From the outset, Labbit was designed to address the most frustrating challenges labs encounter when adopting informatics systems.
After years of working in complex lab environments with traditional LIMS and custom software solutions, we saw firsthand how rigid those systems could be, and how expensive and time-consuming it was to make changes. Getting up and running took months, and making even minor workflow adjustments often required more coding, additional time, and increased costs. That experience shaped our original vision: create a platform that replaces a long, risky development cycle with powerful configuration tools designed for speed, flexibility, and ease of use.
And we’ve fulfilled that vision. Labs using Labbit go live faster, adapt quickly, and stay agile as their science evolves. As labs continue to push the boundaries of what is possible, our vision is evolving as well. We sat down with Semaphore Solutions CEO Peter Smith to discuss what’s next for Labbit and how we’re helping labs unlock even more value from their data while staying prepared for whatever the future holds.
Q: Peter, what’s driving this next chapter for Labbit? How has the vision evolved?
Peter: At its core, our original vision was simple: to make it easier for labs to implement quickly and adapt to change without incurring significant costs or wasting months in development cycles. Traditional LIMS made it more complicated than it needed to be.
Labbit was designed from the ground up to solve the challenges of complex and innovative labs running at scale, and we've been fortunate to have had customers prove this design over the last 3 years.
But the pace of change in modern laboratories is rapid. Their science is becoming increasingly complex, business models are evolving, and their data needs are expanding rapidly. Add to this the application of AI in all areas of laboratory businesses. Labbit is designed to solve challenges in all these areas, and we're working to ensure our current and new customers understand how to leverage the Labbit platform best. Labbit is still about speed and adaptability, but it’s also about being ready for the future. We’re building a platform that can handle complexity, support constant change, and help labs connect and unlock their data for advanced analytics, AI, whatever comes next. It’s about empowering labs to evolve with their science and lead the way in innovation.
Q: How does this vision differentiate Labbit?
Peter: What differentiates us is that we didn’t set out to build just another LIMS. We rethought the entire approach to laboratory informatics.
We started the Labbit design process by identifying the key challenges modern labs need to solve like increasingly complex science, high cost and slow pace of risky implementations, and unacceptable time to market. Labbit is a platform that addresses each of these challenges using modern and proven technologies in innovative ways.
A key insight that guided the design of Labbit from the ground up is that what happens in and around the lab can be modelled as workflows using Business Process Model and Notation (BPMN). BPMN is a mature, open standard that is used throughout the business world to visually define business processes. Using BPMN to model laboratory processes is novel and, frankly, a little risky, but our customers love it and have proven that it’s an excellent choice for a Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS).
That approach was recently recognized in the 2025 Gartner® Market Guide for Laboratory Information Management Systems1, where Semaphore Solutions (Labbit) was named a Representative Vendor. Gartner mentioned Semaphore Solutions (Labbit) because of Labbit’s BPMN-powered workflow capabilities and RDF knowledge graph, which together allow labs to rapidly configure and automate complex processes with minimal reliance on IT. In our view, this recognition from Gartner validates what we’ve believed from day one: the future of LIMS lies in flexible, data-driven systems and intelligent assistants that empower labs to innovate without barriers.
Customers also love Labbit’s modern user interface, which is crucial for a tool that lab users spend a significant amount of time in. Labbit’s UI can be fully tailored, without code, to the tasks at hand, which boosts the efficiency of those using it.
A critical responsibility of a LIMS is to capture, structure, and manage the data generated by the lab. Another key insight influencing Labbit’s design is that lab process data is best represented as a knowledge graph, which captures a high-fidelity record of not only lab data points but the complex relationships between them. That’s what we’re bringing to the lab data. Scientific work is inherently complex. A sample might belong to multiple studies, link to several instruments, and get reused in follow-up experiments. A knowledge graph naturally captures those connections, making it easy to query from any direction. It turns data into something dynamic, usable, and insightful, rather than just something you store and forget.
