Recently, I was visiting a prospective client and asked them a simple question: “Why are you looking for a new digital solution?” Their answer was incredibly literal: they told me the floor of their laboratory was practically collapsing under the sheer weight of the paper they were storing.
It is incredibly ironic that laboratories demand the highest levels of traceability, accuracy, and discipline, yet we still so often rely on manual tools like paper notebooks, Excel spreadsheets, or scattered Google docs. While this might work for a small number of users and experiments, it quickly becomes a massive problem as operations scale and regulatory pressures increase.
In my role as Head of Customer Success at SciNote, my team and I guide laboratories through the complex process of implementing an Electronic Lab Notebook (ELN). Based on those experiences, here is what I want every laboratory to know about the pitfalls, best practices, and golden rules of digitalization.
The real reasons we digitalize (and why we resist it)
Beyond literal collapsing floors, laboratories usually seek digitalization because of very concrete fears: the risk of losing data due to poor backups, audits that take weeks to prepare for, the nightmare of finding a specific data point from two years ago, or an employee leaving the company behind unreadable notes. Ultimately, everything boils down to the need for better data management.
But if the benefits are so obvious, why do projects fail? The biggest hurdles are fear and user resistance. When we introduce digital transformation, we often hear two major complaints:
1. “We don’t need this, we already have a system.”
People are afraid that new systems will be too complex or that they will lose control over their processes. At one mid-sized biotech company we worked with, management bought a system without involving the end users in the purchasing process, leading to immediate resistance. To fix this, we found an internal ally: an employee who realized she could find her data in two clicks instead of digging through a physical archive. She became our internal ambassador, and that was the crucial moment that turned the implementation around.
2. “Honestly, how much time are we going to lose doing this?”
I always challenge the word “lose”. You are not losing time; you are investing time so that you can save it later when executing workflows. We once worked with a pharma company that claimed digitalization was their top priority, but during our kick-off meeting, no one had been assigned to lead the project or given any hours to work on it. Your team is already working 40 hours a week; you cannot just drop a massive implementation project on their desks without adjusting their workload. They eventually created a dedicated task force of three people from different departments, which led to a highly successful rollout.
The blueprint for a successful rollout
To ensure your implementation doesn’t stall, every digitalization project requires a specific framework:
- Top-Down Support: Management must make it clear that the new system is the new standard, not just an optional tool while still maintaining paper records on the side.
- A Motivated Superuser Team: You need a small, dedicated team or person to lead the charge, live the digital culture, and act as internal support.
- Start with a Pilot: Never try to digitalize everything overnight. Start small with specific departments or functionalities, test them, and gradually expand.
- Use a Sandbox Environment: Give your team a safe “playground” environment where they can test features and learn the system without the stress of losing real data.
- Ask for Guidance, Not Just Features: When choosing a vendor, don’t just ask, “What can this system do?” You should also ask, “How will you guide us through this?” A vendor’s help during implementation, including regular training and diverse support tools like video tutorials, is the true key to success.
The golden rules of digitalization
When the system finally goes live, the “aha moments” start to happen: protocols are duplicated in two clicks, audits take hours instead of days, and teams become more connected with better inventory organization.
To get there, always remember these golden rules:
1. Do not just copy your existing paper processes into the digital system. Think outside the box, as digital systems offer far more functionality.
2. Prioritize the time required for the project.
3. Involve your users from the very beginning to mitigate resistance.
4. Communicate openly and frequently, both internally and with your software vendor, so problems can be solved quickly.
Ultimately, digitalization is a decision to adopt a better way of working, not just a software purchase. I like to compare it to moving into a new home. The process of packing up your old house is stressful and time-consuming, and when you move into the new house, your closets and drawers are different, requiring you to reorganize.
You cannot go out and have fun while you are moving; you have to prioritize the move. But once you are settled in, it is a massive upgrade, and you will never want to go back.
Ready to make the move?
At BioSistemika, we guide laboratories through this major transition with strategic digitalization consulting, custom software development, and assistance in securing grant funding. Contact us today so our experts can help you successfully build your laboratory’s digital future.
