What is a LIMS PSO? When Do You Need One?

If you’ve ever shopped around for a LIMS, you’ve likely hit this wall: The software looks and sounds great during the demo, but the moment you discuss your specific workflows and needs, the subject of extra services comes up. 

Usually, that’s done by a Professional Services Organization (PSO) within your vendor.

Here’s the uncomfortable truth: with many legacy LIMS, the PSO is a revenue engine just as much as they are a helpful resource. These older, often more complex, LIMS rely on custom code and vendor-controlled custom automations, requiring paid services for even the simplest changes.

The result is you aren’t just buying a LIMS. You’re going to pay 2-3x on top of that for services, and be dependant on those services in perpetuity – often to the delight of your vendor.

In this article, we’ll break down what a LIMS PSO actually is, when (and why) it’s used, and why the real issue usually isn’t the PSO at all; it’s the type of LIMS you choose.

What is a LIMS PSO?

If you’ve ever signed up for consumer or low-priced B2B software, then chances are you could sign up, try out functionality, and even pay for it all without talking to another person. In software terms, we call this a “touchless” experience. 

But more complex software platforms that require human intervention to implement mean you must go through a series of steps from discovery and purchase to actually using the tool. Enterprise-grade software falls into this category, as do sophisticated software platforms like a LIMS.

That’s where a PSO comes into play. A PSO is a specialized team or department within a vendor that provides implementation, customization, training, and ongoing support services to help labs successfully deploy and optimize their software.

What does a LIMS PSO do?

Here are the services that you can expect a PSO to provide:

• Implementation
• Customization
• Training and change management
• Ongoing support

Implementation

Unless your LIMS is free, open-source, or exceedingly simple, you will need assistance with implementation. Proper implementation ensures that your workflows are set up correctly and that you start things off on the right foot to get the most out of your LIMS.

We can’t speak for every vendor, but at QBench, our implementation process involves the following steps:

• Kick-off call: This sets the stage for a successful implementation and allows your lab to begin. 
• Settings and configuration setup: We review product configuration options, statuses, and custom fields to ensure you are ready to receive the data for your workflows.
• A review of worksheets and testing: We cover worksheet engine and testing features to capture test and batch results and create calculations for Reports. This also includes Protocol Steps and Control management.
• Reporting Training: We’ll walk you through how to use the visual template editor to create your reports (e.g., CoA, CoC) and insert test result information from the worksheet or result fields, along with other key information (e.g., order and customer information, charts).
• ‍End-user training: After configuration is complete, we provide training to your technicians to demonstrate how they will use your LIMS in their daily workflow.‍
• Go-live: Finally, we’ll wrap things up with a final call to address any remaining questions and go live.

We also take a “phased approach” to implementation, meaning you can go live and see value from your LIMS sooner than if everything were implemented in one go.

Whether you work with QBench or another vendor, the goal of implementation is the same: align the system with your sample types, testing workflows, regulatory requirements, and reporting needs so the LIMS reflects how your lab actually operates. Check out our guide to implementing a LIMS for a deeper dive into this.

Customization

No LIMS truly comes “out of the box,” but some platforms are more configurable than others (more on this later). Many legacy vendors lean toward the “customizable” side of the scale, meaning they require custom-coded modifications that your vendor or a developer will need to implement.

We’ve worked with labs in the past who were greeted with unexpected surprises like:

• One vendor offered an API, but new endpoints were created specifically for each customer. That meant the lab had to wait weeks for a new API to be set up to work with their data and instruments, and months for any schema changes.
• One lab worked with a legacy LIMS that required custom code for even the simplest changes (like changing a logo or signature). And that vendor charged them every time.
• One lab had used the same LIMS for 35 years, which relied on patches and workarounds just to get by. To make matters worse, the programmer who managed the LIMS for the lab was looking to retire and put a stop to all updates.
• The most common frustration we hear is about needing to add a new row to a data table in a COA and how that will often cost $5,000 or more from a legacy vendor. But more painful than the money is the six weeks it takes to get the change made.

Custom workflows perfectly personalized to your lab can be great in the moment, but the minute things need to change – whether they are driven by process changes, new offerings, or regulations – you could be looking at a steep uphill (and expensive) climb to adjust.

And that climb gets expensive quickly. One lab we spoke with needed support for 20 users and a fair bit of help with implementation and setup. For QBench, that would end up being $70,000 for deployment and $67,000/year going forward. 

But a legacy LIMS like LabWare? This lab was quoted $300,000 for implementation and $87,000 for annual fees. That’s nearly 3x the cost of QBench, with less access to configure and update workflows as you go!

Training and Change Management

A PSO can help with more than initial setup, though. LIMS vendors often offer support for ongoing change management and training as your team grows and evolves.

No matter how well implemented your LIMS is, it will still fail with poor user adoption and understanding. By working closely with your vendor, you have a partner in getting the most out of your LIMS and someone to bounce ideas off of.

At QBench, we’re proud to employ many former lab specialists among our ranks who know the same workflow and regulatory challenges you face. By selecting the right vendor, you have the opportunity to gain a strategic partner beyond software.

Ongoing Support

Between changing staff, regulations, and customer demands, a lot is going to change in your lab in the months and years following implementation.

That’s where having a vendor who can aid with continued implementation, troubleshooting, and support is essential. To be clear, this can easily fall into the customization trap we shared above: every little change request can add up to a substantial bill.

That’s why it’s important to select a vendor that offers in-app controls and configurations with strategic guidance and hands-on support when absolutely necessary, or wanted. This is where QBench is proud to support a global staff while also having a high concentration right here in the United States to support you when you need it most. 

Remember: ongoing support keeps your LIMS aligned with how your lab actually operates today, not how things looked during the original implementation. This prevents the slow drift where staff work around the system, shortcuts become the norm, and the LIMS stops reflecting what your lab really does.

When is a LIMS PSO Necessary?

Is a PSO necessary?

Yes and no.

Yes, in that no LIMS truly comes “out of the box” and requires training and implementation. From QBench, which starts around $275/month for five users, all the way to LabVantage, which can run you over six figures per year, you’ll find that implementation is a required part of purchasing.

It’s after implementation that LIMS differ most. 

During the implementation phase, as discussed above, many legacy LIMS vendors build custom-coded workflows and updates to modify the platform to your needs. On paper, this sounds fantastic, and it often is until those workflows need to change. 

It’s not that a PSO isn’t necessary in those instances. For a legacy LIMS, a PSO absolutely is essential. But if you select the right LIMS – one with configuration options you can control – it renders a PSO less necessary, or only necessary in specific circumstances.

Configuration vs Customization: The Complexity Tax With Legacy LIMS

While your vendor’s services are needed for implementation and ongoing training, they are not always required for in-app workflow changes.

This comes down to whether you have a configurable or customizable LIMS.

A configurable LIMS lets your lab modify the system's functionality and appearance using built-in tools and settings, without requiring changes to the underlying code.

Thanks to pre-built settings and no-code workflows, your lab can modify the LIMS to suit your needs without advanced customization work or costly development resources. A configurable LIMS lets you tailor the software to your lab’s needs without complex development, from user permissions to accessioning steps to automated workflows. A configurable LIMS puts the power to adapt your LIMS in your hands! Literally, your hands make the changes with your mouse and keyboard.

On the other hand, a customizable LIMS may allow for more extensive modifications to the system's functionality and appearance, but at a significant cost.

As shared above, this often involves altering the source code to create custom features, workflows, and integrations. Customizable LIMS offer greater flexibility but will require more technical expertise and resources to implement and maintain.

A configurable LIMS with no-code tools and a robust API can be a middle ground for your lab by blending easy-to-use features with robust configurability. This allows you to configure many things yourself in the software with simple, point-and-click tools and configurable if-this-happens-then-do-that automations, while also letting you layer on customization via the API in a much more maintainable way.

Learn more about the differences between a configurable LIMS and a customizable LIMS here.

Not Every LIMS Requires a PSO for Every Change. Check Out Our Guide to Choosing the Right LIMS

LIMS PSOs can be extremely valuable resources during implementation and for supporting complex needs. 

But we’ve heard horror stories of LIMS vendors holding labs hostage to their software, charging excessively for even the most minor changes, or taking weeks on end to respond to update requests.

Most LIMS require human intervention for implementation, but not every LIMS requires a PSO to make changes and adjust workflows as your lab adapts. To decide on which LIMS is genuinely right for your lab, fill out the form below to download our LIMS Buyer’s Guide. In it, you’ll learn about:

• The LIMS
• The essential features to look for
• How to evaluate vendors

And more! Fill out the form to get your free LIMS guide.