How to Choose Your Automation Vendor: 12 Key Criteria for a Future-Proof Lab Platform

Selecting an automation vendor isn't just about picking a robot or software platform. It's a strategic business decision with profound operational and financial implications. The wrong choice leads to stranded assets, integration debt, and years of hidden costs in downtime and retraining. The right partner unlocks scalability, reproducibility, and confidence in your data.

Why This Decision Matters More Than Ever

Modern labs face a perfect storm of challenges: surging throughput demands, stringent data integrity requirements, and persistent talent constraints. Automation has evolved from experimental technology to the backbone of R&D and production environments. Your platform choice determines not only how efficiently your lab operates today, but how adaptable it will be tomorrow.

This guide presents a structured framework for evaluating automation vendors, drawn from real-world implementations and a proven evaluation matrix. Use it to make decisions that are objective, defensible, and future-proof.

1. Maturity & Track Record

Start with fundamentals. Before diving into features, validate the vendor's maturity and staying power.

Assess:

• Years in market with continuous deployment
• Size and diversity of active customer base
• Quality of references from labs with comparable complexity

Green Flags:

• Established deployments across multiple industries
• Strong customer retention and multi-year relationships
• Customers willing to speak candidly about their experience

Red Flags:

• "That's on our roadmap" responses to basic functionality questions
• Limited referenceable customers or narrow use case portfolio
• Recent pivots in core product strategy

Questions to Ask:

• How long has your software been in continuous production?
• Can I speak with customers using it in a similar scientific domain?
• What's your customer retention rate over 3+ years?

HighRes Advantage: 20+ years of real-world deployments across pharma, biotech, synthetic biology, and genomics, with customers ranging from discovery labs to GMP manufacturing.

2. Documentation & Ecosystem Support

A powerful platform without clear documentation is like a high-throughput sequencer without protocols: expensive equipment that sits underutilized because no one in the organization knows how to unlock its full potential.

Assess:

• Quality and completeness of API, driver, and SDK documentation
• Support channel responsiveness and SLA commitments
• Post-installation training and enablement resources

Green Flags:

• Transparent, publicly accessible API documentation
• Versioned documentation with clear update notes
• Active developer community or knowledge base

Red Flags:

• Restricted access to technical documentation
• Dependency on vendor for routine configuration changes
• Support that disappears after installation

Questions to Ask:

• Is your API documentation accessible without vendor gatekeeping?
• Can my team integrate new instruments independently?
• What does your typical onboarding timeline look like?

HighRes Advantage: Published REST APIs, comprehensive scripting SDKs, and detailed driver documentation enable lab autonomy while maintaining responsive global support when needed.

3. Architecture & Extensibility

Your automation system should grow with your science, not constrain it.

Assess:

• System architecture (desktop, web-based, or hybrid)
• Ability to develop custom drivers and plug-ins internally
• Access to workflow modification, telemetry, and simulation

Green Flags:

• Modular driver and plug-in framework
• Public APIs for orchestration and telemetry
• Clear separation between core platform and extensions

Red Flags:

• Closed architecture limiting integrations
• Single-point-of-failure deployments
• Proprietary protocols without documented interfaces

Questions to Ask:

• How easily can I add new device types or data endpoints?
• What portions of the platform are scriptable or API-driven?
• Can I test integration changes without risking production?

HighRes Advantage: HighRes CellarioScheduler features an open, modular architecture that supports REST integration and internal scripting, empowering customers who want autonomy while maintaining vendor support when needed.

4. Runtime Execution & Workflow Flexibility

This is the brain of your system and where automation theory meets laboratory reality.

Assess:

• Workflow parallelization and concurrent process management
• Dynamic scheduling with priority control and timing management
• Mid-run adjustment capabilities for error recovery and logic branching
• Native simulation for pre-execution validation
• Automated sample rerouting when QC fails

Green Flags:

• Robust simulation tools and visual schedulers
• Auto-rerouting of failed samples without batch interruption
• Real-time workflow visibility and control

Red Flags:

• Rigid queueing that halts everything on single errors
• No sandbox or simulation mode for testing
• Manual intervention required for routine exceptions

Real-World Impact: One genomics lab cited dynamic rerouting as the difference between salvaging a batch and losing an entire run, potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars in reagents and weeks of delay.

Questions to Ask:

• Can I run multiple protocols simultaneously with different priorities?
• What happens when a sample fails mid-workflow?
• Can I simulate complex workflows before committing resources?

HighRes Advantage: CellarioScheduler enables concurrent order execution, sophisticated recovery logic, and comprehensive simulation to keep science moving forward.

5. Maintainability & Governance

As automation scales, governance complexity scales exponentially.

Assess:

• Version control for protocols and system configurations
• Change management with complete audit trails
• User permissions and role-based access control
• Regulatory compliance support (GxP, 21 CFR Part 11)

Green Flags:

• Automated audit trails with rollback capability
• Granular role-based permissions
• Built-in compliance frameworks, not bolt-on features

Red Flags:

• Manual versioning or unclear change tracking
• Compliance features that feel like afterthoughts
• Inability to answer "who changed what, when, and why?"

Questions to Ask:

• How do you handle protocol versioning and rollback?
• What audit capabilities support regulatory inspections?
• Can I restrict access by role, instrument, or workflow type?

HighRes Advantage: Versioned workflows, granular permissions, and complete audit logs ensure traceability from discovery through production, with compliance built into the foundation.

6. Vendor Engagement & Support Model

Even exceptional technology fails without a strong partnership.

Assess:

• Method development scoping and pricing transparency
• Support structure (bundled vs. flexible tiers)
• Vendor's willingness to share roadmap and co-develop solutions
• Long-term partnership philosophy vs. transactional mindset

Green Flags:

• Transparent communication with roadmap visibility
• Measurable outcomes in service agreements
• Customer advisory boards or feedback mechanisms

Red Flags:

• Rigid engagement terms with paywalled core support
• Vendor-customer relationship feels adversarial
• Roadmap decisions made without customer input

Questions to Ask:

• Does the vendor have a vested interest in my success?
• Will I have input into product roadmap priorities?
• How do you handle scope changes or custom requirements?

HighRes Advantage: Partnership-focused engagement with structured service models ensuring accountability and uptime. Multiple support tiers let you choose the right balance of autonomy and assistance.

7. Ease of Use & Developer Experience

Complexity is the enemy of adoption. Your platform should empower users, not intimidate them.

Assess:

• Workflow editor intuitiveness and visualization quality
• Operator interface (HMI) design and learnability
• Developer tools for debugging and troubleshooting
• Time-to-productivity for new team members

Green Flags:

• Visual workflow builders with drag-and-drop simplicity
• Consistent UI/UX across modules
• Built-in debugging tools that don't require vendor intervention

Red Flags:

• Steep learning curves requiring weeks of training
• Operator interfaces that feel like debugging consoles
• No clear path from novice to expert user

Questions to Ask:

• How long does it take to onboard a new operator?
• Can workflows be debugged without stopping production?
• What does the learning curve look like for non-programmers?

HighRes Advantage: Operator UI combines intuitive control with deep developer tools, enabling seamless collaboration between scientists and engineers.

8. Error Handling & Robustness

Systems fail. The question is whether they fail gracefully or catastrophically.

Assess:

• Automatic retry logic and error-handling hooks
• State recovery after crashes or power interruptions
• Mid-run device control and intervention options
• Alert propagation with actionable context

Green Flags:

• Intelligent auto-retry with device-specific handling
• Detailed logs with clear recovery paths
• Graceful degradation rather than total failure

Red Flags:

• Manual resets required after any failure
• Lost runs or corrupted data after interruptions
• Generic error messages without diagnostic context

Questions to Ask:

• What happens if power fails mid-run?
• Can operators intervene without aborting entire workflows?
• How are errors logged and communicated?

HighRes Advantage: Designed for resilience with built-in recovery, continuity, and restartability because the real world is unpredictable.

