Electronic Laboratory Notebooks (ELNs)

Collaborative research is one of the justifications cited most often for acquiring lab data software. A good case can be made for upgrading a LIMS or ELN based solely on the software’s age and there are many other reasons to upgrade or replace a LIMS or ELN. Rarely, workflows or instrument configurations change such that the old system is rendered obsolete. More frequently, the user is interested in adding some capability that is not presentfor example, notebook-like functionality to a LIMS or sample tracking within an ELN.

Top 5 Reasons That You Should Replace Your Existing ELN

	Vendor discontinues or ends the life of software and support for product.
	It is cost prohibitive to upgrade to new version.
	The interface is too complicated and is not user-friendly
	You require features which aren’t available with your current ELN and cannot be added through software updates.
	The software does not integrate well with currently existing systems in your lab.

Top 6 Questions That You Should Ask When Buying an ELN

	How local are resources and how available are resources for deployment, training and extensions? What is the timeline for availability and cost?
	How easy is it to extend the application? Does it require IT or super users? How long does training take to make modifications and how extensive is the API for modifications?
	How easy is it to get data back out of the system? Is all information indexed and searchable? Can users query and combine data from multiple experiments, not just return a list of experiments?
	What is the typical number of hours of admin time required to upgrade for a major release and a minor release?
	What level of support is offered? How many support staff are there, where are they located and what language do they support? How is the support rated by other customers?
	Is your IP system safe in their system? What is the chance the company will be around in 5 years? What is the chance that the company will switch technologies and force an expensive migration? What credibility does the company have in the past for delivering robust, scalable, secure and 21cfr Part 11 compliant systems?

Recently Released ELNs

KineMatik Electronic Lab Notebook

• Allows new experiments to be created from pre-defined templates, ensuring consistency in how notebooks are structured and organized
• Enables any type of file or data to be imported into the notebook, or information can be entered directly into the notebook through a rich text editor
• A powerful search engine makes finding existing information a simple process

KineMatik
www.kinematik.com

Matrix Gemini Laboratory Data Management System

• Provides a complete laboratory data management capability that combines features that would be expected in either a Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) or an Electronic Laboratory Notebook (ELN)
• High configurability allows the solution to be tailored to exact customer needs
• Since it can be configured to fulfill typical ELN functionality, two systems are not needed, thus reducing costs

Autoscribe
www.autoscribe.co.uk

E-WorkBook 9.3

• Provides users with excellent flexibility across their organization providing a single point of secure interaction with their data
• Extends the web capabilities with customized personal and project dashboards
• Also provides fast and easy access to data and applications, including editing and content creation as well as the ability to complete tasks and workflows

IDBS
www.idbs.com

ELN 6.7

• Adds new advanced data management, analytics, calculations and visualization
• Enables scientists to rapidly document, process and examine data in the context of their study, experiment and sample workflows
• Multi-dimensional spreadsheet capabilities enable scientists to use familiar environments to capture the data
• Advanced scientific calculations and interactive visualization allows scientists to manipulate data within the ELN

Accelrys
www.accelrys.com

ELN Manufacturers