Box vs. Thermo Fisher SampleManager LIMS

I think Box is great for research teams or anyone that has a large number of files that need to be securely stored. Particularly in the case of social science research, where it is important to protect identifying data, Box is a great option. In cases where teams need a more reliable means for real-time collaboration, I would probably consider a different alternative

While being an active user at MTF, LIMS was great in being able to complete testing and other daily tasks that would have taken much longer without this system. It enabled a great overall satisfaction to be able to pinpoint who performed each task based on time stamping and avoided many errors regarding lot numbers, expiration dates, and equipment IDs. Thus, being able to validate and report data out to other departments was ALOT faster, which is highly important being that much of our testing was heavily time sensitive and crucial to sustaining life. However, although LIMS improved the companies overall effectiveness and efficiency, it had some minor issues that created more than one problem. Being that I am no longer employed at MTF, time studies performed utilizing LIMS while testing resulted in the loss of five positions within the laboratory. It's great that it's so fast, but caused controversy by eliminating employees who were highly proficient while using the LIMS software. Also during usage, it would crash numerous times, which would either delay the input of data or completely wipe it out. On several occasions, we risked having to declare deviations on the fact that data was permanently deleted and never to be able to be retained again. This also resulted in a loss of millions of dollars due to tissue and bone samples being thrown away because there was no data to support they were able to be used in surgeries.

Incentivized

• The main feature that I like the most in Box is that it makes collaboration seamless, workers can easily check the documents any time and make changes according to the needs.
• Box manages and backs up all of your files on its cloud servers, and provides a very nice interface for creating, viewing, editing, and collaborating on the most commonly used file types (PDF, XLS, DOC, etc.).
• Over the past few years, Box has built on top of its basic cloud storage management with a host of other tools, such as workflows, AI, monitoring, and analytics.
• It is helping us to make good connections with clients and our workers themselves as to its syncing and viewing feature to all is very much helpful and easy to go.

Incentivized

• Cloud
• Storing information
• Transferring data from one to another
• No Flash Drives
• Easy use
• BEST SOFTWARE
• MUST NEED for large companies

Incentivized

• The graphic design of the dashboard should be simpler and more tangible that can be changed to the liking of the Admin.
• Sometimes there are some syncing issues in the background.
• The product has very limited functionality in some areas which could be a bit frustrating at times.

Incentivized

• LIMS can be an extremely slow system if not updated to the most current version, which can also cause the system to crash in the midst of recording/testing.
• Disables certain features to be accessible depending on user status.
• Does not always adhere to set protocols or standards made for specific data input.

Incentivized

I like the security features and I like the website. It's easy to use and create and move things around as needed. The main reason for a lower rating is because the Box Sync app is just not a good program. It's a memory hog, it's slow, transfer speeds are slow, and it's not the most efficient route. If you have a large Box account and you need to get a computer up to speed on a large amount of data within Box, you are in for the long haul. Last time I had to do this, it took 3 days to sync all of the files and we are talking around 100 GB worth of data

Everything with Box is seamless. It can be integrated into virtually any other software or application. You can even get the app for your phone or tablet to work on the go. File syncing is so quick. The only reason I gave it a 9 is the issue I discussed earlier about the local file application rebooting and not continuing to sync files. Other than that, it's great!

Incentivized

Yeah, it's always worked, I've never had any kind of connection issues, the only issues I've had it I've been on our end when the Internet hasn't worked.

Incentivized

The general operation and management of Box is very efficient, both when accessing the account, and when adding files, downloading or modifying any document directly. The web platform, mobile and desktop versions work really well and quickly, making all the work and process flow smoothly and without setbacks. So far I have not been able to observe any inconvenience

Incentivized

I found their support community lacking in clarity when I experienced a login issue. The error messaging was poor on my Box Sync application. I did not reach out to support staff for help, instead, I reasoned that I should try downloading the Box Sync application again and reinstall it. That fixed my issue, thankfully. I think a less computer-savvy user would've been much more frustrated.

Incentivized

The in person training was done in house and I helped with the training, people seem to respond well.

Incentivized

The documentation is good. Since Box is a popular service, there were also a number of YouTube videos and other sources that were helpful as we were considering the product and planning for deployment. Also, the ability to try the free version helped to prepare us.

Be careful with settings. It is easy to get overwhelmed with updates. For example, you don’t want to be updated when doing historical data uploads. I recommend taking off notifications initially and then turn on post you have done your historical data upload.

They are kind of the same. And both of them do their job as promised. But for company and project wise I think that Box slightly wins for some points. Which [makes him] win over Google Drive (don't forget that Google Drive is very easy to use and has a lot [of] nice features too).

Thermo Fisher Scientific LIMS is fantastic in that it has a wide range to store and change data regarding instrumentation, reagents, equipment, materials, and testing layouts. Information can be backed up for quite some time, which is great in the instance that data needs to be pulled immediately, regardless when it was last accessed. It also enables testing to follow a better flow through following the way in which the set up is displayed within the LIMS system.

Incentivized

It's great, as we put more files on there it's done very well.

Incentivized

• Box has been an only positive experience. It provides a seamless way for me and my team to collaborate on documents in such a way where we're not sending the document back/forth via email. It's a huge timesaver.
• Box reduces the risk of sharing a sensitive document to the wrong person via email.
• Box has provided a platform where my team can share notes in meetings - this has helped streamline and organize our meetings. Our meetings are more productive and actionable.

Incentivized

• Converting to the program
• Learning a newer software

Incentivized