Independent advice to save hundreds of Dollars, Euro's.... 
When to UPGRADE or NOT to UPGRADE your legacy software? Which route to choose from? The last thing to do is to start is a project to change a working enterprise application environment. A lot of energy has been spent to make it finally work, the way your organization works and your users like! So why change?
Invest a fraction of your budget and save a lot of money. 2nd opinion service, will provide objective, valuable insight for project stakeholders, negotiators and users who will be involved in implementing your automation plan. It may include a Multi Moment Analysis as a recommended first step to find laboratory bottlenecks before identify the best strategies to bridge silos between R & D and manufacturing laboratory operations.
Look before you leap
Tired of complex legacy software integrations? Skyrocketing high annual maintenance costs? Frustrated that you ordered unnecessary additional software licenses? Unhappy users resulting in disappointing results. Why spending so much maintenance for your software? Significant maintenance savings are ahead of you.
Functionality of software packages overlap more and more. LIMS includes ELN. ELN includes LIMS. LIMS includes SDMS. SDMS includes ELN, ERP includes LIMS. MES includes LIMS. Confusion between ELN and LES. In healthcare a very common practice. Now also available for laboratory automation software. A new 2nd opinion service will provide you unbiased answers to all your upgrade questions.
Match your needs
Given the user communities and business functions to be served, and the justifiable gaps in your application portfolio, you will then need to consider what type of ELN product best matches your requirements. The table below compares and contrasts the various types of ELN products versus a more traditional LIMS platform
Diagnose before presribing
Avoid surprises and investigate what a second opinion will save you. Call (+31 182 379103) or email us for an objective 2nd opinion.
Need more information first? Download the Considerations Software Expansions and Upgrades and ELNs mean many things to many people .
Various types of ELN products versus a more traditional LIMS platform
|
|
Research ELN
|
LES
|
LIMS
|
|
Where in use
|
Chemistry & Biology Research & Development
|
Analytical Testing laboratories
|
Analytical Testing laboratories
|
|
Main purpose
|
Intellectual Property Protection
Knowledge re-use
Research efficiency
|
Electronic SOP’s
Compliance
Error reduction
|
Secured lab information hub
Compliance
|
|
Database focus
|
Document centric RDBMS
Semantic / Ontology
|
Transactional RDBMS
|
Transactional RDBMS
|
|
Typical IT infrastructure
|
Windows workstation
Web client
Cloud
SaaS
SOA
|
Windows workstation
Web client
Portable devices
|
Windows workstation
Web client
|
|
Application behavior
|
User centric
Free form & Adaptable
|
User centric
Procedural
Natural language
|
Organizationally centric
Procedural
System defined
|
|
User Interface behavior
|
· User centric
Free form & Adaptable
|
User centric
Procedural
Natural language
|
Organizationally centric
Procedural
System defined
|
|
Related Applications
|
Scientific databases, SDMS
|
LIMS, ERP, Instruments, SDMS
|
LES, ERP, MES, CAPA, SDMS
|
|
End user adoption
|
High
|
High
|
Mixed
|
|
Licensing models
|
Named user
SaaS
Enterprise
|
Named user
Concurrent userInstrument
|
Named user
Concurrent user
Virtual user
Enterprise
|
|
Compliance support
|
+/-
|
++
|
++
|
|
Sponsors
|
Legal departments
Academia networks
Scientific communities
|
QA directors
Lab managers
|
Lab managers
Production managers
Customer care
|
Considerations for software expansions and upgrades
|
Type
|
Technical description
|
Checklist
|
|
Update
Patch
|
- Fix or minor extension for a well-defined problem.
- Core application will not be updated.
- Patches are well tested by vendor and may be made available generally or on individual basis.
|
- Does it fix the problem?
- What level of testing is conducted by vendor (IQ,OQ,PQ)
- Will change be included in next official release?
- Any other validation considerations
- Training issues?
|
|
Upgrade
|
- Major new software release.
- Compatible with previous release. New capabilities and technologies may be introduced.
- Parts of the kernel application may be rewritten, but overall behavior will not be changed.
- Database schema unchanged
|
- What is main purpose?
- Will existing customizations work?
- Browser & platform independent?
- Upgrade IT Infrastructure needed?
- Any archive and restore issues?
- Level IQ,OQ,PQ testing required
- Paperless lab initiative
|
|
Migration
|
- Change to a different software platform.
- Different application behavior.
- Existing data may be converted to new platform.
- New database schema
|
- Assure functionality is met
- Redesign customizations?
- Service Oriented Architecture (SOA)?
- Upgrade IT Infrastructure needed?
- Lower cost of ownership projected?
- Validation process
- Training issues
|
|
Consolidation
|
- Replacement of legacy application with alternative.
- Integration with enterprise applications
|
- Legacy replacement
- Revisit existing software portfolio and research how your primary processes are supported
- Corporate QbD initiatives
- Protect legacy data (corporate asset)
|
| 
