Free insight into future-proofing your digital lab management

A rising number of life science researchers worldwide are recognizing the invaluable benefits of adopting digital lab data management software. However, considerations often overlooked are the future ease and adaptability of the system chosen. Due to the time and monetary costs that come with the digital transformation process, it is critical that laboratories make the most beneficial long-term decisions for their lab.

In this free expert webinar, now available on-demand, Lara Matthews from eLabNext, Dr. Claudio Rolli from FLUICS GmbH, and Ann-Claire Foetsch from Eppendorf group, explain how an open ecosystem program can enable laboratories to increase productivity and safeguard their ability to innovate as their organization grows.

Read on for highlights of the Q&A discussion or watch the webinar to discover how an open ecosystem could help future-proof your research institution.

Are customers also using the open ecosystem tools to develop add-ons themselves?

LM: We have many customers who already have successful up-and-running integrations within our eLabNext platforms. When it comes to choosing these sorts of software, you're never going to find a 100% fit. What is more plausible is finding a solution that fits you 90%, using the Software Development Kit (SDK) to create that niche function that is specific to your lab, then integrating the add-on for a more improved user experience. We have many users that already have their customizations that fit into our eLabNext platforms.

How many add-ons are currently available in the eLab marketplace?

LM: We currently have 25 add-ons that exist within our marketplace and 15 privately developed add-ons created by our clients. There are also many in the pipeline that we are excited to release. We work continually to publish new add-ons for our clients on a regular basis.

How does eLabNext ensure the functionality of customer-developed solutions using the API or SDK?

JD: First of all, it is important to understand that the add-on is separated from the core functionality. That’s why we developed the API to communicate with the database and core platform, and the SDK to put a special feature on top of the core platform. We will always practice quality control, meaning a full check on the quality of the add-on, before publishing it. And both the API and SDK will always be maintained to ensure a direct connection between the add-on and the core functionality. This also ensures that any update of the core will not influence the functionality of any add-ons.

Can we install the system ourselves?

LM: This is very much dependent on the type of hosting solution that you select. If you are using a multi-tenant cloud, for example, there is no actual installation that needs to take place. You just need to have a working internet connection where you can log in from. It really is a matter of having a working internet connection, whether you're using a personal laptop or work computer, etc., there is no need for an actual installation.

How often do you provide system updates?

LM: This is also dependent on the different types of hosting solutions. We have the multi-tenant cloud solution; we then have dedicated installations. There is also the differentiation of a private cloud or an on-premise solution. When it comes to updates for the multi-tenant cloud, these updates are done very regularly. They are usually done monthly, biweekly, with new updates, bug fixes, things like that going on to ensure the smoothest flow of the software for all of our end users.
When it comes to those dedicated installations, we, ahead of time, have set dates that we work with in regard to those dedicated installation customers. Those go out quarterly. This also then provides users time to be able to have those updates scheduled to things like accepting servers. When you're working in a more industrial environment as well, you need to make sure that we can do those validations of that software as well for our end users. To sum up, dedicated installations updates are quarterly while multi-tenant cloud is more frequent.

To learn more about future-proofing your digital lab, watch the full webinar here>>

SelectScience runs 10+ webinars a month across various scientific topics, discover more of our upcoming webinars>>