Digitize Your Data. Accelerate Your Research.
Ditching The Pencil & Pen
Biomedical research, particularly involving animal colonies, can be meticulous as it can involve a little extra work, rules, regulations, and requirements in your lab. Despite the rise of data management and automation solutions, handwritten logs and excel spreadsheets are still commonly used for documenting and tracking data in many labs, which is understandable taking into account the familiarity, ease of use, and affordability with such habits. Pen and paper still works and is a viable option, although it probably is not the most efficient – especially when it comes to managing animal colonies.
With technology and software becoming more popular, common, and sought after, companies are beginning to create more user-friendly software that individuals of all experience levels can effectively use with their staff and team. If the software is affordable, intuitive, and practical then investing in a good database system might be worthwhile – especially if it saves valuable time and energy, allowing technicians and researchers to do their jobs more effectively by simplifying tedious processes.
Data Management Software for Any Type or Size of Facility
Whether you are a small, medium, or larger sized lab or facility, you can significantly increase the efficiency of your data collection, tracking, and management processes in choosing to use a colony management software. Animal care and colony maintenance duties are already pretty time consuming and tedious, so any type of organization or automation could be a big help. Depending on your individual or team’s needs, there are solutions that can help streamline everyday operations, so you can spend less time writing down data and dealing with spreadsheets, and more time performing your research and understanding/analyzing your data.
There are software, database systems, and applications that range from free to premium level costs per month/year. The features and specs of the products on the market
Range of Options and Capabilities
Digitizing your data doesn’t mean you have to utilize or invest in an expensive or cumbersome software that involves a big learning curve. Nowadays, there is more than one option out there for organizing and managing your lab animal colony data. For example, there are database systems and applications ranging from slightly more advanced spreadsheets to more innovative cloud-based software with all the bells and whistles. Some software programs may be worth the investment, some may be trying to do too much. There is a balance between value, practicality, and complexity.
What Should You Consider When Selecting a Data Management System
While doing research on the multitude of ways you can refine your data management operations (based on the dynamics and operations of your lab or facility), there are many factors that you might want to take into account such as – ease of use, accessibility, functionality, among other things that should play into your decision of the proper system to choose.
Some features might include:
- Price
- Service & support
- Cloud access
- Ease of use with an interface
- Scanning/labeling
- Notification/reminder options
- Importing/exporting capabilities
- Messaging system
- Report generation
SoBoDASH is our newly developed database app that we designed with the user in mind to be an intuitive, easy to use experience while providing all of the necessary functionalities to optimize documenting, monitoring, and accessing your colony data as well as environmental room/system parameters (such as water quality). Having 20+ years in the industry, we have worked with clients around the globe, so we decided to create this cloud-based database app that can help lab animal science managers and technicians.
Beta-Testing Program | 6-Month Free Trial
Currently, we’re refining our software and inviting users to try and test our database system for free. We will help you and your team get started and provide check-in meetings to ensure your application is running smooth and to solve any potential issues/bugs along the way. Another perk of enrolling in our beta trial is that users will earn up to 2 free years of premium service once SoBoDASH is finalized and officially launched into the market.
To learn more about SoBoDASH and how it can accelerate your research, contact us at: