LabLynx, Inc. is a privately owned, funded, and managed American corporation that develops, supports, and markets laboratory information management system (LIMS) solutions. Its most well-known product is webLIMS, a browser-based LIMS offered as a local installation or under a scalable, hosted "software as a service" (SaaS) delivery model. The company’s primary clients include laboratories in the agriculture, clinical, environmental, forensics, health care, and manufacturing industries, including government agencies.[3] The company is known for introducing one of the first browser-based LIMS products in 1997[4][5] and being a long-term player in the laboratory informatics market.
Before LabLynx was a company, it was a LIMS product offered by Atlanta Systems Consultants, Inc. (ASC).[6][7] Formed in 1992,[8] ASC's LabLynx division later began work on a laboratory information management system designed specifically for a web browser. ASC demonstrated its new Internet Explorer-based LabLynx LIMS at Pittcon in 1997, among the first browser-based LIMS to appear at the time.[4][5] The company again showcased LabLynx at Pittcon in 1998[9] and soon after picked up a major LIMS-based contract with the U.S. Customs Service.[10]
LabLynx home office
By July 2000, the LabLynx division of ASC separated to become its own incorporated entity.[1] And while ASC eventually ceased to exist in 2005,[8] LabLynx, Inc. went on to diversify its offerings. LabLynx’s browser-based LIMS previously demonstrated at Pittcon in 1997 expanded to become ELab, which in 2001 took on an application service provider (ASP) model of distribution.[11] In 2004 LabLynx released a browser-based tool called openLIMS, which gave consultants and end-users the ability "to build custom LIMS solutions that are geared to the exact operational needs of many different laboratories."[12]
On June 19, 2006, LabLynx established the Laboratory Informatics Institute, an open membership group with the purpose of advancing the field of laboratory informatics and shaping the standards associated with it.[13] LabLynx made further moves to better its LIMS offerings in August 2008, renewing and expanding its contract with Nagarro, Inc., a U.S.-based technology consulting firm. The collaboration allowed LabLynx to upgrade its existing LIMS software to .NET architecture and expand its initiative to create and market a SaaS-based LIMS.[14] Less than a year after the announced renewed partnership, LabLynx revealed its redeveloped webLIMS product to the public, featuring ELab in a SaaS model and additional integration of developer tools to allow users to create and modify modules for the LIMS.[15][16] This move to a cloud-based SaaS model brought renewed interest in the company’s LIMS, with clients like the Georgia Department of Agriculture[17] and Cypress Bioscience[18][19] taking on the new LIMS.
In 2011, LabLynx was involved in an initiative to standardize and structure the transmission of laboratory data that first originates in a LIMS or LIS and then moves to a person's or population of people's electronic health records.[20] This laboratory results interface (LRI) pilot began in August 2011 and included collaborations with the supported open source project mdDigest and the U.S. Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC).[21]
In February 2015, LabLynx announced the introduction of HealthCloudPOL, a cloud-based laboratory information system (LIS) for the physician office laboratory (POL), making the basic starter package free to users.[22][23] That product line soon after changed names, becoming sciCloud.net, though as of January 2018 that product line had not fully launched.
Community history
Since transitioning from Atlanta Systems Consultants, Inc. to LabLynx, Inc. in 2000, LabLynx has become increasingly active in the laboratory informatics community. Projects that LabLynx has started or been involved in within the community include:
the Laboratory Informatics Institute, an open trade association with the mission of educating, standardizing, and promoting the laboratory informatics industry[13]
LIMSfinder, an online interactive magazine released by the Laboratory Informatics Institute that aims to be "the best resource for information technology in the laboratory"[24]
LIMSbook, a LIMS buyer’s guide released by the Laboratory Informatics Institute[25]
LIMSforum, a LinkedIn discussion group created to facilitate the exchange of ideas and technical information across the fields of laboratory, science, and health informatics[26][27]; this later became a stand-alone community web portal.[28]
LIMSuniversity, an open-access learning resource released by the Laboratory Informatics Institute, targeted towards laboratories and the LIMS community[29]
LIMSwiki, a Creative Commons-licensed wiki with the goal of bringing related informatics communities together to maintain a repository of information about the industry[30]
LabVia is a middleware hardware/software-based hub that "intelligently manages multiple data communications between all kinds of devices, services, systems or other sources."[32]
Product Features
The following feature list(s) is/are derived solely from public, freely-available online information the vendor provides. A lack of a "Y" does not necessarily mean that the product doesn't have that feature. The lack of a "Y" could mean:
the vendor chose to not put relevant feature information online despite its existence in the product.
the vendor chooses to make the feature information available only to those who create an account or call/e-mail.
the feature information exists online to the public, but a URL could not be found to cite the existence of the feature.
the feature does not exist for the product.
