Cloud computing has been getting a lot of airtime lately based on its potential to provide ‘accessible-from-anywhere’ applications and data. A browser is basically all you need to get access to whatever you need to get access to, in principle, anyway. From the end-users’ perspective, the term Software as a Service (SaaS) is the more familiar component of cloud computing that represents the application, or service, that is being delivered. Google Docs is a good example of a readily available SaaS. So, no surprise then that ELNs should start to go down the same route? Two recent announcements from Contur and from ArtusLabs describe SaaS based ELN products.
As anyone who uses any SaaS application knows, being ‘accessible-from-anywhere’ has some great advantages. Only a browser is required to access these applications, so if you are a mobile user, you can afford to downgrade the portable device you carry around. This may have secondary benefits for your budget and for your shoulders. In the case of ELNs, it could go some way towards addressing one of the few benefits of a paper lab notebook, namely its portability. It’s probably just a case of identifying the right kind of hardware to take advantage of SaaS. Netbooks have been making some inroads into the ‘device’ market, and with e-book readers now starting to get increasing attention, it seems possible that some convergence may take place for portable lightweight devices with highly readable screens, not much bigger than a paperback that could serve both purposes. Could this be the birth of the Electronic Lab Netbook?
