Actually it means many things which is why the term itself should be kicked to the curb with serious force.

Just because a system lists itself as an extended enterprise does not mean it comes with multiple domains (which with some vendors includes customized) nor with multiple portals or my preferable term – “multi-tenant”.

You may see an “extended enterprise” which not only refers to the company’s employees, but also their customers and channel partners. Or you may see an extended enterprise which focuses on the B2B, B2C or both.

That is the problem with the term and as such it creates quite a confusion in the marketplace.

It goes to Number 11 (Spinal Tap reference)

The problem is that there is no one size that fits all. Rather, it depends on a wide variety of factors including price (which always comes into play). Therefore, I am going to provide the following:

• $-$$$$: Price point based on 500 users. In some cases it will be noted if it is based on a higher set of users, since there are platforms that prefer a minimum or focus on larger size businesses including associations, etc.
• Multi-Tenant: Some people refer to it as portals and sub-portals. Although this is not proven, I believe that some of these folks refer to licorice Twizzlers as delicious. A multi-tenant is actually defined in a parent-child relationship. Whereas you have a parent (main company) and then its channel partners, etc. who are children. One channel partner/customer (which might be a company – often seen with TP) is a child. The parent can see every child including their data, but the child can only seem themselves and not any of the other children or the parent.
• TP – No this does not refer to toilet paper or toilet papering a house who gives you crummy candy during Halloween. Rather it refers to a Training Provider, which is a firm/company that sells 3rd party courses through B2B or B2C channels. More often that not, B2B channels.
• B2B – Business to Business
• B2C – Business to Customer
• CP – Channel Partner. There are some systems who target only channel partners.
• SB – Small business
• SMB – Small to mid size business
• MB – Mid size business
• M2L – Mid to large size
• LB – Large business

Defining the employee size

You can find a lot of LMS companies who provide different information on the size of business. For me, I define company size by:

• 500 or less employees: SB
• 501 to 1,500: SMB
• 1,501 to 5,000: MB
• 5,001 to 10,000: M2L
• 10,001 and higher: LB

For B2B, B2C – I do not define by a set of numbers.

Whom do you Love

Expertus One ($$$-$$$$)- Still the best multi-tenant platform in the market. The system works at all levels: across the global enterprise, B2B, B2C, Channel Partners, mid size, mid to large and definitely large.

Each update takes the platform up on notch on its competitors. Big wins for me include:

• On/Off synch for mobile devices
• Native app available in iTunes/Apple and Google (Android) – very few vendors have native apps
• New social which offers expert network, skills training ratings (using a slick interface), built in web conferencing (their own and they also offer WebEx and GoTo Meeting), wizards on the admin side which not only saves time but is easy to use
• Each tenant can have its own look, brand, logo, etc.

The one item that I see as needing improvement is the look and feel of the reports – but I have been told this will be in the next update (a few months from now).

If you are someone who is considering some of the bigger dogs like Cornerstone or SumTotal, I would seriously look at these guys. Personally, I think they crush the monsters of midway aka CoD et al.

eLogic Learning ($$-$$$) – Another solid performer who continues to get better and better. SMB, B2B, Channel Partners, small biz, SMB, mid size. The UI continues to improve but IMO it stilll lacks the slick interface that I so desire.

Big wins:

• On/Off synch for mobile devices, also supports Tin Can API
• Easy to use interface
• Supports 3rd party APIs – actually most do, but again, if you asked “hey can I have Slideshare in my system”, they would say yes. Some systems say yes but really do not want to do it – and it is quickly recognized
• E-commerce included
• Nice classroom management
• Each tenant can have its own look, brand, logo, etc.
• Tin Can API

Besides UI tweaks, my only other real complaint is their setup fee. Just as ExpertusOne is a high. That said their pricing for users is moderately priced and I believe extremely affordable for what you get.

BizLibrary $-$$. While I find their LMS name, “Company College” a minor challenge (I think it is a disservice to the product itself) there is no mistaking the oomph of this solution and where it started out to where it is today. Small biz, SMB, mid size (will work), B2B, TP, Channel.

Big wins:

• User interface is easy. Again, would love to see it become more slick and crisp, but hey I want every system to be that way. At least it does not look dated.
• Video blocks – You can have video clips or videos or video teasers shown on the home page and even the course catalog – providing a new way to explore content, beyond just the typical text info that is regularly seen on systems (you can still do it with theirs too)
• Custom tenants – each can have its own look, branding
• Compliance

One item I wish they would improve:

• On/Off synch. They don’t have it – and I still don’t understand why not (of course, a lot of systems don’t – what is taking so long?)

Docebo $. The platform continues to impress. The personalization, localization, multiple tenants- each with its own logo, etc., CEU tracking, themes, easy to use on the front and back end. Another shoe in for sweet. The UI is strong and the price point is very inexpensive. TP, B2B, B2C, Channel partners, small business, SMB. Although mid size will work.

Big Wins:

• Comes with free courses and course marketplace – one click to add to system
• App marketplace – click and quick – it is in your system
• Did I mention the personalization – each end user can select their own language – ideal for global
• Each tenant can have its own look, logo, branding
• Literally a one stop shop of a system
• Tin Can API
• Comes with LRS (learning record store – which is still a major work in progress – the LRS premise that is, not the LMS)

One item I wish they would improve or add:

• On/Off synch

I like you, do you like me?

Firmwater $-$$. A solid performer all around and still a nice winner in the SMB space. B2B, Channel, TP. Employee size small to mid size. You can’t go wrong with the system, but what is taking so long with a more modern UI? (as you can see this is a huge peeve of mine)

Epignosis – Talent LMS $. Very clean interface that comes with a strong set of features. But it does not come with talent management, so the name is somewhat wacky. As aforementioned, the UI is clean, but some the admin side which uses some icons, etc. – that while is simple to use, still doesn’t blow me away with coolness. Small biz, SMB, B2B.

Absorb LMS $$- Still quite strong as a multi-tenant platform. Charges a $5 per learner (one time fee) but it is still moderately priced. HTML5 UI which is very slick and easy to use. The add on Mercury module should be included (but that is my personal vibe). Once the leader of multi-tenant, but no longer. I see them more along the lines of SMB and up – including large. B2B, B2C, Channel and TP.

NetDimensions - $$-$$$$. The system as a whole is quite robust including digital signatures, online/offline synch and a very nice UI. It’s latest social just doesn’t wow me, so if that is something you are high on, then move on. B2B, Channel and maybe B2C. Mid size and up.

Infor $$$-$$$$. Another player in the space that not only fits the build of an extended enterprise but also as a multi-tenant. Ideal for large size and up, although I’m sure they will argue that they can be in the mid size and up category. I’m just not a fan of the hierarchy look for them, but they do offer on/off synch and a solid set of features. Please note that Infor owns Certpoint. Infor offers a lot of products including an ERP. My personal opinion is that Infor sees their Certpoint acquisition as a key part of their HCM.

Accord LMS - $$. From a feature standpoint this platform can do it. It’s UI still needs improvement. Small biz, SMB, mid size, B2B, Channel, TP. Service is outstanding.

I can make you smile, if just for a little while

SuccessFactors $$$-$$$$. A true extended enterprise with a nice UI. I have some concerns about how SAP will play with them (right now they are separate, but who knows).

I dislike that the platform does not automatically include at no charge a SSO between it and SAP. Sure they offer it for a fee, but heck any LMS that interfaces with SAP offers the same option for a fee. Works in the B2B, B2C, Channel side. Upper mid to large – although I suspect I will receive an e-mail from them saying otherwise.

Can I say hello?

LogicBay $$-$$$- Never heard of them? Don’t worry, I suspect you are not alone. What makes this platform so unique is that its target is more along the lines of manufacturing including logistical companies. The UI needs some major tweaks, but they are here because of their target market – especially from my perspective the logistical companies, including trucking. Mid to Large, Channel.

Bottom Line

What may mean one thing to one person does not mean the same thing to another person. That is a big issue when it comes to extended enterprise versus multi-tenant (or as some refer to it – portal/sub-portal).

It would be grand if all was equal, but not even in real life does that apply.

I wish it would.

E-Learning 24/7

An addict for games. Not just any type of game mind you, rather one that I can win at.  I readily admit to playing my Xbox 360 late into the night forgetting that I have to rise and shine early.

I admit that I tell myself that I am only going to spend an hour on my iPad playing Plague and then realize that three hours have gone by and I still haven’t decimated the planet with my new disease.

By the Numbers

If you have been calculating the points while viewing the stats you would have seen:

• Gamification market will reach 2.8 Billion dollars by 2016 (M2 Research)
• 70% of the Global 2000 will have at least one gamified application by 2014 (Gartner)
• 53% believe that by 2020, gamification will be wide spread (Pew Research Center, based on those surveyed)

You also have probably read (not sure if you received any points) that gamification is the next big thing in e-learning.  

I’m here to tell you that what you are hearing isn’t wrong, it’s just plain misleading.

Gamification – What some say it is – isn’t what others claim it is

Take a look at the following:

It says, “This is not a pipe”.  You say, “wait it is a pipe”.  But it isn’t (if you know what it is, place it in the comments section).

So, how does this apply to gamification?

It applies because the term itself can be easily misconstrued by others.

Some people define gamification in the e-learning space as games themselves – sim games for tests, or games for learning.  Others define gamification in relation to online gaming, like World of Warcraft – which is accurate – this is why some of the numbers above are misleading. 

Because what they are not saying is that gamification in e-learning will be billions of dollars by 2020.

Not at all.

But that doesn’t mean gamification cannot exist nor work, effectively – on the contrary – it can.

Incentive Points = Learning

I recall a few years back talking to a vendor whose product included incentive points for their learners.  They told me that their clients (customers) were stating that they were seeing a huge uptick in learners completing courses and thus achieving more incentive points (which led to them winning gift cards).

The clients who told them that had wrongly assumed that by the learners completing the course or task, were actually learning and retaining information.

While I am sure some folks were, the majority I surmise were not.

That is because I believe – just based on human nature – that people realized that the more points they received, the faster to the goal of winning whatever and thus it was all about the points and not the content.

If I had to go through a course in two weeks to receive 25 points and I needed 100 points to get a prize – then I am going to zip through to get those points.  How much will I retain is another matter. 

Especially if the objective is tied to completing via a linear method – which sort of defeats the purpose of WBT to begin with – i.e. a non-linear approach.

If I have to read 10 comments by my fellow learners to get 50 points and it is again tied to a tangible incentive – guess what? I’m reading – but more likely I’m skimming.  Sure, some people won’t do it, but overall depending on what do they win – if it is good – then they will do it.    If I have a competitive nature to begin with and work for example in sales, where incentives come into play in general, what do you think I will do?

We don’t need no stinking badges 

Gamification can be effective is used properly, but it has to go beyond just a leader board and has to go beyond just accruing points for the sake of badges.

Badges are great in various social media, but getting a badge because you completed five tasks and completed two courses in less than a week, is not.

There has to be a real gain and benefit to the learner, the training/learning department/division and the company itself.

Even in education there has to be real value – real attainment to a learning goal or objective.

I’d rather have a learner understand and synthesize the information and validate it in a real life course scenario to accrue the points than just have them zip through a course to do so.

Even those who tie the “points” to an assessment are missing the point. An assessment or test is not fun.  Gamification in learning must be fun and must be applicable to real world (especially in adults).

If you offer neither than your points and point totals are as useful as those crummy toys you would get at a carnival. 

What motivates me, may not motivate you

Let me be clear on this – I think gamification can rock and I am a huge believer in incentives tied to learning, especially in education/academia. However, I am not a believer that everyone sees it the same way when it comes to incentives.  The reason your gamification may not be achieving the ideal results you are seeking, could be:

• Everyone has different motivators – some people are motivated by tangible items, some by money, some by praise
• A motivator is tied to an incentive. If I am motivated by tangible items (excluding your company’s coffee mug) or money – then I am more likely to complete the tasks/courses/social things required to achieve so
• If I am not an “A” personality or do not see the value and benefit of the whole gamification, then I won’t be involved

Even if I am forced (also known as mandatory) to do the gamification components, I won’t retain the information because I don’t want to – it easily can become a game 0f how to not do things.

But if I am either a highly competitive person or the company has instilled a competitive atmosphere – you can guarantee that people will maximize the gamification of the platform.  

The total score though is whether I have actually learned is the information itself or just getting the points for being active and fast.

Fun

Having a LMS or learning platform that has some form or massive amounts of gamification just won’t cut it.  You have to make it fun.

For whatever reason, I see a lot of platforms that are not “fun” when it comes to gamification capabilities.  Partially it is tied to the client who is setting up the courses, tasks, etc., and part of it is the LMS.

If you play any type of game – whether it is online or not, you do it to have fun.  So why would you think someone wouldn’t want the same experience?

One LMS platform that is heavily geared towards gamification is Growth Engineering.  Heck they even call it a gamification LMS. 

Another LMS that has a nice set of gamification is Wisetail.  Wisetail pitches themselves as a learning ecosystem, but it is a LMS (it has one major problem: no e-commerce – if you are wondering).  

It’s UI is super slick and immediately says, “look at me, I’m fun to use and best of all, I have gamification that can engaging”.

Bottom Line

Gamification is coming. But it is not going to be an immediate blockbuster because it still has some bugs to solve.

And everyone knows that a game with bugs in it, is no fun at all.

E-Learning 24/7

Your platform is not working.  I found some bugs here and they are not the crawly kind.  My issue is important and your tech people have not responded.  I ordered a hamburger without cheese, got home and it has cheese on it. (I was just seeing if you were paying attention. But is it me or do you often get ripped off going drive-thru?)

Complaints – Legitimate Gripes

As someone who has had the wonderful experience of buying (leasing) a LMS and the issues that arose beyond that, I can tell you that I feel your pain.  There is nothing worse that spending the money, selecting the system, implement it, then it runs into problems and your end users – blame you.

You buzz the assigned project manager or tech support person and listen to the whole “we hear you” and get back to you verbiage. Then you wait and wait some more. In 30 minutes you have had it – “It must be three hours now. Why are they not calling back? Don’t they realize that people are complaining?”

Next you call your salesperson and chew them out like a piece of meat that has too much grizzle.  You want and expect results or there will be hell to pay.

They listen. They will solve it.  They hang up.  Then they do one of four things:

• Call tech support and see what is going on
• Write it on a piece of paper and say to themselves, I will e-mail/call support later
• Do nothing
• E-mail support and hope someone responds

Meanwhile you are quite content and say to yourself, “I showed them”.  Right.

#5  Salesperson says one thing then fails to back it up

I hear this complaint all the time from end users.  As a complaint goes it is always in the top ten of gripes. What makes me sick to my stomach (or maybe it was that chili) is that this gripe has been around since LMSs arrived on the scene.

Now there are plenty of salespeople who are honest, and truthful, but it only takes a small group of nefarious humans to ruin for everyone else.

If you think “nefarious” is too strong of a word, trust me, if this happens to you, the term will be rated G compared to what comes out of your mouth.

What drives this approach?

I see two factors:

• Person really doesn’t know the product inside and out and so they tell you want you want to hear. “Yep, our system works all the time with Oracle.” Then you find out that they have to heavily customize it – charge extra – and the interface is buggy
• Person is all about sales and not about you. I know of some highly seasoned salespeople that do this frequently to potential clients

#4  Demo Dupe

I seriously believe the song “I never promised you a rose garden” was written by someone who once worked at a LMS company.  The demo switcheroo is a big time gripe.  It follows a similar style

• You see an amazing demo with all the bells and whistles
• You hear the tell, you are drooling
• You buy the LMS
• It doesn’t come with everything you saw in the demo
• You are mad
• The salesperson says, “Oh, didn’t I tell you that” OR “Yes, I mentioned that in our call” – of course you remember they didn’t

#3  The system costs more than what they quoted me

I always remind people to have their pricing itemized with each factor listed – (i.e. 1,000 seats, 500 active per month – $20,000), tech support 9 to 5 EST (free – included at no charge), 20 project management hours (no charge), webinar training ($500 for three sessions), an autograph by the CEO (priceless – no I’m just kidding).

However, I have seen quotes that drop everything together including the discount OR itemize some items and not others  OR some itemization and some stuff written within a paragraph – which people often skim.   One of the zingers that appear frequently is the API angle.

You ask if they can integrate your APIs (on whatever). They say yes. They fail to mention that it will cost you X dollars per API and it will take six weeks to add one.  The latter is becoming a common gripe.   I remember seeing some pricing online by a LMS vendor and then when I got the contract it had different pricing on it.  You see they had items you needed but they did not mention it on their web site.

What items fail to appear often when people post or tell you about their pricing?  Setup costs – and they can be anywhere from inexpensive to outrageous – even for systems that are low cost.   Skinning for additional portals/tenants, etc. E-commerce – especially those who charge a yearly price.

Removing their name from the platform.  See the price doesn’t mention that it costs extra to pull their name – so when you ask for it (and you should always find out) they will pull a rabbit out of their LMS hat and tell you it costs ABC (please realize that for the majority of vendors they remove their name at no cost).

#2 Not listening

I often wonder why LMS vendors have their salespeople focus more on their qualifiers than asking the right questions first before “seeing if you are ideal for them”.  How about, “how many employees/customers will be using the system.” There are some vendors who will only deal with clients who have over 10,000 employees – so this quick qualifier will streamline the process. Or there are vendors who only work in certain industries/verticals. So, asking what is the client’s industry would take care of that.

But noooo. You have to listen to a series of qualifiers to see if you are the right fit – whatever that means. Listen, assuming that the two qualifiers above are not factors, unless you are from Planet Neptune and have 65 eyeballs you will qualify – and even in my Neptune weird creature example – you will find plenty of vendors who will take you.

I once had a boss who would say, “I know you can hear me, because I can hear my own words.”  I think this should apply to every salesperson who is pitching their product.

#1 Tech Support

• Company receives issue via e-mail, support center or phone – or any combination
• Company place the issue into its queue
• Company sends e-mail to whomever is the LMS administrator or contact person – notifying them they received the issue and are working on it
• Company using their own tech priority level – rates the issue, low, medium, high or for some clients – get it fixed now
• If it is low, you have a better chance of hearing crickets then getting it solved in a day or so – but don’t worry you may get multiple e-mails telling you it is being worked on
• If it is medium, someone is doing something about it, but it still may take a day or two to solve it
• If it is high or get it fixed now – then someone or some folks are busting their buns (it is a Rated PG site here) to solve it. They may follow up with you or your LMS administrator for more information and even have you on the call for a period of time or whatever.  Typically they follow up via the phone, your salesperson may step in and follow up too – after all you probably sent them the issue too
• If the issue takes more than a couple of days – it is likely that you have contacted tech support to complain and even talked to your salesperson. E-mails do not apply here – although what does it hurt to send one to tech support, your salesperson, the head of tech support, even the head of sales, etc.
• Issue solved.
• Then next time, you re-live the experience again

Excluding massive bugs or issues that are totally brand new to the company, tech support should be relatively quick and painless. There is a reason why some vendors have a knowledge base, community forum moderated by company employees and super users, and other – they are trying to minimize phone calls to tech support – because – it costs them money every time someone calls or sends off an e-mail to solve a problem.

Rather than hiring 45 salespeople, why not hire more than five tech support/customer support people to solve the customer’s issue? 

For clients – the only people who should contact tech support are either the LMS administrator, whoever is running training or e-learning division or a combination of both.  I’ve actually heard horror stories where the customer allows anyone to call their vendor’s tech support.

This should never happen.  Also, there are plenty of times when the tech issue is due to the client and not the vendor. 

For example, I recall a few folks telling me that their system didn’t work with Windows 2000 (yep, they had it on their computers and it was a large size public company). The LMS didn’t support it.

I remember asking them if they asked the vendor if it worked with Windows 2000 – guess what? They didn’t.

Bonus: Sales Training – What is it good for? Absolutely everything, say it again!

I am always stunned at the number of vendors who provide ZERO sales training for their staff.  Not only that, they never listen in to sales calls to see if their salespeople are doing it correctly and following the VP of sales approach or some type of script or process.

Now since the e-learning industry’s core is tied to training, you would think that having sales training would be a requirement.

Bottom Line

There are hundreds of books out there on how to resolve customer complaints. Hundreds of videos, even a ton of them on YouTube. Books written on the subject of listening, effective tech support, sales training, sales support and service and great customer service.

You can surf the net and find all these topics and more readily available and free.  Rather than do nothing, do something.

It requires the LMS vendor to fix what is not working.

The problem though is they don’t see it as an issue.

They see it as yours.

E-Learning 24/7

Perhaps you see it as an extension to an already in place, ILT (instructor led training) program. Or as an extension to classes at your school or university.  Maybe you see it as a component within a blended learning environment.

But what if it was more than that.  Much more.

One stop shop

Offers a multitude of services to customers. Typically is a location or business.

Walmart Way

• One stop shop – containing everything you need
• Some Walmarts include groceries and auto services – including oil changes and alike
• Net sales of 466.1 billion (Walmart, end of fiscal year ending in January 2013)
• Amazon.com 13.18 billion dollars in revenue – Q3 2012 (Engadget, 2012)

Whether you like Walmart or not, it changed the retail landscape forever. As a result, numerous businesses started to copy its format. The biggest is Amazon.

So why am I telling you this? Because the one stop shops are now appearing in learning management systems, for the better.

The new LMS

If you are taking a deep look around the LMS market you may be hearing a new buzz word, “ecosystem”.  Some LMS vendors have used the term in the past because they themselves saw their platform as a one stop shop.  They probably offered you the ability to buy courses through them eliminating the need to go directly to the 3rd party vendor.

They also may have offered the ability to create courses for you, at a fee.

The problem though is that what was available in the past, no longer applies today.

Why? 

Because in today’s global market (not just with e-learning), the expectations of consumers has changed.

If they have a smartphone or tablet- they have downloaded apps.  If they are taking college type courses online for free, they are likely to be visiting a MOOC.

If they want to take courses on how to learn software or business or whatever, they may be watching videos on YouTube – for free or paying a fee to use such sites as Lynda.com.

If they desire to take courses through a marketplace or exchange they might be going to Open Sesame which offers the ability to buy and download courses – to use in any LMS.

Maybe they found a LMS that included social and performance management (assuming that is what they wanted).  Perhaps they wanted a human capital management platform containing various sub-systems including learning, performance, compensation, etc.

Or they decided to implement an ERP and interface it with a LMS.

Without realizing it, consumers (end users) were pursing one stop shops through e-learning.

The problem though is that none of the above constitutes a true ecosystem – a complete package wrapped into a system.

Ecosystems the LMS Way

I loved the term that vendors started to push in 2012 and continue to do so in 2013 – “scalability”.  It makes me laugh. What they are trying to do is to offer an alternative to an open source platform which allows unlimited users.   They assume that you will go “hey, I could have had a V-8 and a LMS that enables me to have unlimited users and all the features I want.”

The spin of course is that the open source platform you would download – and yes, it isn’t free after you customize the whole thing, can provide something that is only for you – designed the way you want and include only the features you want.  I know what you are thinking – I have created my own ecosystem – my own Frankenstein.

Yes it’s a monster, but it is not truly an Ecosystem

Right now you are saying to yourselves, “he keeps mentioning this ecosystem, but he hasn’t told me what it actually is and it is bothering me.” I hear you. No, I really hear you – telepathically.

My definition of an Ecosystem

For me a true LMS ecosystem consists of the following – all of it – not just pieces:

• One click – they select it and it zings right into their platform – they can also remove it with one click
• Courses included into the system at no cost – more than five – ideally more than twenty
• Apps, add-ons, plug-ins or whatever terminology you want to use – the customer simply clicks what they want and whalla it goes into the platform – think ala carte without the hassle
• A store or exchange – could contain not just the company free apps but also apps from other end users either for free or fee (the end user sets the price)
• Within the store or exchange or perhaps they call it a marketplace – 3rd party apps/add-ons/plug-ins can be installed for free or purchased through a 3rd party – but again.. you do it there – and one click install.  Examples of the freebies would be perhaps the standard ones such as Skype, Slideshare, Evernote or less common ones such as MailChimp, 280 Slides, GradeGuru, EyeJot, Palbee
• From the fee perspective – add-ons, apps or plugins could include Salesforce.com, Zendesk, Freshbooks, Echosign, Nimble
• Course marketplace – LMS vendor offers courses from 3rd party vendors – you buy it auto installs, also end users can create their own courses to use within the system – either offer for free or fee based – one click install
• M-Learning – native app, online/offline synchronization – supports HTML5
• Social Learning – you can tie this back into the apps – that is how I would do it
• Pre set list of APIs – again can be done numerous ways, and with some directories on the net having more than 1,000 of these things – you can get them and be ready to rock n roll
• Features that already exist – event management, e-commerce and alike – again, the features that are already in place are there because it is a LMS. If you want to go more robust with your event management take a look at Cvent

I don’t see the performance/talent management and some functions of a human capital management as part of an ecosystem – because it is not universal. A lot of people do not want it – and even though it could be turned on or off, it often is an additional cost for each module.  If you want to include it at no charge within your platform – and end users can turn on/off or one click then it is doable.  But from my perspective it does not make this a true ecosystem.

What is great about the apps and add-ons is that you can offer a CRM, web conferencing tool, video messaging, etc. – that people can select from and one click into their system.  You do not have to include it, and as a complete ecosystem – it is customized to the client’s choice. If they want to remove the app, they simply click out or delete it (however you set this up).   If they want to add more – they can.

Where’s the App?

Here are a few places to check out apps, add-ons, extras, etc. – that any vendor could put into place if they wanted to, and yes, if you want to use them on your own, you can certainly do that.  These are my favorite sites.

• Go2Web20
• Zapier - they offer a free package but also fee based. Oh, you can create your own Zaps – apps
• Discovery Education Web 2.0 apps
• Appappeal - over 3,000 apps
• Wibiya

Bottom Line

 People want choices, they want simplicity, they want easy – which offers them the ability to do it themselves and  they want a one stop shop. 

If you think about it, Walmart and Amazon offer the exact same things.

The difference is that they are not a LMS ecosystem.

But you should be.

E-Learning 24/7

Next to going to the dentist, a LMS committee often falls a close second, especially when a cavity is found and drilling is immediate.

Meetings, Meetings

I once worked at a company that had a massive amount of meetings. One day the CEO sent out a memo stating that there were too many meetings and we had to cut down the meetings to the minimum. You know where this is going..

Yep, more meetings!

In this age of lots of meetings the last thing you want to be on is a meeting to find a LMS. Now some people will see it as an honor, similar to being on a steering committee to implement a new ERP, but trust me it is not the same thing.

Committee Size

The most important component of a committee is having the right number of folks. Research has shown that the appropriate size of any committee should not exceed five people. Invariably though it expands faster than the Hindenburg did when they pumped in hydrogen.

It may start with a simple seven but before you know it, the size now is similar to the starting lineup of a football team. Here is how this gets out of hand quickly:

Whoever is on the committee decides that Jim needs to be on it, because Jim is in legal and legal is a must (actually its not). Then, someone on the committee decides that Sue who is on the senior management team has to be on it, because if she isn’t she will get real upset, so let’s just stick here on it – to appease her.

But wait! Chris who runs IT and is on the initial committee wants to add Julie who is on the networking team and is number three in IT. Her job is really to write down everything, say virtually nothing and report back to Chris who will attend a few meetings then disappear.

The sad part is that Chris is a key stakeholder who you will need after you launch the system.

But wait, there is more. The VP of HR or whoever runs it, decides that Lisa who is the HRIS (Human Resources Information Systems) manager and oversees the ERP product for HR, needs to be there.

Lisa could be an important team member, much more so than the VP of HR, who often mucks it up – because they have zero idea on what it is or why it is needed, but has an ego complex and G-D forbid you leave them out.

Oh did I mention that when you need the VP of HR for employee data they will often assign it to someone else in their department, since they are too busy running day to day operations and attending meetings.

Whew.

Cast of Characters

The bonus of this who entourage of folks will be once the system is implemented – deployed they will disappear and be silent, until something goes wrong and whalla they come out of the woodwork. The only people who really are relevant – because of the system – if you selected the right one – are the following:

• Whoever runs training/learning – this might be you or it might be someone else and you have an e-learning department – so it comes back to you. Basically it is you!
• Head of IT or someone they assign who can get things done in an orderly fashion when you need it. This might entail updating the computers to support the latest version of Flash, working with the other business units to ensure that the computers can access the net in a speed that is faster than a modem (from your company) and depending on their role – send the file containing employees data that sits on a server somewhere at the company. This person or whomever they assign will become your best friend – so never (excuse my language) piss them off.

Also, it is important to keep the head of IT in your back pocket because as many of us know, having an IT person at your beckoned call – never happens and because they are doing other things, and time is essential – you may need to reach out to the head of IT for assistance.

• HR person who will be able to provide who is new to the company – employees and who has left. This often involves a database where this information is kept. The HR person lets you know – I always did it every two weeks – so that you can contact IT to send the file. Some companies enable the HR person to pull the info and send the file directly, but that is a rarity.
• HRIS person – if applicable. This occurs if there is an issue with the interface of the ERP to the LMS (if applicable). Some companies do not interface for whatever reason, others do. Again, this is just someone to have in your back pocket- you may never use them. Also if your company does not have an ERP, then you can ignore this point.
• Whoever is in charge of training. At some the companies I worked out – and the size of the companies varied from small to super large – I often reported directly to the COO or even the CEO. Most of the time they didn’t need updates and the only time I would ask for assistance was if some other department heads or VPs were backing away from what they said they do – on whatever.
• Sometimes the hammer works best coming from the top of the food chain. Plus, no one is going to tell the COO or CEO that they will not do it.

There were only two companies that I reported to the division head or a VP and even then, I only needed to provide them monthly updates.

Committee members who will slow down the process

Anyone who has ever been on a LMS committee or a committee dealing with technology, will quickly realize that some members are clueless when it comes to technology. SaaS? Hosted in the cloud? Whatever the product you are including that has tech in it.

End users? Flash? Internet Explorer – don’t laugh, I once had a VP who didn’t realize that the IE on their desktop meant Internet Explorer.

When this happens expect spending more time on how the LMS will make things better and why. Sometimes you have to talk to them as though they are five year olds (I mean in simple terms, not in “this is a ball”).

This is why I never use the term learning management system, except the first time. I call it online university or online community with courses or whatever.

After you explain a LMS including its terminology and methodology you will see people with the deer in the headlights look or doodling and not paying attention.

I always have a detailed flowchart with pictures on it – relating to something that everyone uses or has. Example: I have done the ol Satellite tv – with the programming coming from the sky onto your TV or the box it uses, etc.

Remember that adults have to see WIFM – what’s in it for me, and if not they won’t grasp it.

Sometimes I tied the LMS benefits and I always included them – the pros that is – as part of my information. Why give the naysayers something they can hang their feet on?

Disruptor

When people don’t know they tend to include such things that will drag the committee into directions you do not want it to go. These disruptors include:

• IT person who will ask about the servers, bandwidth, security, etc. Even though they will know what is SaaS (although I’m surprised on how many really do not understand it, but know the term), they will dig in their heels and ask questions that are relevant for servers on site and not online. Since many LMSs are housed on Rackspace – you can go there and pull down some info (again, being prepared), the whole what types of servers they use, what happens if it crashes, can be solved.
• The reality is that some LMSs suffer down time – even though the vendor says it won’t. Bugs do arise and more often than not, the vendor will kick it up a notch to resolve it. I can’t tell you the number of times the issue was on the client’s side and not the LMS’s side, but the vendor is often blamed. Also, when a vendor does an update they tend to do it – after hours – as in past 12 a.m.

What I always find amusing is that the IT inquiries etc., seems to be not applicable when the servers that are housed at the company go offline – and how often does that happen? A lot.

All LMS vendors have load balance – just in case your IT person wonders about it.

All vendors have secure systems to protect privacy. In the 15 plus years I have been involved in e-learning, I am unaware of one hosted in the cloud LMS that has been hacked into. Not one.

• HR – ties back into employee data and who will have access to it. Just you and your administrator or it might be just you. Again, privacy and security is crucial and LMS vendors know this as an essential requirement. Now, some clients allow various managers and whomever to get into the back end of the platform. I always said no. The moment they click something they are not supposed to – the moment their is a problem – who do you think is going to take the heat? Them or you? HR often puts in other requirements – so think ahead of the time what they may inquire or need.
• Legal – if you need compliance then make sure your system offers compliance. If you need to have a digital signature, again make sure it offers it.

User case scenarios

I’m not a fan of them because if the features are not there, the user cases are irrelevant. As noted I have been doing this for over 15 years and never used user case scenarios. If I can’t figure out on my own as the person who runs training, whether or not this will work for my employees, customers or in cases both – I shouldn’t be running training.

So why do people include these? Because they are living in the past.

If you have ever implemented an ERP, having these babies are very important, especially because an ERP is fully customized to your business processes. A LMS is done differently – so watch out for the people who think that the ERP experience and approach will be the same as a LMS, it just isn’t the case.

A LMS is a turnkey platform that may require some customization, but often it requires only minimal tweaks. An ERP which is hosted on yours servers is a very complex project. I have been involved in two ERP implementations, one of which had a budget of 250 million dollars.

Uh, you will never have anything close to that with your LMS.

Big names are better

Just not true. I know of two big dog vendors who had issues with Adobe Captivate, a year ago.

One took months to find a fix, another took nearly a year. I have also seen and heard numerous times that the ERP interface with some of the big dog LMSs does not go as smoothly as it is was pitched. Granted this is not a problem that is seen only with the big dogs, but also with various other vendor sizes.

Just remember that assuming that it never involves the big dogs, isn’t accurate.

Bottom Line

A LMS committee can be a good idea when the right people are involved and the right path is taken.

More often than not, it bogs down because the people involved often focus more on their agenda than the agenda at hand – improving the learners’ experience and skill sets.

That is why committees are often seen like root canal.

And you’re the tooth.

E-Learning 24/7

Back again to bring this first in a series of rankings for the top ten learning management systems for 2013. As many of you will around know, these rankings are just the first in of series. That said, just as a reminder:

Here is how these new rankings will work throughout 2013:

• Debut this month, update in July, final top 25 in Dec.
• Vendors can move up, down or out of the rankings – after all it is on-going
• First ranking are the top ten, July rankings are top 25, final rankings are the top 25
• Listings can always be found on a new page called “rankings” which will appear in one month – thus eliminating the need to do a search (if applicable)
• Rankings are based on my directories which are updated monthly; I also keep a separate directory which will contain more vendors than listed within the visible directories – reason being it offers clients (those who hire me – buyers to have an added bonus, of course it contains much more info); that said the monthly directories provide key info and in future updates have new columns added
• There is never a quid pro quo, pay for play or whatever with my rankings. I’m not a lead gen for the vendors listed – rather the goal is to provide you with vendors that meet numerous criteria including UI, features, support/service, mobile, feedback from current and past clients and future game plans
• 100% independent. No spin. You want that – there are plenty of places out there that offer it. You will never find it here.

Okay now that is covered, let’s jump right into the action.

#10 Interactyx – Topyx

Where have you been my friend? Back from the dead, I surmise. Actually not really, but they have rebounded to overhaul the user interface – and I am told continuing to do so. Still listed as a social learning management system, they have made some new strides that really work for me.

Pluses

• Big win still with the communities tied to not only groups but also specific courses. They were the first ones to do this, and still a big plus in my book
• Unlimited users – a rarity in today’s market
• More collaborative features
• Support of the iPad, thus mobile learning. It actually has gotten better.
• Overall a huge improvement

Minuses

• Charging to remove their name of the system. Why? I mean besides making additional money, I would never want to have their name on the platform. As a former training director I had enough problems with users buzzing me about whatever, but having the name of the vendor too would not be good.
• E-commerce fee per year. A big peeve of mine in general. E-Commerce with many vendors is included nowadays. If you want to charge, charge once.

#9 Absorb LMS

Remember back in my authoring tool list, I mentioned one well known LMS vendor who dropped significantly in my rankings? Well, here they are.

The system is still very strong and they have updated their UI. Ideal for folks who want a multi-tenant system or also known as an extended enterprise. So, why the drop?

Pluses

• HTML5 interface – big win for tablets in general, especially the iOS devices
• New UI – always a good thing. Their original UI was always smooth so it only gets better
• Mercury Module – specifically the banners component, although new stories is interesting – it already exists in quite a few systems, same thing with contests and polls

Minuses

• Paying extra for something they call the “Mercury Module” – features: Contests, quick polls, news stories, banners/videos (called banners) so that you can advertise or promote new courses, events on the home page
• Kicking to the curb their “SmartLab LMS” which was pitched as more robust system – stronger customization for the front, a few new features and while it was initially built for one client, they started to move clients from the Absorb LMS to SmartLab and even recommended to some current clients (who had just bought Absorb) to consider upgrading at a later point to SmartLab. Anyway, not sure how that played out when they had some clients who moved from Absorb to SmartLab and then ended up going back to Absorb – not an ideal customer service move IMO.
• A little late to the game for some features that others already had in play

I still see it as a strong system, especially for extended enterprise, but I have some minor concerns (based on feedback from some current clients) that causes me to place the system at #9.

#8 Docebo

A very inexpensive system that continues to pack some nice features. What are those?

