Why Every Modern Lab needs an Electronic Lab Notebook

Why Every Modern Lab needs an Electronic Lab Notebook

author image
Tali Kauffmann
Product Marketer at Seal
3 minute read

Why Every Modern Lab Needs an Electronic Lab Notebook

An Electronic Lab Notebook (ELN) is a digital platform designed to replace traditional paper lab notebooks. It serves as a tool for scientists and researchers to record and store experimental data, observations, and results in an electronic format. 

Gone are the days of bulky, coffee-stained paper notebooks brimming with hand-written notes. An ELN is akin to a digital diary, purpose-built for the scientific community. It's a platform where experiments are not just recorded, but brought to life with rich media, easy data retrieval, and seamless collaboration features.

But what are the key features of an ELN? Why not just stick with paper and spreadsheets, or a database software, or even a shared cloud storage service? This article covers their key features and how ELN's streamline data management, enhance collaboration among scientists, and contribute to more efficient and accurate research.

Why paper and spreadsheets are outdated

The shift from traditional lab notebooks to Electronic Lab Notebooks (ELNs) can be viewed as a natural progression in response to the evolving needs of modern science. This transition highlights the limitations of earlier methods and underscores why ELNs have become the preferred choice for researchers.

Traditionally, paper notebooks were the mainstay of lab recording. Their simplicity and directness allowed researchers to pen down their observations and experiments. However, the drawbacks are obvious. Paper is susceptible to damage and loss. Retrieving information from stacks of notebooks and messy file cabinets is time-consuming. Plus, sharing information from paper records in a collaborative research environment isn't exactly efficient. 

Spreadsheets are another old-school option and are still a go-to for many scientists. They offer a way to organise data more efficiently than paper and provide basic analysis tools. Yet, spreadsheets bring a whole new set of problems. They're less suited for managing complex or non-numeric data, such as images or detailed notes. As the amount of data grows, spreadsheets quickly become unwieldy resulting in lots of disparate pieces of data in silos. This makes them a nightmare for extensive research projects.

There are other options too like advanced database software capable of handling large complex sets of data, or shared cloud storage spaces like Sharepoint or Google Drive. While database systems can manage complex data, they're often rigid and have a steep learning curve. Cloud storage improves data sharing and accessibility but lacks features crucial for lab research, such as experiment tracking and data integrity. The reality is that scientists need to easily be able to access and trace both data and documents. 

What are the key features of an Electronic Lab Notebooks?

These platforms replace traditional paper notebooks, offering a range of features that streamline and improve various aspects of scientific work.

In terms of data entry and management, ELNs facilitate digital recording, allowing researchers to input and organise data electronically, including text, images, graphs, and tables. They support standardised data entry through templates and ensure that information is always up-to-date with real-time updates.

The search capabilities of ELNs are a major improvement. They enable complex search queries, allowing for quick retrieval of specific data. Users can tag and categorise entries, and the systems often support full-text searches, making it easier to locate information even within images and graphs.

Collaboration is significantly enhanced in ELNs. These systems allow multiple users to access and edit the same entries, fostering teamwork and shared research. They offer tools for comments and annotations and provide different access levels to safeguard sensitive data.

Integration with other lab systems is a key feature of ELNs. They can connect with various lab instruments for direct data import and facilitate data transfer to and from other software systems. Many ELNs also provide APIs for custom integration with lab databases, ensuring seamless operation within the lab's ecosystem.

Depending on your organisational needs and external customer or regulatory requirements, your ELN may have to include the following aspects:  

What are the benefits of Electronic Lab Notebooks?

1. Visualise your laboratory

An ELN enables you to visualise your laboratory, from processes and workflows, to sample locations and equipment availability. The centralised information enables you to easily find and pull data helping you eliminate inefficiencies and waste within processes, resulting in improved productivity and reduced costs.

2. Management and control of protocols and data records

Documentation and data can be stored in a way that suits your laboratory needs. Laboratory protocols can be stored in a centralised platform or a customised dashboard for specific teams. Data - be it smaller quantities to a large bulk of samples - can be stored in a systematic and organised way. Past data can be easily archived and stored for future reference.

3. Inventory and equipment management

An ELN helps you to track your resources effectively - documenting fields such as inventory usage records, and batch and supplier information. Equipment-related information - such as equipment usage records, calibration schedules, and equipment validation records - can also be managed.

4. Increased collaborative environment

An ELN promotes collaboration, both between laboratory members and across laboratory teams - fostering a team-working environment that helps improve team morale and overall laboratory productivity.

5.  Accelerate Innovation

Using an ELN can significantly speed up innovation in research and development environments by providing scientists with immediate access to experimental data and insights.


With an ELN, data from various experiments can be aggregated and analysed in real-time. Researchers can quickly identify areas for improvement in their experimental designs and to optimise their research processes more efficiently.     

This leads to a faster development and refinement of experiments, enhancing the overall research productivity and giving institutions a competitive advantage for R&D. Life sciences DNA leaders estimate that digital and analytics templates reportedly boosted profits by 5-15% in certain areas, totalling $6-9 billion annually. 

What's more, the same study estimated that full implementation of digital templates and innovation across the value chain could yield $130-190 billion in additional profits annually.

The Future of ELNs

Looking ahead, the speed at which R&D teams are able to innovate as well as their levels of productivity are likely to increase exponentially in the next 5-10 years. The integration of AI and cloud computing in ELN is already unlocking massive potential. AI-driven features such as predictive analytics and data pattern recognition can already provide research with powerful insights, vastly improving decision making and heavily accelerating the research process.

In fact, seal's ELN and digital workspace already leverages both AI and cloud computing to automate insight generation, manage and control data, and accelerate innovation. 

Learn how you can upgrade your lab by booking a demo.