically focused LIMS automates the standardization of diverse data formats, ensuring consistent annotations and maintaining the integrity of datasets. This automation streamlines data migration and ensures that critical information is readily available for ongoing analysis and future research.
Seamless integration between systems and instruments is essential for the successful rollout of a lab informatics platform. True system and instrument integration goes beyond simple data transfers—it harmonizes, timestamps, and makes data readily accessible across various platforms such as ELNs, SDMS, QMS, and analytical instruments. When a lab does this right, manual collation is minimized, and clumsy workarounds are no longer needed.
For example, in a bioanalysis lab, integrating a LIMS with chromatography instruments, SDMS, and CDS allows for automatic, real-time data flow directly into the LIMS. This eliminates the need for manual data entry, reducing transcription errors and allowing scientists to validate and analyze results faster. Proper integration protects data integrity, minimizes risk, and significantly improves lab efficiency, accelerating the research process.
Support goes beyond troubleshooting. The right LIMS provider should act as a long-term partner, offering scientific expertise, regular system optimizations, and ongoing education for lab staff. A provider with experience supporting the unique needs of scientific research across disciplines will not only understand the technical aspects but also the practical demands of a lab, ensuring that the system evolves alongside your needs.
As an example, consider a chemistry lab that is expanding into the emerging field of quantum chemistry. They consult with their LIMS provider to discuss the system’s ability to handle this new discipline. Quantum chemistry involves highly complex computations, requiring the LIMS to integrate with specialized software and manage large volumes of quantum data. The lab collaborates with the provider to adapt the system for managing quantum simulations and the associated data types, while maintaining seamless integration with their existing experimental and analytical workflows. This partnership allows the lab to confidently expand into quantum chemistry, knowing their LIMS can evolve to support new research directions without operational disruption.
This example illustrates well that a LIMS adoption is not just a decision for today, it is also a decision for tomorrow. A responsive partner, therefore, not only streamlines rollout. They ensure your investment is delivering the intended benefits, even as your lab continues to grow and evolve.
The ideal LIMS should come equipped with built-in tools and workflows designed specifically for complex scientific disciplines such as genomics, bioanalysis, and bioprocessing. These specialized tools allow scientists and research IT to focus on research, instead of spending expensive time and resources customizing their solution just so it can handle their daily work.
For example, in a lab conducting gene modification, a LIMS with an integrated CRISPR editor can automatically monitor and report on critical metrics like gene targeting efficiency, off-target effects, and post-edit cell behavior. These built-in capabilities streamline the CRISPR workflow by reducing the need for manual data entry and enabling real-time adjustments to optimize gene edits. This approach minimizes the risk of data loss or errors during the editing process, ensuring more reliable results and faster decision-making for crucial experiments.
The other advantage of built-in scientific tools is that they have already been rigorously tested and perfected through the utilization of real life sciences leaders. This empowers your organization to keep its experimentation in the lab, not in the IT stack.
#savethescientist with rapid lab platform implementation from Sapio
With scientific research moving faster than ever, scientists can’t settle for a sluggish solution rollout that hinders progress. To save the scientist from complicated implementation processes, scientific organizations need to choose a platform and partner that puts their needs first and minimizes friction in rollout and beyond.
Sapio’s unified lab informatics platform is built by scientists, for scientists. To save scientists from the burdensome implementation process, Sapio delivers the built-in scientific tools, no-code configurability, and expert support needed to simplify system rollout and get scientific teams up and running quickly. On top of this, Sapio delivers the scalable data architecture and seamless integration needed to eliminate silos and enhance data integrity.
From initial implementation to daily use, Sapio empowers scientists to focus on innovation, accelerate discovery, and eliminate the hurdles that too often lead to LIMS buyer’s remorse.
Ready to bypass long and complex LIMS implementations?
Contact us today to discover how you can #savethescientist.