Today’s laboratories face a critical choice: manage their LIMS infrastructure in-house or rely on a vendor to handle it in the cloud. The core question is about ownership of responsibility. While labs are always accountable for compliance and results, deciding who maintains the system infrastructure is key.
A decade ago, on-premises systems were the norm. But times have changed. Most labs now run applications and store data in the cloud. Smaller labs tend to use fully vendor-managed LIMS solutions. Larger enterprises may self-host LIMS software on their own cloud instances, usually because they already have cloud teams and infrastructure in place.
Still, many are opting for vendor-hosted LIMS, and with good reason.
Why Labs Have Moved Away From On-Premises LIMS
On-premises LIMS require a lot: real estate, hardware procurement, ongoing maintenance, and robust security measures to protect against a wide range of threats. All of this adds up in cost, in time, and in risk.
Cloud-hosted LIMS, on the other hand, eliminate much of that burden. The economics are more favorable. The infrastructure scales effortlessly. And the responsibility for maintenance, updates, and security shifts to the vendor.
Need to double your capacity overnight? With a cloud-based system, it’s just a configuration update – no new hardware, no downtime.
Cloud-Based LIMS: Managed Or Self-Hosted?
Some larger labs choose to run third-party LIMS software in a private cloud environment. This gives them more control over their systems, but also means they take on the responsibilities that come with it, everything from infrastructure security to backup and recovery.
Most labs prefer a vendor-managed cloud LIMS. It’s faster to deploy, easier to maintain, and requires fewer internal IT resources. The vendor handles security, performance tuning, and infrastructure upkeep, and often assists with integrations and custom workflows.
As Brian Jack, Labbit’s Chief Operating Officer, puts it:
“When choosing between on-premises LIMS and a vendor-hosted solution, it all comes down to how much responsibility the customer wants to take on.”
Why Some Labs Choose Self-Hosted Cloud LIMS
While vendor-managed cloud LIMS solutions offer simplicity, scalability, and peace of mind, some labs still choose to self-host their systems within their own cloud environments. Here’s why that model can make sense in certain scenarios:
Control
Some laboratories prioritize full control over their infrastructure. A self-hosted cloud LIMS allows internal teams to directly manage settings, and customize at the server or database level. For labs with experienced IT departments and complex needs, this control can be valuable.
Leveraging Existing Resources
Organizations already deeply invested in a particular cloud provider – like AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud – may see self-hosting as a logical extension of their current infrastructure. If their in-house teams are already managing cloud deployments for other applications, running their LIMS in the same environment might seem efficient. In these cases, it’s less about preference and more about making the most of what’s already in place.
Data Latency
For data-heavy labs – especially those in genomics or sequencing – latency can impact performance. Having the LIMS physically closer to instruments or other applications in the same cloud environment gives labs more control over data flow. Fine-tuning storage locations and optimizing transfer speeds can help minimize bottlenecks.
Capital Expenditure
Some labs operate with financial models that favor capital expenditure (CapEx) over operational expenditure (OpEx). Purchasing a LIMS license and hosting it independently allows them to treat the system as a long-term asset. For organizations with specific tax or budget planning strategies, this approach can be appealing.
Why Most Labs Opt For Vendor-Managed Cloud LIMS Solutions
Reduced Operational Burden
One of the biggest advantages of a vendor-managed cloud LIMS is the dramatic reduction in operational overhead. Your vendor takes care of the heavy lifting – managing infrastructure, performing database administration, maintaining backups, enforcing security protocols, and ensuring your system runs smoothly – so your internal teams don’t have to. It’s not just about convenience, it’s about freeing up your lab's resources to focus on science and innovation, rather than IT upkeep.
That level of support is built into your subscription. You're not just paying for software access, you're investing in a managed service designed to keep your lab running efficiently and securely.
As Labbit’s COO, Brian Jack, puts it:
“If we’re hosting it for them, then we’re responsible for the database administration. We’re responsible for the tweaking, we’re responsible for the security, we’re responsible for the backup. All of these things are the value that we are providing for hosting it for them.”
Vendor Expertise
LIMS vendors who specialize in cloud deployments bring deep domain knowledge, not just of the software itself, but of the infrastructure and practices that keep it optimized and compliant. That means faster, smoother implementations and more responsive support when you need it.
Vendors like Labbit have built their entire business around the cloud, allowing for full alignment across product, support, and customer success teams. Unlike legacy vendors trying to straddle both traditional licensing and SaaS models, Labbit is purpose-built for modern lab environments. That clarity of focus means fewer compromises and more confident execution.
And it's not just about the core system. Labbit also provides an ecosystem of ready-to-go workflow templates for everything from QC instruments to sequencers and liquid handlers, helping labs get up and running faster with tools that work out of the box.
Operational Expenditure
The cloud model also shifts LIMS costs from a capital expenditure to an operational one. That’s a game-changer for many labs. Rather than making a large upfront investment in hardware and software licenses, you pay an annual subscription that covers everything: hosting, support, updates, backups, and more.
This shift isn’t just a budgetary win, it redefines how labs think about ownership and responsibility. You’re no longer saddled with infrastructure decisions, unpredictable maintenance needs, or hardware lifecycles. Instead, you get a flexible, scalable system that evolves with your lab.
It’s a lot like leasing a car. You get full use of the vehicle without the headaches of ownership – maintenance, replacement parts, depreciation – it’s all handled for you. And just like leasing, this model offers more agility. You can scale up, pivot, or upgrade without being locked into decisions made years ago.
For labs facing growing complexity, shifting regulatory landscapes, or simply wanting to focus on their core mission, a vendor-managed cloud LIMS delivers the flexibility, expertise, and operational simplicity to keep pace with change.
Comparing On-Prem vs. Vendor-Managed Cloud LIMS
Choosing The Right LIMS Provider
Validating a cloud-based LIMS vendor is essential for maintaining compliance in your lab. So how do you determine which LIMS is the right fit?
It starts with building trust, and that means auditing the vendor carefully. Especially in highly regulated industries, many labs are still hesitant to adopt cloud-based LIMS. Since the lab is ultimately responsible for validating the system, there’s understandable caution around handing over day-to-day management to a third party. Concerns about losing control – especially around compliance – are real.
While this skepticism is slowly shifting, it’s still a challenge for many labs. That’s why it’s important to address these concerns head-on rather than avoid them.
Even if your data lives in a third-party cloud, your lab is still responsible for ensuring everything runs properly and for catching issues when they don’t. That’s where a robust, next-generation LIMS like Labbit becomes invaluable. Labbit helps labs meet regulatory standards more efficiently by enforcing SOPs and automatically capturing every action in an immutable audit trail.
With Labbit’s flexible Knowledge Graph architecture, your team can investigate issues and respond to audits quickly. And with its visual BPMN workflow editor, you can configure your lab’s processes to match exactly how you work so compliance and operational efficiency are both prioritized.
Ready to drive innovation in your lab? Book a Labbit demo today.
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