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LIMS Software as a Service Guide

Eusoft White Paper












Introduction
Today technology offers great scope for innovation and transformation of their business
organizations. The SaaS (Software as a Service) turns out to be the biggest technological trend to
simplify the management of processes and renew organizational models and productivity. For the
laboratory the acquisition of a LIMS system in SaaS is essential if it wants to reduce the complexity
and the costs of management and improve their organizational performance.




















Traditionally, the adoption of a new LIMS system is
an expensive, slow and complex process. LIMS are
typically purchased in On Premise (in-house), an
investment that has proven to be time consuming
and expensive. Due to the growing use of Software
as a Service (SaaS), the laboratory has the ability to
be much more agile in implementing a LIMS. The
SaaS LIMS is hosted on the server of the service
provider rather than at the enterprise server's
laboratory and is accessible by end-users through
the Internet. By this derive enormous benefits - in
terms of cost, flexibility, speed of deployment,
simplicity and scalability - which will be described
later in this white paper.
The offer based on this model takes advantage of
service-oriented architecture, Web 2.0 technologies
and cloud computing to provide efficient and reliable
solutions with advanced features. The supplier sells
the services at a fixed price, based on the number of
users, and is responsible for maintenance, upgrades
and service. The user only pay the necessary
functionality, costs are lower, updates are automatic
and scaling up or down is simple because it is
possible at any time to add or remove users.
The SaaS solution is indicated for the laboratories at
startup or small business which need to start with the
use of LIMS overnight, without lengthy
implementation projects and customization, but also
for larger companies that want to reduce the costs of
information management systems and the time to
market and want to innovate their iT strategies or
which are looking for low cost solutions to support
geographically dispersed sites or new acquisitions,
eliminating the costs for new data centers and iT
personnel for new assistance.
Software as a Service allows interesting features of
mobility and collaboration of users. These features
are essential for the laboratory that wants to
improve their performance and the satisfaction of
its customers. Through SaaS LIMS in fact, the
laboratory can perform operations such as
accepting the samples, enter results or issue test
reports quickly and immediately from any location
or any mobile device, increasing the real-time in
the activities and allow customers anytime access
to their results in order to increase satisfaction.
The SaaS LIMS provides multi-tenancy, which
allows the management of multiple users and
organizations on a single instance, while the
organization of the data of each customer is
handled separately. This allows a considerable
reduction of costs while safeguarding the privacy
and security of data.
In a market where most of the legacy LIMS
systems are now at the end of their life cycle, the
SaaS technology is becoming an increasingly
popular and effective way to solve the problems of
obsolescence and complexity.
The estimates suggest that spending on SaaS
solutions could increase by as much as 500
percent over the next four years.
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What does SaaS mean?










What are the benefits of LIMS as SaaS?


Software as a Service (SaaS) is a software
application used as a service over the Internet.
In SaaS mode the data is processed, stored and
made available in the cloud, that is in a remote
infrastructure accessible through a common
Internet connection. With Software as a Service
company pays a monthly fee to use the service and
doesnt have to deal with the initial investment of
purchasing the license nor the charges for the
maintenance of the hardware infrastructure.
Furthermore doesnt need back-up, because all the
hardware and software resources necessary for the
operation of the service are provided by the vendor.
The company can thus focus solely on their
business and improve their productivity.
It is sufficient, therefore, to use a common internet
connection to use the LIMS wherever you see fit.
The monthly fee also includes the maintenance of
the system.

It is important to emphasize that the true SaaS
application vendors offer applications natively
designed to be used as a SaaS on cloud computing
platforms. This kind of application is different from
the hosted applications which are instead simply
hosted (virtualized) on cloud platforms but are not
designed for the use as a service. A Green
Application in the cloud is meant to represent
innovation understood as the new and not the old
readapted.
According to the leading analysts in the IT industry,
the success of cloud applications is a natural
consequence of the recession which is currently
taking place. In fact The CIO (Chief Information
Officer) must necessarily adopt a post-modern
approach to business to cope with the current
recession by pursuing simplicity and dynamism of a
typical Cloud applications.
Low start-up costs and fast ROI
With the SaaS LIMS the laboratory is not compelled
to invest resources for the purchase and maintenance
of technology infrastructure. All hardware and
software resources necessary for the operation of the
service are provided by the supplier / service
provider. This, together with the speed of
implementation, allows a ROI (return on investment)
certainly faster than an on-premise (in-house).

Access to data at any moment
and from any place
Through SaaS LIMS the laboratory can perform
operations such as accepting the samples, enter
results or issue test reports quickly and
immediately from any location and from any
mobile device (smartphone, tablet..) making them
real time. You need a simple Internet connection to
connect to the application.
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Easy to use and reduced time to market
The LIMS SaaS Cloud is based on a logic of
simplicity and flexibility. It is designed specifically
for organizations who need to use a LIMS system
which is simple, easy to implement and effective in
responding to the changing needs of the
organization. It represents a good compromise
between cost reduction and standardization of the
application. The LIMS SaaS is immediately activated
and can be used with a common connection to the
Internet, without the need for servers, software, and
the tools you need for the installation of an in-
house LIMS..
Very low TCO (total cost of ownership)
A monthly fee is expected to pay for the use of a
LIMS as SaaS based on the number of users. They
will pay only for what they actually use. The fee,
which includes support and maintenance, will no
longer need to be purchased separately from
maintenance fees. With the SaaS LIMS small
laboratories, that very often do not have the IT skills
and the budget required to develop their own LIMS,
can afford to use a LIMS which is technologically
and functionally among the most advanced in the
global market. The SaaS LIMS is also suitable for
larger companies that want to reduce the costs of
information management systems and the time to
market, and want to innovate their IT strategies, or
which are looking for low cost solutions to support
geographically dispersed locations or new
acquisitions.
An ever updated version
A SaaS LIMS always guarantees customers the use
of the latest version available. Whenever new
features are released, the application is
automatically updated for all customers. This means
no downloading updates, no installation work by
the customer. The version used is always the latest
available. And it's all included in the service fee.


Scalability
It is always possible with the SaaS LIMS to start
small with what is needed at the moment with
the possibility to scale up the application over
time. As the needs of the laboratory change you
can turn on or off at any time, new users, new
features, storage space, etc.., or even decide to
switch to On Premise. Keeping the existing
configurations.
Improve collaboration
The SaaS approach natively enables to increase
collaboration between end users and customers.
The SaaS LIMS allows customers free access to
their results and improves their satisfaction.
You can switch to On-premise at any time
If you choose to use a SaaS application you need
to ask yourself some basic questions: does the
application provide the flexibility to switch to on-
premise version in case it is needed to return the
data in-house? Do the local and cloud versions of
the system have the same user interface and the
same operational features? The SaaS LIMS should
allow to switch at any time from the use of LIMS
in SaaS to the On Premise mode. Both versions
should have the same user experience and an
ease of data migration from one mode to
another.

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Analyze and overcome doubts on cloud adoption
The implementation of a LIMS SaaS can raise a fruitful discussion within the organization.
The issues, that are most commonly raised doubts, are concerning data protection and the
conversion of IT staff who may they are given a minor role. The following is an analysis of
the two main hurdles and provides the motivation that will take you to ease the concerns
on the implementation of SaaS.














Security of data
Cloud computing is very attractive to businesses
which want to quickly deliver and to be highly
efficient in their IT services, but it is also true that
poses new challenges in terms of security and
privacy of personal data with regard to data
protection policies. The supplier must recognize the
value of data and the importance of providing a
safe and stable service so it is important to use a
reliable cloud computing infrastructures. Eusoft, for
example, relies on Microsoft Windows Azure cloud
computing platform. In fact, Microsoft is committed
to achieving a leadership role in relation to the
procedures for security, privacy and compliance.
Windows Azure platform services are offered to
customers through a network of global data
centers, designed to run 24/7 and the use of
various measures to protect operations from
possible power outages, physical intrusion and
network outages. These data centers are compliant
with industry standards such as ISO / IEC
27001:2005, the only international recognition that
guarantees the application of new procedures are
based on the highest standards in security and data
protection. The continuity of service for cloud
applications is guaranteed by Microsoft at 99.9%
and is derived from a framework dedicated to the
Service Continuity Management based on industry
best practices. Microsoft has a more comprehensive
approach than any other company in relation to
European laws on security and data protection.
Customers can specify the geographic area of the
Microsoft data centers that will store your data (for
example, in Europe, Asia or USA).
Eusoft in their contracts of Cloud Computing
specifies strict Service Level Agreement (SLA) which
is committed to ensuring functionality, availability
of resources and maximum time of application
availability.

Conversion of IT staff
The SaaS poses challenges for CIOs (Chief
Information Officer) and for those who deal
with information technology within the
organization. The Cloud will not minimize the
professional role of the CIO, but it will instead
commit to develop and evolve to new
attitudes towards counseling and mediation.
CIOs can get even more strategic
responsibilities and evolve into a more
operative position in direct support of
business.
The rethinking of the role of CIOs see IT
experts, more than IT professionals in
business processes and who can help the
alignment between IT and business. CIOs will
also have highly skills in dealing with
customers, external partners and suppliers.
They will then preside overlock the entire
business value chain, not just the IT.
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How SaaS allows you to save money?
Calculating the Total Cost of
Ownership
As with most business investment, the answer is: it depends. In the
evaluation of investments for the adoption of a SaaS solution or an
installation on-premis (installed on their corporate servers) must first
consider two types of costs: the first is the initial purchase price, which
includes software licenses and hardware. The second cost instead
includes everything you'll need to spend during the useful life of the
software (TCO: Total Cost of Ownership). These things are hard to quantify.

The following table shows some of the main differences between the two approaches.

On Premises Cloud
Licences cost No initial cost of license
Costs of purchasing and maintaining hardware No hardware to install and manage
Separate purchase of maintenance fees Support already included in the service
Security of the system charged to the
customer
System Security borne by the supplier of the
services, usually with the highest standards
IT staff dedicated to maintenance and support No need for IT staff dedicated to maintenance
and support.
The CIO (Chief Information Officer) can deal
with strategic business decisions closely with
business lines
Updates applied separately to each customer,
usually with related costs for professional
services to support
Updates apply to all clients simultaneously by
the seller at no cost
Backup charged by customer Backup carried out by the service provider











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In the table we have
included the typical
costs of each item
based on a typical
laboratory with 5
different users to
quantify the total
cost of ownership in
an estimated period
of 36 months.
At the bottom we
have also
summarized and
quantified difficult
intangible factors for
each model.
Considering also the
use of a cloud
computing platform
(in the case
Microsoft Azure).

The TCO is to be
considered as the
sum of labor and
costs required for
implementation, plus
the cost of software,
integration,
maintenance and
support services. The
TCO includes the
investment in human
resources necessary
for the
implementation,
integration,
maintenance and
support.


ON PREMISE VS SAAS
Start up costs
Licence 10.000,00 -
Server Hardware 2.500,00
-
Cost of the server (hardware)
Server Software 1.500,00
-
Typical cost of Windows Server OS
Backup Hardware & Software 2.000,00
-
Typical cost of backup drive
Ancillary Server Equipment 500,00
-
battery backup
Total start up costs 16.500,00 0,00
TCO (total cost of ownership)
Estimated Useful Life (Months) 36 Months before server must be replaced
Users 5
Cost user/month 70,00
Installation cost 1.000,00 included
Typical costs of installation on the server by
the customer or by the supplier
Implementation cost 5.000,00 2.000,00
Cost of data migration and customization.
In the Cloud standardization of the
application allows you to restrict the design
of customization
Assistance cost 2.000,00 0,00*
Care costs annually. * Cloud support is
usually to tickets on request
IT Staff cost 3.000,00 0,00
Lump sum cost for the salary of an
employee or consultant for IT hardware
maintenance related to the application
Total TCO 11.000,00

2.000,00
Monthly cost
System maintenance 150,00 included Maintenance contract cost
Backup cost 50,00 included Backup cost
Cloud fees 0,00 350,00
A plan for a typical LIMS laboratory to 5
users (cloud basic)
Total monthly cost 200,00 350,00
Variable cost
Unplanned Repair Costs 2.000,00 -
Allotment for the unexpected costs of
repair or restoration of the server
Total Cost Over Estimated Life
Total LIMS costs
ON PREMIS SAAS
TCO in the estimated life (36 months)
36.700,00

14.600,00

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About Eusoft






























EuSoft is specialized in creating software for the management of testing laboratories, in accordance
with the quality standards. Design, development and maintenance of EuSoft.Lab LIMS (Laboratory
Information Management System) have always been the core business of EuSoft. Today Eusoft.Lab is
used by more than 2000 daily users in more than 200 laboratories in 3 main areas: environmental,
manufacturing and contractors.
In 2009, as a result of a corporate reorganization and re-engineering of the product, was released
Eusoft.Lab 10, a LIMS system that combines the functional completeness among the highest on the
market with the most advanced and innovative web-based technologies. Eusoft.Lab 10 is available in
native way also for use as a service (SAAS) on platforms in Cloud Computing. Eusoft.Lab 10 is the
first Italian LIMS "100% cloud" and one of the few in the worldwide.
Eusoft.Lab 10 represents the latest generation of our LIMS solutions. And 'specially designed to help
laboratories to reduce their costs by improving efficiency and productivity.
Who chooses EuSoft.lab 10 not only ensure the benefits of cutting edge technology, but also the
quality and efficiency of a team of experts dedicated entirely to the LIMS, able to support the
customer in every step of the LIMS, by configuration, installation, training and maintenance support.
In this way, customers can benefit from continuous contact with an experienced team familiar with
their specific needs. The services offered are divided into different levels, from the most basic,
common to all companies, to the most advanced and customized.
Contacts
Bari
Via Marco Partipilo, 38
70124 Bari
Tel: +39 080 5426799
Fax: +39 080 5508740
Milano
Via Santa Maria della Valle, 3
20123 Milano
Tel: +39 02 00681067
Fax: +39 02 00681400
info@eusoft.it
http://www.eusoft.it


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