Because of that, Labbit’s data is inherently FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable). It also positions labs to harness AI, machine learning, and large language models down the line, even if they’re not there yet. Unlike LIMS built on traditional relational databases, Labbit’s knowledge graph manages evolving schemas effortlessly. Knowledge graphs are a foundational AI technology, meaning labs using Labbit are already building an AI-ready dataset, simply by using the system. As Gartner noted, “Life science organizations are accelerating digital lab of the future strategies, using AI and automation in lab information management systems and moving away from legacy processes and technologies.”
A final key insight our team acquired through hundreds of thousands of LIMS implementation hours prior to designing Labbit is that innovative labs are constantly evolving, even when operating under strict compliance regimes. Therefore, it's not enough for a modern LIMS to simply enable change through a low-code/no-code interface, the LIMS needs to control change. Labbit’s configuration management system enables the effortless yet controlled evolution of process changes while maintaining a precise record of system state throughout the process. Labbit maintains a detailed history of every single configuration version, and every action recorded in Labbit logs the exact configuration in place at the time.
Q: How does your roadmap support this vision?
Peter: Our roadmap will stay true to our original goal: helping labs move faster, adapt more easily, and unlock the full potential of their science and data. However, we’re pushing even further to ensure labs are ready for whatever comes next.
A key priority is continuing to reduce implementation time and costs. One way we’re doing this is through our ongoing investment in Labbit’s Configuration Library – a collection of pre-built, best-practice workflow templates for core lab processes across a range of domains. Labs can deploy these workflows immediately, fine-tune them as needed, and hit the ground running, dramatically shortening implementation time.
We’re also focused on helping labs maximize the value of the data in their LIMS. So much of a lab’s intellectual property – its methods, discoveries, and insights – is locked in that data. Our knowledge graph architecture makes it easier to connect the dots, support advanced analytics, and fuel AI projects when the time is right.
We’re continuing to invest in our no-code, version-controlled configuration tools – because labs operate in a world where regulations shift, protocols evolve, and business needs change fast. They need systems built to keep pace while staying in control.
And I'm really excited about our LLM-powered configuration assistant which helps users go from idea to configured system in a very short period of time. The user remains in full control of the process, but the assistant drastically increases their productivity. The assistant will also be able to analyze historical data in Labbit’s knowledge graph database and recommend improvements to configuration. The goal is to take the heavy lifting off lab teams so they can adapt quickly, stay compliant, and focus on the science that really matters.
At the end of the day, everything we’re building supports our core mission: helping labs stay agile, unlock their data, and move science forward.
Q: Do you have any last thoughts on Labbit’s updated vision?
Peter: What really excites me about our updated vision is that it’s not just about solving today’s problems, it’s about building a solution that keeps pace with laboratory innovation. We work with some incredible customers who are pushing the boundaries of science, including diagnostics, therapeutics, materials, and artificial intelligence. Our customers are facing increasing complexity, a faster pace of change, and bigger data challenges than ever before, and I’m thrilled that we have the opportunity to help them solve these challenges.
I’m excited that laboratory business leaders are fully embracing Labbit’s workflow-first design, and quickly extrapolating how Labbit can consolidate and improve workflows above and adjacent to the laboratory itself. And as businesses increasingly think about how to adopt AI and leverage enterprise-level datasets, I’m hearing a lot of excitement about how Labbit’s architecture plays into these strategies. We made some choices in Labbit’s design that five years ago were considered bold, but have now proved to be exactly in line with where labs are headed.
One of the things we care most about is ensuring that a lab’s informatics system materially enhances their ability to achieve their goals. We want people to love their LIMS because it improves their ability to focus on their passion, making a difference through science. At the end of the day, our vision is about helping labs lead the way in scientific innovation and I’m proud of how we make that possible with Labbit.
Citations
1 Gartner, Market Guide for Laboratory Information Management Systems, Michael Shanler, Reuben Harwood, et al.,16 April 2025
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