What is openBIS?
openBIS is a free server-based software for the management of scientific data and metadata. Developed by ETH Zurich, openBIS has also been available at the Biology department of Osnabrück University since 2021.
Three independent modules of the software enable:
- Maintaining an electronic laboratory notebook (ELN) to document experiments.
- Managing the laboratory inventory including storage (laboratory samples, materials, protocols, etc.)
- Managing all types of data (raw data, processed data, Jupyter notebooks, etc.).
From planning an experiment to publication, all your data is stored on a secure, central server and can be created, edited and shared within the university network at any time.
Further information can be found on the openBIS homepage.
Further video tutorials can be found under UOS openBIS video tutorials.
Hemani, Y., Koch, K., Mendo-Diaz, O., Bachhofner, A., Baffelli, S., & Bleiner, D. (2025). The openBIS Digital Platform for Instrumentation and Data Workflow in the Analytical Laboratory. CHIMIA, 79(1-2), 36-45. doi. org/10.2533/chimia.2025.36
Plass, F., English, S., Apeleo Zubiri, B., Pflug, L., Spiecker, E., & Stingl, M. (2023). Using OpenBIS as Virtual Research Environment: An ELN-LIMS Open-Source Database Tool as a Framework within the CRC 1411 Design of Particulate Products. Data Science Journal, 22(1), 44. https://doi.org/10.5334/dsj-2023-044
El-Athman, R., Rädler, J., Löhmann, O., Ariza, A., & Muth, T. (2023). The BAM Data Store: Piloting an OpenBIS-Based Research Data Infrastructure in Materials Science and Engineering. Proceedings of the Conference on Research Data Infrastructure , 1. https://doi.org/10.52825/cordi.v1i.229
Mukhin, A. M., Kazantsev, F. V., & Lashin, S. A. (2023). Laboratory information systems for research management in biology .Vavilovskii zhurnal genetiki i selektsii, 27(7), 898-905. doi. org/10.18699/VJGB-23-104
Dudchenko, A., Ringwald, F., Czernilofsky, F., Dietrich, S., Knaup, P., & Ganzinger, M. (2022). Large-File Raw Data Synchronization for openBIS Research Repositories. Studies in health technology and informatics, 294, 409-410. doi. org/10.3233/SHTI220486
Barillari, C., Ottoz, D. S., Fuentes-Serna, J. M., Ramakrishnan, C., Rinn, B., & Rudolf, F. (2016). openBIS ELN-LIMS: an open-source database for academic laboratories. Bioinformatics (Oxford, England), 32(4), 638-640. https://doi.org/10.1093/bioinformatics/btv606
Bauch, A., Adamczyk, I., Buczek, P., Elmer, F. J., Enimanev, K., Glyzewski, P., Kohler, M., Pylak, T., Quandt, A., Ramakrishnan, C., Beisel, C., Malmström, L., Aebersold, R., & Rinn, B. (2011). openBIS: a flexible framework for managing and analyzing complex data in biology research. BMC bioinformatics, 12, 468. doi. org/10.1186/1471-2105-12-468
Do you have any questions?
Please contact the RDM team or simply drop by (38/216)!