With 2025 upon us, MasterControl "Classic" users are standing at an urgent crossroads.
As their cloud solution becomes the flagship MasterControl product, the company has stated that support for their "Classic" on-premise system will no longer be offered after 2025. With this deadline looming, MasterControl on-prem users are forced to make a critical decision about the future of their quality management system (QMS).
To some, the path may seem straightforward: migrate to MasterControl's cloud solution. However, this choice is fraught with limitations due to the system architecture—modeled off its on-premise functionality—resulting in a system that is less customizable, extensible, or scalable.
The Dilemma of Adaptation
MasterControl's transition from an on-premise to a cloud-based solution exemplifies the challenges of adapting legacy systems to modern technological demands without a ground-up redesign.
The cloud version, although marketed as an innovation, carries the rigid, less flexible design of its predecessor.
This rigidity is evident in the system's user interface (UI), which MasterControl recommends using as-is to avoid the pitfalls of customization that can complicate functionality and future upgrades.
Why a Born-in-the-Cloud Solution Matters
- Customization and Scalability: Unlike retrofit cloud solutions, cloud-native systems like Propel QMS are designed from the outset to leverage cloud technology, offering superior customization and scalability.
- Extensibility: With a modular structure, cloud-native solutions ensure that adding new features or integrating with other systems is seamless, supporting a dynamic business environment.
- User Experience: A flexible UI in cloud-native systems allows for a more intuitive user experience, tailored to the specific needs of businesses and adaptable to their evolving processes.
The Hidden Costs of Settling for Less
Choosing to stay with MasterControl’s cloud solution may seem like the path of least resistance, but it comes with significant hidden costs that can hinder growth, compliance, and efficiency.
- Limited Functionality: MasterControl’s origins as an on-premise platform create limitations in its cloud-hosted iteration. Instead of reimagining their solution for modern SaaS needs, they’ve carried over legacy structures, which lack the flexibility and scalability businesses need for evolving workflows in life sciences, pharma, and medical devices. This means users miss out on the real-time integrations, extensibility, and streamlined workflows that a cloud-native quality management system can provide.
- Upgrade Challenges: While MasterControl claims to support configurable setups, their warnings against full customization highlight a significant flaw. Customizations can lead to validation and functionality issues during upgrades, delaying access to new features and increasing downtime. For companies dependent on regulatory compliance and timely FDA submissions, these delays can be costly—both financially and in terms of missed opportunities for innovation.
- Validation Complexities: The platform’s single-tenant architecture requires more effort for validation testing compared to multi-tenant systems like Propel, where updates and configurations are inherently seamless. This creates a heavier burden on businesses, particularly in GxP environments, where validation demands are rigorous and constant.
- Higher Long-Term Costs: While the upfront cost of sticking with the MasterControl platform may seem appealing, its single-tenant architecture and reliance on third-party solutions (e.g., JReports for reporting and ElasticSearch for search) drive up operational expenses over time. Add to that the costs of handling customizations, delayed upgrades, and limited scalability, and the total cost of ownership far exceeds that of a multi-tenant, fully extensible platform like Propel.
- Missed Competitive Advantages: A rigid system tied to predefined configurations limits your ability to optimize for scalability and cost savings. With the pace of innovation accelerating in industries like pharma and medical devices, businesses relying on MasterControl risk falling behind competitors who are leveraging more agile, configurable platforms.
- Siloed System Architecture: MasterControl's cloud QMS functions as a standalone data hub, creating silos that hinder the free flow of information between quality management and other critical business areas such as product lifecycle management (PLM). This compartmentalization can lead to inefficiencies, requiring users to manually bridge gaps between systems—thus trapping them in "swivel chair" processes. Such isolation not only increases the risk of errors and slows down decision-making but also complicates compliance with integrated regulatory standards, making it difficult to maintain a cohesive, transparent quality system.
By settling for less, businesses trade short-term convenience for long-term inefficiencies, undermining their ability to adapt to market changes, meet regulatory requirements, and unlock the full potential of a modern QMS system.
The better choice? A solution that’s designed to grow with you—not hold you back.
Why Propel Software is the Path Forward
For businesses standing at the critical crossroads left by the sunset of MasterControl "Classic", Propel QMS makes for an easy decision with its unparalleled innovation and adaptability.
Unlike MasterControl’s cloud solution, which essentially ports its on-premise limitations to the cloud, Propel QMS is engineered as a cloud-native platform, offering a myriad of advantages tailored for the demands of today’s and tomorrow’s markets.
Why Propel QMS:
- Unmatched Customization and Flexibility: Propel QMS was conceived in the cloud, which means it inherently supports deep customization without compromising system stability or upgradeability. This flexibility allows organizations to tailor the system to their unique workflows, a stark contrast to the rigid, one-size-fits-all approach of MasterControl’s cloud solution.
- Advanced Integration Capabilities: Propel QMS is uniquely designed to enable seamless integration not only with external systems such as ERP or MES but also with Propel’s single-platform PLM and PIM solutions. This holistic connectivity ensures that all quality processes are interconnected, facilitating a unified approach to managing product development, quality management, and go-to-market activities. This comprehensive integration capability is essential for regulated industries that depend on synchronized data and streamlined workflows to maintain compliance and operational excellence.
- User-Centric Design: Propel QMS emphasizes a user-friendly interface that enhances user adoption and reduces training time. This focus on the user experience helps ensure that all team members can effectively manage their quality responsibilities without the frequent bottlenecks caused by more complex systems.
- Scalability for Growth: Whether scaling up for global operations or expanding product lines, Propel QMS is designed to grow with your business. This scalability is a significant advantage over MasterControl’s cloud solution, which struggles with scaling issues that can hinder a company’s growth and operational efficiency.
Not sure how to convince your boss to move off MasterControl? Click here for a handy guide.
Moving Forward with Propel's Cloud-Native QMS
As the end of support for MasterControl "Classic" approaches, the choice for users is not merely about selecting a new QMS—it’s about strategically positioning their company for future challenges and opportunities.
Choosing Propel QMS represents a decision to invest in a robust, flexible, and scalable quality management system that can adapt to the evolving landscape of regulated industries. It means embracing a solution that not only meets today’s requirements but anticipates tomorrow’s challenges, ensuring that your company remains at the forefront of quality management innovation.
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