Hi everyone, welcome to AduroSys Lab Software Podcast. This is Amber Shao, the founder and CEO of AduroSys, a laboratory data management software company.
We’re about to start a podcast series dedicated to laboratory software space. First, I’d like to share with you some thoughts behind why we’re starting this podcast.
Everyone knows the word “laboratory” and its definition, but it’s not a word that many of us use on a daily basis. However, I suspect that’s changing to some degree. In the face of a pandemic, people probably come to a new understanding of how important a laboratory is to our lives. Virus sequences are analyzed in the lab; diagnostic tests are developed in the lab; vaccines are designed in the lab; patient tests are processed in the lab; scientific breakthroughs are discovered in labs. So needless to say, labs are important to us. Meanwhile, as our society relies on computers and software more and more, we discover more tasks that can be done using computers in the lab as well. Software helps organize data, track samples in the lab, analyze results, and make predictions. As a result, software usage in laboratory environments becomes increasingly important as well.
So that’s all good, what’s the problem?
I have worked in the software industry for labs and biotech for 20 years now. I found this industry both fascinating and frustrating at the same time.
The industry has been around for decades and there is a wealth of knowledge that has been developed over the years to cover various topics, however, those knowledge is mostly retained and kept within certain groups of people, rather than being widely shared or discussed. There are hundreds of commercial software in the market, yet it’s not unusual to have users who couldn’t find a single product that meets their specific needs in the lab. Regardless of building in-house or purchasing commercial software, getting software implemented in labs is still a daunting task, so daunting that many simply choose not to use software applications. For the brave ones who forge ahead, often found themselves breaking an arm or a leg due to the high cost at the end.
The list goes on and on...
I don’t have one solution that can solve the problems (even though I have a few suspicions), nor do I think there is a silver lining that can solve all the problems we’re seeing in this industry, however, I do think we can use more discussion around some problems we’ve been seeing over and over again.
AduroSys Lab Software podcast covers topics related to implementing or developing laboratory software. This is not for one type of software but could be for any software used in the lab, including LIMS/laboratory information management software, ELN/Electronic Lab Notebook, analysis software, inventory software, reporting software, etc. In this podcast, we will cover topics like how to make LIMS implementation successful, how to build software for scientists, after it’s built, how to get the lab users to use it, or what to expect in software validation, and many, many more topics. We will hear stories and lessons learned through conversations with lab users, vendors, and leading experts in the industry.
We also want to hear from listeners - what kind of problems you have come across, what topics you want to hear more discussion on. Contact us! Any feedback or suggestions is welcomed.
So for those of you who are interested in the topic of lab software, stay tuned and subscribe!
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