In chemistry and materials science, the feedback between computer simulations and lab experiments is often crucial. On the one hand, computer simulations are frequently needed to understand, interpret or support some experimental findings. On the other hand, lab experiments are the "ground truth" to validate computational methods. As we will show, although the physics is the same, there are numerous practical barriers for a seamless exchange between simulations and experiments that make a tight integration more difficult than perhaps necessary. This is notable as computer simulations have evolved to the extent that "routine" simulations can provide feedback which might be most valuable if the feedback loop between experiment and simulation is as short as possible.