Beyond the Bench - The Strategic Value of ELNs for Institutional Leadership

Summary of the July 15, 2025 Webinar Hosted by Internet2, LabArchives, and UMass Chan Medical School

Executive Overview

Electronic Lab Notebooks (ELNs) are no longer just digital replacements for paper notebooks. Platforms like LabArchives are redefining their role as enterprise-wide solutions that address operational efficiency, data integrity, compliance, and financial management.

In a recent webinar “Beyond the Bench: Essential LabArchives Conversations Leadership Should Have” -Byron Deane, Product Owner and Senior BSA for Research Technology at UMass Chan Medical School, presented a compelling case for the unified ELN strategy. Hosted in collaboration with Internet2 and LabArchives, this strategic conversation highlighted how ELNs provide tangible value to institutional leaders including CIOs, CISOs, CROs, CFOs, and CDOs.

The message was clear: ELNs are not simply lab tools; they are enterprise enablers.

A Strategic Conversation, Not Just a Demo

Unlike traditional product demonstrations, this session embraced a scenario-driven approach. Byron Deane role-played various executive perspectives, weaving his lived experience into realistic challenges faced by campus leadership. The goal: to demonstrate how a unified ELN strategy meets diverse institutional needs, from IT modernization to research integrity.

For CIOs & VPs of IT Service Management: Building the Digital Research Backbone

Modern research institutions compete not just on scientific excellence but on their ability to scale and secure data operations. LabArchives enables CIOs to lead digital transformation by simplifying IT complexity and enabling innovation.

Strategic Impact:

• Eliminate fragmented lab systems and reduce “shadow IT”
• Centralize governance and oversight
• Simplify integrations to free IT staff for strategic innovation

Outcomes / ROI Matrix:

For CISOs & Compliance Officers: Strengthening Security, Simplifying Compliance

In an era of cyber risk and regulatory scrutiny, LabArchives embeds data protection and governance directly into daily research workflows.

Strategic Impact:

• Secure sensitive and proprietary data
• Automate compliance with HIPAA, GDPR, and NIH DMSP
• Centralize oversight to reduce institutional exposure

Outcomes / ROI Matrix:

For CROs, RIOs & Research Integrity Leaders: Safeguarding Research Integrity

IScientific credibility depends on traceability and compliance. LabArchives ensures data provenance and reproducibility across the research lifecycle.

Strategic Impact:

• Standardize research documentation for rigor and reproducibility
• Preserve data provenance from creation to publication
• Protect funding streams and institutional reputation

Outcomes / ROI Matrix:

For CFOs: Maximizing ROI and Mitigating Financial Risk

Research data represents significant institutional capital. LabArchives delivers measurable financial outcomes through consolidation, compliance, and acceleration.

Strategic Impact:

• Consolidate redundant infrastructure to lower costs
• Integrate with enterprise systems to extend IT ROI
• Accelerate “time-to-insight” and research throughput

Outcomes / ROI Matrix:

For Chief Data Officers: Advancing Data Governance and Strategic Research Intelligence

The future of research lies in governed, reusable, analytics-ready data. LabArchives equips CDOs to implement FAIR principles and enable collaborative stewardship.

Strategic Impact:

• Structure research data for accessibility and reuse
• Embed FAIR data standards institution-wide
• Create sustainable frameworks for data collaboration

Outcomes / ROI Matrix:

Unified Outcomes Across the Enterprise

When viewed together, these role-based benefits create a cohesive transformation strategy—modernizing research operations across technology, security, finance, and compliance.

Consolidated Leadership Value Matrix

Product Ecosystem & Integrations

LabArchives offers a comprehensive suite of solutions designed to meet the needs of both research and education:

• Core Products: ELN for Research, Inventory Management, Scheduler, and ELN for Government (FedRAMP® -authorized).
• Targeted Solutions: ELN for Education, Scientific Workflow Modernization, Research Integrity & Security, and offerings for commercial startups.
• Key Integrations: GraphPad Prism, Geneious, REDCap, SnapGene, Microsoft Office/365, and more.

Together, these tools streamline workflows across the lab-to-enterprise spectrum.

Differentiators That Matter

LabArchives stands apart from general-purpose note-taking tools through compliance-ready, traceable, and science-specific features. Where tools like OneNote fall short, LabArchives ensures:

• Provenance tracking
• Compliance controls
• Dedicated scientific workflows

Additionally, it advances sustainability goals with measurable environmental benefits:

• Over 1.57 million paper notebooks replaced
• Tens of thousands of trees saved
• 1.47 million pounds of CO₂ offset

This commitment aligns with institutional missions for sustainability and responsible stewardship. 

Read more about LabArchives commitment to help researchers reduce paper waste, conserve water, offset CO₂, and operate more sustainably, without compromising scientific productivity.-  Go Green with LabArchives ELN

A Platform Anchored by Strategic Partnerships

For over a decade, LabArchives has partnered with Internet2’s NET+ program, offering trusted solutions to academic, industry, and government sectors. Its international server infrastructure ensures compliance with regional data residency requirements, including the U.S., UK, EU, Australia, and Canada.

In 2025, LabArchives further solidified its leadership with the launch of the FedRAMP-authorized ELN for Government, chosen by the NIH for system-wide adoption across ELN, Inventory, and Scheduler modules. Read more about why National Institutes for Health Selects LabArchives as Its One Approved Multi-Discipline ELN.

LabArchives for Government provides institutions with the strategic value of a FedRAMP Moderate authorized solution that enables their researchers to apply for grants from funding agencies that require higher levels of security, compliance and controls (i.e. CUI, NIST 800-171, etc.), while reducing burden, costs and management.

Looking Ahead

The July webinar marked just the beginning of this leadership-centered dialogue. On October 15, 2025, Hannah Clark of LabArchives hosted a follow-up webinar on enterprise-only features, designed to help institutions maximize their ELN investment. Look for an overview blog of the webinar coming soon.

For research institutions and medical schools, the takeaway is clear: a unified ELN strategy is not just a technical upgrade, but a strategic imperative.

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