9. Integration and Interoperability

Your automation platform doesn't exist in isolation; it's part of a digital ecosystem.

Assess:

• Integration capabilities with LIMS, ELN, and data warehouses
• Support for industry-standard protocols and APIs
• Bi-directional data exchange and authentication methods

Green Flags:

• RESTful APIs with clear documentation
• Support for modern authentication (OAuth, SSO)
• Pre-built connectors for common lab systems

Red Flags:

• Proprietary data formats without export options
• Manual data transfer requirements
• Integration requiring custom development every time

Questions to Ask:

• Can the system exchange data bi-directionally with existing infrastructure?
• What authentication and API standards do you support?
• Are there existing integrations with [your specific LIMS/ELN]?

HighRes Advantage: Seamless integration with LIMS and data systems through well-documented REST and database interfaces.

10. Hardware Agnosticism

Vendor lock-in constrains your scientific options and inflates long-term costs.

Assess:

• Breadth of supported third-party devices
• Process for adding new instrument types
• Dependency on proprietary hardware

Green Flags:

• Open driver framework with extensive device library
• Customer ability to develop custom drivers
• Transparent certification process for new devices

Red Flags:

• Closed ecosystems requiring vendor-exclusive hardware
• Limited device support forcing suboptimal scientific choices
• High barriers to adding new instruments

Questions to Ask:

• How many third-party device drivers do you support?
• Can we develop our own drivers if needed?
• What's the process for certifying new instruments?

HighRes Advantage: Support for hundreds of third-party device drivers plus a comprehensive Driver Development Kit (DDK) that empowers customers to create drivers for devices not yet supported, giving labs freedom to choose the right tools for the science, not the vendor.

11. Total Cost of Ownership

The sticker price is just the beginning. True costs accumulate over years of operation.

Assess:

• Licensing models (perpetual vs. subscription)
• Maintenance, support, and service contracts
• Training, customization, and update fees
• Self-service capabilities vs. billable changes

Green Flags:

• Transparent, predictable pricing
• Multiple licensing options to match needs
• Self-service capabilities reducing ongoing costs

Red Flags:

• Hidden fees for routine updates or changes
• Dependency on vendor for every modification
• Unclear long-term cost trajectory

Questions to Ask:

• Can we self-maintain, or is every change billable?
• What's included in base licensing vs. add-ons?
• What's the expected lifetime support horizon?

HighRes Advantage: Modular licensing with both subscription and perpetual lab automation scheduling software options enables effective planning and budgeting. Self-deployment options lower long-term ownership costs while maintaining access to professional support across multiple tiers.

12. Scalability

Today's single work cell can become tomorrow's multi-site enterprise network.

Assess:

• Path from single work cell to multi-lab deployment
• Licensing that scales without exponential cost increases
• Cloud-ready orchestration and monitoring capabilities
• Multi-site coordination and data aggregation

Green Flags:

• Architecture designed for distributed deployment
• Linear cost scaling with growth
• Centralized monitoring across sites

Red Flags:

• Need to re-platform as you scale
• Exponential licensing costs with each addition
• No clear path beyond single-lab deployment

Questions to Ask:

• What does scaling from 1 to 10 work cells look like?
• Can you support multi-site orchestration?
• How do licensing costs scale with growth?

HighRes Advantage: Architectures designed for expansion from stand-alone automation islands to global orchestration across sites, with licensing that scales predictably.

Summary: Building Your Vendor Scorecard

Theory is valuable, but decisions require structure. Once you have your criteria, score each vendor (1–10) against them, and apply weights by importance (e.g., architecture more important than slimmest margins). This gives you a transparent, defensible ranking rather than gut-based vendor shortlists. Use this weighted decision matrix to transform subjective impressions into objective, defensible rankings.

How to Use the Matrix

1. Score each vendor on every criterion using a 1–10 scale
2. Designate must-haves vs. nice-to-haves based on your specific needs
3. Apply weights (e.g., 2x for must-haves) if certain criteria matter more
4. Calculate totals for transparent comparison
5. Document reasoning for each score to support stakeholder communication