In our recent QA white paper, we highlighted the importance of software solutions in complex IT ecosystems to employ system-agnostic integration. In particular, we discussed:

  1. The need to integrate multiple third-party systems into a comprehensive software network
  2. Each system representing a “best-of-breed” tool that has been optimized for managing specific aspects of the Quality information ecosystem
  3. The success of this ecosystem heavily relies on the seamless sharing of information between those tools

In the light of the above, we’ll explore the three main reasons why you should embrace software that offers system-agnostic integrations. By “system-agnostic integrations”, we literally mean systems that have the capacity to interface with any other system without establishing complex protocols.

Reason #1: accept the limitations of “standard” integrations

Standard integrations only work for very simple tools and basic information. For instance, an app like Zoom can be easily integrated with Outlook to save a meeting reminder. This is because the latter relies on one standardized methodology for appointment creation – which needs only a simple set of key data points.

By contrast, the systems used in a laboratory environment (LEN, LIMS, etc.):

As we are not talking about ‘simple tools’ here, standard integrations are never going to be the answer to realize your stack of ‘best-of-breed’ solutions. Only system-agnostic integration will ensure that:

Standard interfaces are not the answer – the systems you are using are way too complex and often way too customized for that to work properly.

Reason #2: save time

Current situation: for clients investing in a new software solution, data integration is a no-brainer.

Problem: setting up integrations has historically been a time-consuming process – your IT team has to set-up data lakes, APIs, and establish multidimensional interoperability. Experience tells us that enterprise integration projects are rarely 100% effective on first implementation and inevitably require iterative maintenance and refinement. This puts additional pressure on already scarce resources and eats away at your IT budget.

Ideal world: What you should expect as a buyer is that the system is interoperable out of the box.

Solution: The only way a solution can be ‘interoperable out of the box’ is with system-agnostic integration. This literally means that you need to look for software that can connect to ‘any’ system. With a system-agnostic integration all you need is for the IT team to set up the channel through which you can send and receive data to/from other systems. Once the phone line is setup, any conversation can happen!

With standard interfaces you risk losing valuable days to tweaking interoperability settings and establishing substandard connections between solutions. System-agnostic is therefore the way to go to save time.

Reason #3: don’t compromise on what makes software “best-of-breed”

What makes a software product “best-of-breed”? Typically, their value proposition is that they offer:

If you compromise on either of these factors, you risk losing a big part of what makes the software great.

You definitely don’t want to sacrifice one of these for the sake of integrating multiple third party systems. Some companies sell an integration solution based on providing a single interface point for all systems via a portal. They propose that clients who have invested in best-of-breed software make such a sacrifice by handing over control to their portal. Unfortunately, this:

By deploying single sign-on via enterprise authentication and less-restrictive interoperability layers such as a service bus, system agnostic solutions effectively circumvent the need for unifying portals.

Frequently Asked Questions

How are data security and privacy ensured with system-agnostic integrations?

System-agnostic integrations prioritize data security and privacy by implementing robust measures such as encryption, access controls, and compliance with industry standards. Binocs systems are fully ISO-270001 compliant and subject to regular security audits to maintain high levels of protection for clients.

What challenges might laboratories face when implementing system-agnostic integrations?

By definition, system-agnostic interoperability is typically much less challenging than implementing highly specialized or proprietary integrations. Nevertheless, client sites may need some input from their IT teams to approve the data connection, and site staff may require limited additional training to facilitate the setup and configuration of business rules and workflows for data handling.

Are there any examples of successful system-agnostic integrations in laboratory environments?

System-agnostic integrations have been pivotal in enhancing laboratory operations. For instance, Binocs, our scheduling and operational management solution, seamlessly integrates with Laboratory Information Management (LIM) systems. This integration ensures that sample and batch data can be uploaded and processed automatically at scheduled intervals via the API, maintaining up-to-date capacity planning and scheduling priorities without compromising GxP compliance. Additionally, Binocs has successfully integrated with third-party project management and time management applications, further optimizing workflow processes and efficiency in laboratory settings.