General & Capability
How does LABA distinguish itself from traditional legacy LIMS?
Most LIMS platforms force you to adapt your science to fit their rigid, pre-built templates. We do the exact opposite. LABA is a bespoke LIMS and custom LIMS engineering service disguised as software—we custom-build the platform around your laboratory's specific workflows and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).
Furthermore, LABA includes Unlimited Users as standard, entirely eliminating the punitive per-seat licensing fees imposed by legacy providers.
Can LABA actually handle the nuances of our specific research?
Absolutely. Because we develop a custom biobank and LIMS to your exact specifications, LABA comfortably handles highly diverse domains:
- Bespoke Biobanking & Biorepositories: Managing human tissue, blood, isolates, and complex consent protocols on a custom biobank system.
- Clinical Diagnostics: Supporting high-stakes patient data, testing lifecycles, and HIPAA compliance in a custom LIMS.
- Forensic Laboratories: Where an unbreakable chain of custody is paramount.
- Manufacturing Quality Control: Ensuring absolute precision, tracking, and error-proofing in production.
Is there a ceiling on how many users we can add?
No. We fundamentally disagree with penalising collaboration. Every LABA license includes Unlimited Users right out of the box, allowing your entire team—from Principal Investigators to lab technicians—to work in a single custom environment without incurring extra costs.
Are we capped on data storage or virtual refrigerators?
Never. LABA operates on an unrestricted scalability model. You can digitally map an infinite number of bespoke virtual refrigerators, cryo-tanks, and ambient storage units to support your scientific scale.
Security & Sovereignty
Is LABA compliant with ISO 17025 and FDA 21 CFR Part 11?
Yes. Compliance isn't an afterthought; it is hardcoded into our bespoke architecture. Key features include:
- Immutable Audit Trails: An undeletable record of every single action (tracking who did what, and when) to ensure you are perpetually audit-ready.
- Electronic Signatures: Enable seamless, compliant approval workflows and SOP sign-offs.
- Role-Based Access Control (RBAC): Provide granular permissions to ensure only heavily authenticated personnel can access specific subsets of data.
Who exactly has access to our live production data?
We operate on a strict Singular Data Sovereignty model. At an architectural level, only the Managing Director has access to live customer data. This intentionally eliminates the insider threats and third-party sub-processor risks common with massive, generic SaaS providers.
How does LABA protect data sovereignty for NHS Trusts and clinical environments?
Through bespoke security protocols, AES-256 encryption, and completely isolated deployment environments. We guarantee that your highly sensitive clinical and biobanking data remains entirely under your institutional control.
Can we host LABA on our own internal servers (On-Premise)?
Yes, absolutely. We offer a dedicated On-Premise deployment plan where we install the custom LABA architecture directly onto your internal Windows servers. Highly secure institutions, like Lonza Labs (Cambridge), use this exact option to keep 100% of their data within their physical walls.
If we host it locally, how do we get software updates?
We use a highly secure "Zero-Touch" update protocol. We package the latest patches and bespoke feature upgrades in our secure environment and deliver them to your IT team as a verified file. We never require remote backdoor access to your servers.
What support response times, uptime guarantees, and disaster recovery commitments are provided?
For cloud-hosted deployments, Biomed Systems Limited commits to a 99.9% monthly availability baseline (<44 minutes unplanned downtime per calendar month), backed by proportional service credit remedies. Technical helpdesk support operates Monday to Friday, 09:00 to 17:30 UK GMT/BST (excluding UK Public Bank Holidays).
All reported incidents are managed under our structured four-tier triage framework:
- Severity 1 (Critical Outage): Initial response within 2 business hours; continuous senior engineering remediation targeting workaround or resolution within 8 business hours.
- Severity 2 (Major Impairment): Initial response within 4 business hours; target resolution within 24 business hours.
- Severity 3 & 4 (Standard & Advisory): Initial response within 8 to 16 business hours.
Disaster recovery continuity commits to a Recovery Point Objective (RPO) of ≤24 hours (or <1 hour with log shipping) and a Recovery Time Objective (RTO) of <4 hours for core engine restoration. For complete details, review our official Service Level Agreement (SLA) Schedule.
Storage & Data Management
Are there limits on the number of virtual storage units?
Zero limits. To support a high-throughput bespoke biobank or large clinical laboratory, you can create and map Unlimited Virtual Refrigerators, cryo-tanks, and ambient storage units to precisely mirror your laboratory's physical layout, no matter how large your facility grows.
Is there a limit on the data volume or the number of sample records?
None at all. LABA's custom-built relational database architecture supports Unlimited Data and high-throughput environments without any degradation in search or processing performance.
Pricing & Licensing
Why is there a "One-Time Implementation Fee"?
Because we don't just hand you a generic login and walk away. This fee covers our senior engineering team taking the time to forensically analyse your SOPs, migrate your legacy data, and custom-code the bespoke LABA architecture to perfectly fit your lab before you ever go live.
Will our licence fee suddenly jump if we double our headcount?
No. Because of our Unlimited Users policy, your subscription costs remain perfectly flat and predictable, regardless of how fast your research cohort grows.
Why do we pay an annual licence fee if we are hosting it on our own servers?
Enterprise software is a living ecosystem. Your annual licence acts as an operational insurance policy for your custom biobank. It guarantees continuous delivery of:
- Security Patches: Proactively guarding against emerging global cyber threats.
- Compliance Updates: Keeping your engine compliant with constantly evolving HTA, FDA, and GDPR regulations.
- Core Engine Maintenance: Ensuring LABA runs flawlessly on the latest browsers, operating systems, and server environments.
How is VAT calculated for UK, EU, US, and international clients?
LABA is engineered and operated by Biomed Systems Limited (UK Registered: 11537514, VAT: GB 515912105). VAT application is governed strictly by your organisation's fiscal jurisdiction:
- United Kingdom (NHS Trusts, Universities, B2B): Subject to standard UK VAT (20%). VAT-registered entities can reclaim this via standard HMRC VAT returns.
- European Union (B2B Research Institutes): Zero-rated (0% UK VAT) under the EU Reverse Charge mechanism (Article 196 of Council Directive 2006/112/EC) upon providing a valid EU VAT ID.
- United States & Rest of World: Zero-rated (0% UK VAT) as an export of professional software engineering and cloud stewardship services outside the UK.
All stated website prices and retainer scopes exclude UK VAT unless explicitly stated otherwise.
What contractual framework governs our licence, data ownership, and user access?
All deployments of LABA are governed by our formal Master Terms and Conditions of Business, executed between Biomed Systems Limited (Company No. 11537514, VAT GB 515912105) and your institution.
Key commercial baseline principles include:
- Boundless Infrastructure Standard: Unlimited named users, unlimited storage units, and unlimited relational data records included as standard without per-seat penalty fees.
- Singular Data Sovereignty: You retain absolute, unencumbered ownership of all scientific datasets, patient metadata, and biological specimen records. Production databases are isolated with zero third-party sub-processor data scraping.
- Dual-Deployment Model: Complete operational clarity across Cloud-Hosted managed infrastructure and On-Premise air-gapped server installations.
Full legal specifications, liability provisions, intellectual property demarcations, and governance schedules are detailed in our published Master Terms of Business.
Ready for a Bespoke Solution?
Contact the senior engineering team for a personalised consultation about your exact laboratory requirements.