A vendor's product may receive more confirmed features with the addition of more public information to the vendor's site and/or by providing a URL to a page or document that can act as a citation for the existence of the feature. Prospective buyers are highly recommended to contact the vendor directly to verify features as this list isn't authoritative, and product upgrades and changes happen rapidly in some cases.
agriculture, cannabis, chemical, clinical research, contract services, cosmetic, environmental, food and beverage, geology and mining, law enforcement and forensic, general, health care, manufacturing and R&D, material testing, petrochemical, pharmaceutical, toxicology, veterinary
Pricing
ELab
Source for pricing information is via LabLynx.[33] As prices may change at any time, always contact the vendor directly to obtain a price list or quote.
LIMS Product Price List
Part number
Description
Number of concurrent users
Price
Unit Price
LLX-WLM-02
ELab (SaaS) Edition for 2 Concurrent Users (Prices quoted are per month.)
2
$500
$250
LLX-WLM-05
ELab (SaaS) Edition for 5 Concurrent Users (Prices quoted are per month.)
5
$800
$160
LLX-WLM-10
ELab (SaaS) Edition for 10 Concurrent Users (Prices quoted are per month.)
10
$1,250
$125
LLX-WLM-25
ELab (SaaS) Edition for 25 Concurrent Users (Prices quoted are per month.)
25
$2,500
$100
LLX-WLM-50
ELab (SaaS) Edition for 50 Concurrent Users (Prices quoted are per month.)
50
$4,000
$80
LLX-WLM-UL
ELab (SaaS) Edition for Unlimited Concurrent Users (Prices quoted are per month.)
Unlimited
$7,500
LLX-ELBS-02
ELab SQL Edition for 2 Concurrent Users
2
$9,500
$4,750
LLX-ELBS-05
ELab SQL Edition for 5 Concurrent Users
5
$21,500
$4,300
LLX-ELBS-10
ELab SQL Edition for 10 Concurrent Users
10
$32,000
$3,200
LLX-ELBS-25
ELab SQL Edition for 25 Concurrent Users
25
$75,000
$3,000
LLX-ELBS-50
ELab SQL Edition for 50 Concurrent Users
50
$140,000
$2,800
LLX-ELBS-UL
ELab SQL Edition for Unlimited Concurrent Users
Unlimited
$275,000
LIMS Maintenance, Warranty, Support, and Service Plans
Maintenance and support plans
Maintenance
Annual service and support hours incl.
Support hours
Maintenance, support, and service costs
Special notes
Bronze
One year of unlimited updates and upgrades plus warranty
4
8 a.m. to 5 p.m. EST, excluding holidays
15% of total license fee; minimum $4,500 per year; hourly services and support at $185/hour
This plan is included at no charge to all webLIMS accounts with 1–9 concurrent users.
Silver
One year of unlimited updates and upgrades plus warranty
16
8 a.m. to 5 p.m. EST, excluding holidays
15% of total license fee; minimum $5,500 per year; hourly services and support at $175/hour
This plan is included at no charge to all webLIMS accounts with 10–24 concurrent users.
Gold
One year of unlimited updates and upgrades plus warranty
24
8 a.m. to 5 p.m. EST, excluding holidays
15% of total license fee; minimum $8,500 per year; hourly services and support at $165/hour
This plan is included at no charge to all webLIMS accounts with 25–74 concurrent users.
Platinum
One year of unlimited updates and upgrades plus warranty
40
24 hours per day, 7 days per week
15% of total license fee; minimum $25,000 per year; hourly services and support at $150/hour
This plan is included at no charge to all webLIMS accounts with 75+ concurrent users.
Demonstration videos and other media
The following demonstration videos are available for ELab:
↑ 5.05.1McGinnis, Mike and Norman Perkins (2003). "I. Wireless LANs". LIMS Workbook - A Practical Guide (3rd ed.). Q2marketsite, Inc. pp. I-16. ASINB00161Y71K.
