We bet you hear these buzzwords constantly:
Digitalize your lab.
Future-proof your operations.
Harness the power of automation.
Sorry if we made your eye twitch just now. But we decided to look past the buzz these words are making.
Is it just having software? Labs have used computers for decades, so that can't be it, right?
We wanted to find out.
We surveyed 110 QA/QC labs across 7 industries and talked to industry experts with a combined 100+ years of experience in lab automation (no kidding, Phillip Williams alone spent 40+ years in the field).
Here's some of what we found.
21% of labs call themselves fully digital. But when you look at whether their instruments and software actually talk to each other? Half of them don't.
54% of labs use Excel, second only to LIMS.
And get this: A third of labs that already have a LIMS still open Excel every day to get work done. It's not replacing anything but filling the gaps everything else leaves open.
Meanwhile, 37% have "reduce Excel dependence" on their priority list for 2026 — which, if we had to guess, isn't the first year it's appeared there.
It’s not budget as you may have thought (we certainly did). In fact, it ranks last as a barrier to digitalization — only 6% cite it.
It's all in the State of Lab Digitalization 2026 report, and it's free: [file link]
A big thank you to everyone who took part in the survey and shared their experience! This report wouldn’t be possible without your input.
Dig into the full report and let us know what you take away from it.
P.S. What's your personal favorite "digital transformation" buzzword that's lost all meaning?
Happy & safe lab work!
❤️ Greetings,
1LIMS Team
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