95% of QA/QC labs use digital tools, but most still rely on Excel

By AI, Created 3:30 PM UTC, May 22, 2026, /AGP/ – 1LIMS’ 2026 State of Lab Digitalization report finds that almost all QA/QC labs use digital tools, yet only 1 in 5 see themselves as fully digital. The survey points to regulation, staffing resistance and system integration — not budget — as the biggest barriers to automation.

Why it matters: - QA/QC labs may look digital on the surface, but many still depend on manual workarounds. - The gap affects reporting, sample registration and instrument data transfer, which are core lab processes. - The findings suggest digital transformation in analytical labs is being slowed more by workflow and compliance issues than by cost.

What happened: - 1LIMS published its 2026 State of Lab Digitalization report based on a survey of 110 QA/QC laboratories and interviews with five lab industry practitioners. - The survey ran from November 2025 through March 2026. - The report found that 95% of labs already use digital tools, but only 1 in 5 describe themselves as fully digital.

The details: - 54% of labs still use Excel for day-to-day work. - Among labs that already have a LIMS, one-third use Excel alongside that system. - Excel has become the fallback tool for tasks that are not yet automated. - Those tasks include reporting, instrument data transfer and sample registration. - When asked what blocks further automation, budget ranked last at 7%. - The top barriers were regulatory constraints at 22%, staff resistance at 21% and difficulty integrating systems at 20%. - Philipp Osterwalder, founder of 1LIMS, said the company sees labs investing in LIMS, spreadsheets, ELN and instrument software, but still lacking true data flow across systems. - Osterwalder said a lab becomes digital when data moves without manual handling.

Between the lines: - The report defines “digital” as more than owning software. - Many labs appear to have adopted tools, but not the connected workflows needed to remove manual intervention. - That suggests the next phase of lab digitization is integration, not just software adoption.

What’s next: - 1LIMS is using the report to frame the current state of lab digitization and the remaining gaps. - The company continues to focus on helping food and beverage manufacturing and service labs organize lab data. - The research may push more labs to focus on system integration and workflow redesign rather than adding more standalone tools.

The bottom line: - Most QA/QC labs have gone digital in pieces, but only a minority have made data flow automatically end to end. - 1LIMS says that gap is now the main obstacle to real lab digitalization. - Read the full report