Is Bika LIMS really free?

Is Bika LIMS Free?

There are no license fees for using the software, the code base is achieved through the foresight of client sponsors who want to see their investment grow

From download to production, labs may source services from their preferred providers. For installation, configuration, customisations etc.

They may use inhouse IT and online resources, voluntary assistance on user forums, and commercial professional services only for blockers

The model rewards sharp hardworking labs consuming less user or technical furtherance

Can we host Bika LIMS on our own computers?

Sure, onsite or server farm of your choice

Do we have to pay?

The software and code is Free and Open Source. We sustain the project by providing professional Bika services

 * FUD - Fear, uncertainty, and doubt
A propaganda tactic used in sales, marketing, public relations and politics. FUD is a strategy to influence perception by disseminating negative or false information and an appeal to fear. Wikipedia

What do I get?

Full ownership. Bika LIMS is FOSS, Free and Open Source, users have full ownership and access to their code, guarantees a free upgrade path, sans licence fees, vendor lock-in or fixed maintenance cycles. It can be used by unlimited users on unlimited servers

Where's the catch?

LIMS is complex and you'll likely require assistance with configuration and using the LIMS, interfacing Instruments. Much assistance is available from volunteers on the forums but requires time. We recommend taking out professional support for prioritised issues. Yet again the iron triangle is at play. Slow and Cheap can be Good

Costs can be kept down by doing as much possible self, see these slides on how to navigate Open Source projects most affordably:

Open Source improves my lab's SEO visibility?

Yes, through your participation on public forums and user groups, Google will take note. You will also be hosting you Bika on you proprietary domain where relevant public scientific and promotional content will do the same

Sponsors of new Bika features get big additional exposure, not only in the community, but Bika announcements, news Items and press releases, and permanent listed at prominent BikaLIMS.org pages

Where do I download Bika to install it?

LIMS is not to be compared with PC applications that require only a download and one click install, but industrial grade server implementations, more so for Production servers that are performance optimised and load balanced

Bika Senaite runs best on robust Linux. Install the Senaite core first, followed by the Bika add-ons

These installations are a handful if you are not familiar with them, and you'll hardly ever touch it again, learning the installation procedure offers poor ROI. Bika is very robust on Linux

Rather have it professionally installed and get on with the rest. The Bika cloud servers are in Germany, and very reliable and secure.

 Professional Services

Former certified Bika Service providers Naralabs and Riding Bytes evolved into driving the Senaite LIMS project, built on earlier Bika code

Bika Lab Systems continues to contribute to Senaite and coding further add-ons, and providing professional LIMS services to labs using Bika and Senaite - installations and hosting, assistance with configuration and getting started, training, customisations and support

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