Cloud compared with offline lab software
Installed lab software is the default for a reason: it is fast, it runs when the line is down, and the data sits on a machine in the room. The costs show up later, when the lab opens a second branch, when the reporting computer dies, or when the owner wants to see the day’s collections from somewhere else. This page is about where a hosted system wins, and where it plainly does not.
What installed offline lab software does well
Worth reading first. If these three things are what your lab depends on, the rest of this page may not change your mind.
- They keep working when the internet does not, which in many towns is the difference between a working morning and a lost one.
- The database is on hardware you can see, so backup and access feel like your decision rather than someone else’s promise.
- A one-time licence with no monthly bill is easier to justify than a subscription, especially for a lab with steady volumes.
Side by side
Point by point. A tick marks where ZapLab is the stronger choice; a dash means the two are level.
ZapLab is the stronger choice on 12 of 12 points
Nothing where installed offline lab software leads on capability.
Compared on
ZapLabUs
12 points compared
installed offline lab software
What it does today
Cost and commitment
What it costs
ZapLab
From ₹349 a month plus GST, billed yearly or every six months; cancel at any time and keep access to the end of the paid term
installed offline lab software
A licence up front, then support once the first year ends
Trying it before you commit
ZapLab
A 30-day Growth trial with no card and no demo call
installed offline lab software
Usually a demo call and a site visit
Laboratory
Analyser input
ZapLab
Analyser codes mapped once, then results arrive from a CSV export; a direct HL7 or ASTM link is planned, not shipped
installed offline lab software
Often the strongest part: drivers installed and commissioned on site
Reports
Report formats to start from
ZapLab
157 formats across 8 departments, browsable on this site before you sign up
installed offline lab software
Depends entirely on the product and who set it up
Delivery
Report verification for the patient
ZapLab
A QR code on every released report, with an optional date-of-birth challenge
installed offline lab software
Often a paid add-on, or nothing at all
Report delivery
ZapLab
Email, SMS and WhatsApp from the report, with a delivery log and retry
installed offline lab software
Frequently a separate messaging tool and a manual attachment
Control
Audit trail
ZapLab
Append-only records for entry, verification, release, amendment, print, delivery and sign-in
installed offline lab software
Varies; a local database is only as append-only as its access controls
How it runs
Opening the lab from somewhere else
ZapLab
A browser, on any device, with the same permissions as in the lab
installed offline lab software
Usually needs remote desktop or a VPN someone has to maintain
Backups
ZapLab
Managed database and storage with automated backups
installed offline lab software
Yours to schedule, and yours to discover missing
Updates
ZapLab
Deployed for every lab at once; there is nothing to install
installed offline lab software
An engineer, a visit, and a version everyone has to agree to
Losing the reporting computer
ZapLab
Sign in from another machine and carry on
installed offline lab software
A rebuild, and whatever the last backup held
Scale
A second branch
ZapLab
Branches under one account; orders, samples and reports carry the branch
installed offline lab software
Typically a second installation, and two databases to reconcile
Capability and pricing model only. This compares a kind of tool rather than one product, so it describes what each generally does.
Switching, step by step
Every step below is manual. There is no import: your old reports and registers stay where they are, and this system starts from the day you begin. Tick the steps off as you go; the ticks are saved in this browser only.
0 of 8 steps ticked off. Every one of them is yours to do.
Then what
Two pages worth opening before you decide.
Pricing
Every plan, every limit and the trial terms, with prices shown before GST, billed yearly or every six months.
Book a demo
Pick a date and a slot and we will walk the whole flow on your own test list, including the parts this page says are missing.
Set up your lab this afternoon.
Create your organisation, add your tests, print the first barcode. If you would rather see it first, ask for a walkthrough.