Many laboratories are currently embarking on a digital journey and buzzwords such as artificial intelligence (AI), machine/deep learning (ML/DL), virtual/augmented reality (VR/AR), internet of things (IoT), lab of the future (LoTF), and last but not least, data standardisation with contributors like Allotrope foundation and SiLA, are frequently mentioned in articles, white papers and conferences. But the reality is that many laboratories are still highly paper-based. Stig Ragborg and Nadia Sara Adjal at the Life Sciences Advisory department in NNIT explain why they are missing essential laboratory applications in their IT landscape, thereby not harvesting the envisioned benefits.