The guiding principle of Dataworks Development is that laboratory or repository personnel are the experts in how their facility should function. Our role is to create software that allows it to function at its peak, while continuing to ensure data integrity.
Dataworks Development, Inc. (also doing business as Freezerworks) was founded in 1987 to provide quality PC-based database software. Among its first clients were small research laboratories within the Health Sciences Center at the University of Washington in Seattle.
Because many laboratory researchers’ data management needs were not being adequately met by either large, in-house mainframe systems or handwritten paper-based systems, Dataworks Development found a niche in providing quality PC database solutions for these researchers.
In 1987 Dataworks Development played a vital role in bringing lifesaving AIDS drugs to the market by providing effective clinical trials data management through the Retrovirus Laboratory Management Program (RLMP). This laboratory information management system included a freezer inventory management module. During this time, the company also developed Retrobase© for use with Abbott® HIV diagnostic equipment and provided data management software and services for the Virology Quality Assurance Program, which provided support to all laboratories performing virology assays for Division of AIDS protocols.
The popularity of the freezer inventory module within the RLMP led Dataworks Development to create a separate program that would cover a broad spectrum of needs and provide a wide range of use in any lab. As a result, it launched Freezerworks in 1992. In 1995, the company developed the Clinical Laboratory Inventory Program (CLIP) to aid in the short-term storage, retrieval, and disposal of clinical samples. Today, clinical labs nationwide use CLIP (since incorporated into the Freezerworks program) to save hours of time searching for samples.
In January 2000 Dataworks Development released Freezerworks 5.0 (later renamed Freezerworks Basic), which combined Freezerworks and CLIP into one powerful sample inventory database. In addition, to better serve the scientific community and its strong Macintosh influence, Freezerworks 5.0 was developed for both the Windows and Macintosh platforms.
In 2002, the company released Freezerworks Unlimited, offering greater data and freezer security features, 2,000 user defined fields that could be shared or restricted as necessary for the effective management of data in a shared secure environment.
The Freezerworks Testing Module was added to Freezerworks Unlimited in 2007, giving the program LIMS capabilities with configurable test ordering as well as results and reporting features.
In 2010, the company released a new version of Freezerworks Unlimited, offering a native SQL back end for greater power and speed in data management.
The introduction of Freezerworks 2015, was a major milestone, combining Basic and Unlimited into one program with three Editions. Freezerworks 2015 included a patient management module with state-of-the-art personal health data security features as well as a new REST API integration tool and Web Client.
Today, the Dataworks Development staff of developers, customer support representatives, sales, marketing and administrative personnel is serving the needs of a diverse research and clinical community worldwide. See the map at the bottom of our home page for a representative sampling of sites using Freezerworks worldwide.