Electronic Lab Notebook Market Analysis

Market Insight- Global Electronic Lab Notebook Market

Market Definition

An electronic lab notebook also referred to as electronic laboratory notebook (ELN) is a computer program designed to substitute conventional paper notebooks used in laboratories. ELN software supports digitalization of the laboratory data and offers various advantages such as collaboration, easier data search, protection and centralization of data, and facilitate efficient organization of data. Moreover, it allows researchers and scientists to access, search, and share result of their experiments. ELN software plays a crucial role in complying with regulatory policies such as FDA 21 CFR 11 and others according to each region, in order to assure efficient data security. ELNs are typically useful in writing down procedures, conclusions, and drawing flow charts and diagrams related to research. Electronic lab notebooks have been used in many industries such as food & beverages, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and academics.

The global electronic lab notebook market was estimated to account for US$ 269.9 Mn in 2018 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 10.1% during the forecasted period (2019-2027)

Market Dynamics- Driver

1. Rising need for effective data management in various industry verticals is expected to drive growth of the global electronic lab notebook market during the forecast period

Professional laboratories process a large volume of data, which needs to be recorded and maintained effectively for numerous purposes. The conventional method of data recording and maintaining has resulted in loss, forgery or theft. Moreover, daily recording of laboratory data has become extremely crucial in the recent past. ELN offers an impressive substitute for the conventional method where it is capable of storing large amount of data associated with lab experiments. It allows the users to record, use it for reference, share it, and maintain it in a secure and orderly manner. This, in turn, is expected to increase the demand for ELNs in professional laboratories and thereby drive growth of the market over the forecast period.

2. Growing adoption of ELS in life science industry is expected to propel the global electronic lab notebook market over the forecast period

Researchers working in life science industry have been increasingly using ELNs in the recent past. The industry conducts research under numerous domains namely chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and more. Growing concern regarding issues related to reproducibility coupled with increasing number of cases of research misconduct has led to security and safety of record is crucial factor. Furthermore, increasing regulatory pressure related to data safety has increased the demand for ELNs in the life science industry. For instance, in Arxspan LLC offers ‘ArxLab’ an electronic lab notebook for preconfigured biology applications. It is designed with a cloud-based architecture and helps to streamline workflows, increase productivity, protect sensitive IP, and is compliant to standard regulations.

Europe region dominated the global electronic lab notebook market in 2018, accounting for 30.8% share in terms of value, followed by North America, and Asia Pacific, respectively.

Source: Coherent Market Insights

Market Dynamics- Restraints

1. Increased expenditure on training and IT infrastructure maintenance is expected to restrain growth of the global electronic lab notebook market during the forecast period

Although ELNs enable efficient working in professional labs, its procurement cost and fees required for configuration, training, and maintenance are relatively high. This, in turn, increases the overall cost required for adoption of electronic lab notebook solutions. Moreover, the ELN operator requires specific skills and techniques, which makes its training extremely crucial. On the contrary, ELN requires regular maintenance, and updating of software for smooth and efficient performance. All this leads to additional cost, which is expected to hamper the market growth. For instance, ELN implementation cost is based on the number of seats used and the type of end-use industry.

2. Struggle in complying with regulatory policies is expected to hinder the global electronic lab notebook market growth over the forecast period

Many times ELN developers need to build their software around the strict regulations of various government. This causes restrictions in the freedom of developers while designing ELN. An ELN software should comply with common regulatory policies laid down by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) 21 CFR Part 11, and Good Laboratory Practices. Moreover, for international certification, ELN needs to comply with as USFDA (21 CFR Part 11, GLPs, and GMPs), Europe’s (EMA) Annex 11 and PFSB 040122 (Japan). For instance, in 2012, the U.S. FDA filed a consent against Ranbaxy Inc. as the company attempted to manipulate the electronic record to hide the negative outcome of raw materials and finished goods after it failed analytical testing. This, in turn, is expected to restrain the market growth over the forecast period.

Market Opportunities

1. Adoption of ELN in academic sector is expected to pose lucrative opportunities for market players

Overall adoption of ELN in university labs has been slow even though ELN is an efficient internal and external collaboration tool for individual research team. It offers real-time information sharing across various organizations and groups. It records all experimental record electronically, facilitates searchibility by keywords, and role-based data access. These benefits are expected to increase the adoption of ELN in institutes and universities. For instance, Scilligence Corporation provides ELN for training graduate and undergraduate students in industrial standards and processes. Moreover, it allows students to run the ELN on their own devices with no requirement of additional software installation.

2. Emergence of cloud-based ELN is expected to offer significant opportunities in the near future

Cloud-based applications have already gained popularity in many industries. Cloud-based ELN offers various advantages related to data storage and enhanced security measures. Moreover, it reduces expenditure of hardware, enhances version control, simplify file sharing, and improve user satisfaction. Furthermore, it simplifies in-house maintenance requirements and allows remote access to information. For instance, PerkinElmer Inc. provides a cost-efficient and safe cloud solution to its clients, which in turn, eliminates the requirement for investing in on premise infrastructure.

Source: Coherent Market Insights

Market Trends

1. Providing customized software for specific requirements is a major trend in the market

Certain organizations and laboratories require customized ELNs with custom-made features designed for specific applications and scientific instrumentation and data. It allows laboratories to work efficiently and enhances the overall productivity. Moreover, certain domains within organizations require distinctive ELNs with different scientific features. This, however, increases overall cost of ownerships. Key companies in the market are focused on developing advanced multidisciplinary ELNs, in order overcome this drawback.

2. Increasing demand from food & beverages and academic sector is another major trend in the market

Although academic sector and food & beverages have been the slow adopters of ELNs, these sectors are expected to accelerate the adoption of ELN in the near future. This is owing to increasing need for effective management methods and data recording, safe and efficient data sharing, and more from both food & beverage and academic sectors. For instance, Lab-Ally offers RSpace ELN, which is based on advanced technologies and is designed for large-scale enterprise deployments at academic institutions.

Segment information:

In Global electronic lab notebook market, by end-use segment Pharmaceuticals sub-segment dominated the global electronic lab notebook market in 2018, accounting for 25.22% share in terms of value, followed by Chemicals, Biology and Academic Food & Beverages and Others sub-segment, respectively.

Source: Coherent Market Insights

Value Chain Analysis

Competitive Section

Key players involved in the global electronic lab notebook market are DASSAULT SYSTEMES SA, Arxspan LLC., LabArchives, LLC, Abbott Informatics Corp., PerkinElmer, Inc., LabWare, Inc., Bruker Corporation, ID Business Solutions Ltd., and Kinematik US & Inc.

Key Developments

1. Key companies in the market are focused on mergers and acquisition, in order to enhance their market presence. For instance, in March 2019, Bruker Corporation acquired Arxspan LLC, a provider of scientific software provider.
2. Major companies in the market are involved in partnerships and collaborations, in order to gain competitive edge in the market. For instance, in July 2018, Macmillan Learning, an educational company, partnered with LabArchives LLC, a provider of cloud-based ELN, to provide full suite of STEM digital lab to