How to Purchase Laboratory Management Software

Your institution has determined it is ready to change software solutions. This can happen for many reasons and depending on how well you prepare, can have different outcomes. This guide will help walk you through the process of organizing your needs internally and properly vetting potential solutions.

Identify Why

It’s important to know exactly why you need to make a change. Complaints may range from annoyances to non-negotiables. You will want to know the difference in order to prioritize your needs. How does each complaint affect the institution as a whole?

Examples

• Still using paper and spreadsheets. • Poor software support causing delays. • Difficult User interface. • Inability to integrate with other software preventing mission critical work. • Unreliable data jeopardizing compliance. Defining your pain points will tell you how urgent the change is and give you outcomes you can measure.

Determine How

Before the process can begin, determine who will be involved in the decision making as well as regulations of which you need to be aware. For example, what compliance measures do you need to consider that would be impacted by a software change? Identifying your timeline is crucial in allowing your institution to prepare and smoothly transition. This includes evaluating current processes and needs across different departments. Once you have completed your internal evaluation, you will have the tools you need to begin assessing software solutions to see what best fits your needs. TIP: Make lists of must haves and nice to haves. This can help eliminate software that will not meet your basic needs.

Determine How Much

Laboratory Animal Management Software can vary widely in price based on multiple factors. The number of users, add-on modules, and setup costs vary between different systems. Purchasing a solution is not something that you will do frequently, so it’s important to consider your costs over time as well as your initial setup fees. Read our recent blog Configurable Versus Custom for a full list of factors to keep in mind.

Evaluate Options

You will have many conversations externally with the vendor and internally with stakeholders to check that you are on the right track. Attending demos, finding reviews, and getting existing user feedback are all important to develop the right requirements list. Check for case studies that give specific examples on how the vendor resolved their customer’s pain points. Or ask your vendor for organizationally-similar references who you can connect with to ask specific questions.

Engage

Request a demo. If possible, provide your key requirements overview and/or sample forms and processes. That provides valuable insight into your needs and improves the value of the demo. Be sure to ask questions beyond product functionality, including service and support options. Some offer additional services and support tiers which can be bundled for large cost savings. For example, TOPAZ Technologies offers remote hosting at a fraction of the cost to host internally. Additionally, our Health Check Service provides a deep-dive look at your current workflow, providing insight and training options to improve inefficiencies. This kind of service is invaluable to ensure no organizational needs are forgotten during transition.

Commit

In the final step, you have all the pieces necessary to make an informed decision that will benefit your organization. Implementation and training would be scheduled and your team can start enjoying the benefits of your new laboratory management solution. TIP: Don’t forget to set up metrics and goals in order to track the impact your hard work has had on your organization! Purchasing new Laboratory Animal Management Software can be daunting. There are a lot of factors to consider when making a final decision. But, with a methodical approach and careful planning the outcome can be extremely rewarding. We hope you found this information helpful and informative. If you are just getting started looking for Laboratory Management Software, TOPAZ Technologies can help! We offer a wide array of enterprise and modular solutions to best fit your needs. Get started by emailing sales@topazti.com to request a demo, or check out this recent case study to see if TOPAZ would be a good fit for you!