Introduction

When choosing how to deploy eLabFTW, organizations usually compare two options: SaaS and On-Premise.

At first glance, the difference seems simple. With SaaS, the service is hosted and maintained by the provider. With On-Premise, the organization installs and operates the software on its own infrastructure.

Both models are valid. On-Premise can be the right choice for organizations with strict internal policies, dedicated infrastructure teams, or specific regulatory constraints. But in practice, the real difference is not only where the software runs. The real difference is who is responsible for keeping it secure, updated, backed up, and operational over time.

🌟 Community Meeting XI

This eLabFTW Community Meeting featured two presentations from the community:

• Dionyssis Antypas (Heidelberg University Biochemistry Center) - “elAPI Plugins: Facilitating Batch Uploads and Downloads from eLabFTW”
• Leonid Bovkun (Postdoc, Chair for Applied Physics, University of Würzburg) - “Bridging people, data, and infrared devices: a User’s perspective for collaborative research and development using elabFTW”

In the first presentation, Dionyssis described how the elAPI Plugins desktop application enables batch upload and download of research data to eLabFTW through Excel and CSV files. The application makes it possible to import data into existing templates in eLabFTW, thus improving options for data standardization. In the second presentation, Leonid shared how physicists use eLabFTW for project management in quantum device development, highlighting the challenges of tracking complex experimental data across different instruments and team members.