Pluses

• Tin Can compliment – but no native app and no online/offline synch
• Available in 30 languages
• Personalization capability for each end user – including selecting their own language, which may be different from another end user in the same system
• Choose quickly between a simple streamlined version and their advanced – IMO, I would use their advanced
• Courses includes – simply click and whalla in the system – via their marketplace
• Interface with Salesforce.com (but you need to already have SF)
• Easy to use interface
• Built-in help desk
• Integrates with WordPress
• Comes with App store

Minuses

• Marketplace now included courses you can buy from other content providers – how is this different from some vendors of today who can add content from 3rd party vendors, when you call them? It isn’t.

#7 eLogic Learning

A very nice system that continues to get better. Pricing is solid and support is fantastic (everyone should be like this).

Pluses

• New video component (coming soon!)
• Competencies
• Integrates with Office 365 via API
• Very good for extended enterprise systems and even standalone systems i.e. without going multi-tenant
• Tin Can API with online/offline synchronization – AWESOME!
• Mobile works on all devices including the Kindle (Amazon)
• Certificates can look differently from one to the next
• Easy to use

Minuses

• I still believe there is room to grow with the UI, especially Admin side

#6 IMC-AG Clix

At the end of 2012, was #4, now it is #6. Listen this is a very good system, but it has stumbled a bit – especially on the mobile side (more on that sec).

Pluses

• M-Learning offers online/offline synchronization
• Schedule integration with Microsoft Outlook
• Audit trails
• Integrates with Office 365 with API
• Robust features
• Strong for multi-tenant (extended enterprise) and even if you just want a system with no extended enterprise
• Lots of languages to choose from

Minuses

• What is taking so long with that new UI?
• Charges extra to use their mobile features – per user per year, plus per year for the mobile component – what the heck is going on here? This to me is a huge minus which has caused them to drop

Pricing is mid-tier.

#5 BizLibrary – Company College

One of the first vendors to include the video boxes on the home page, rather than just the text for course title, etc. The UI is still very good and support is very good too.

Pluses

• Next to video blocks – users can preview and leave comments, ratings
• On the home page the product is able to recommend courses based on what courses have been started and completed – per user
• Lists latest and newest videos (which are courses), most popular, highest rated or by course duration
• Peer recognition
• Users can share and send courses to fellow users (LOVE it)

Minuses

• While the UI is vastly improved, on the admin side it needs a slight touch – but don’t get wrong the product is doable and nice
• No Tin Can and thus no online/offline synch

Pricing is extremely inexpensive.

#4 Instructure – Canvas

Great educational learning management system. The best one on the market. These guys cream the competition and offers enough to please virtually anyone looking for an educational LMS.

Pluses

• Open API
• Facebook and SMS (text) notifications
• Very ease to use
• Can leave text, audio and video feedback
• Parents can enroll as well, while I get the value of it – if my Mom enrolled when I was a kid – I would not be hip on that – can we say “Big Brother”? (K-12)
• State standards (K-12)
• Mobile – including on the iPad, including their grade book, which they call SpeedGrader
• Platforms for higher education and K-12

Minuses

• No online/offline synchronization which is bizarre since education is going the way of tablets – including iPad rather than purchasing laptops and desktops
• Cannot interface with digital textbooks – which I see as a continuing growing market. I mean the only way they can do it is via API, which isn’t something I would do

Pricing is very affordable.

#3 Competentum- ShareKnowledge

The best SharePoint LMS on the market. Yes, there is a still market for SharePoint systems and I recommend finding a system already built on it, rather than doing it yourself (which many people do).

Pluses

• Easy to use interface – which often does not happen with SharePoint LMSs
• Social learning
• Comes with an authoring tool
• Mobile – support iPad
• Works with SharePoint 2007 and 2010
• Works with many 3rd party authoring tools including Articulate, Captivate
• SCORM (in case you were wondering)
• Integration tool included
• Branding and skinning

Minuses

• No SaaS solution, but this is not unusual in the SharePoint market – I hope that changes
• Authoring tool is fairly poor

Pricing is affordable.

#2 Panopto

A video learning platform hits the rankings. Video learning platform – you might be asking what in the heck is that? Well, it is a new sub-genre of e-learning, whereas it is made of two components. A recorder which can record videos, demos not only on the desktop/laptop, but also with a mobile device such as the iPhone and iPad. (on a side note: next week’s blog covers the video learning platform market, including six vendors who stand out).

The other component – a video content management system.

Pluses

• Can record live events and stream them or place them on the platform for future viewing
• Can zero in with a mobile device in recording, even with a DV camera – so it is not just a wide shot when recording – which is awesome function for product demonstrations, heck even when showing someone how to do whatever..
• Take notes during live presentations
• Built in video transcript under the video, with a keyword search (example: Type in “dog” and the transcript goes to the text each time “dog” is presented, then you click the text and guess what happens next?
• Goes to the time code in the video presentation (already recorded and posted on your platform) where the person is talking. No more having to watch the entire video
• Can capture PowerPoint presentations and match them to the person talking
• Can upload using Camtasia and other similar screen recording and capturing
• Video editing
• Podcast viewing
• Video library access broken down by videos, so let’s say a group of people can only see “sales training”, well the other videos are blocked from viewing and the sales training is only available
• Awesome feature set
• M-Learning – can view on tablets, including iPad
• Similar to TEDS in that the videos appear on the home page and people can click and watch

Minuses

• Cannot skin on the SaaS version and even if you host it on your own servers you have to do it via CSS code (this is not uncommon in the VLP market, but it still is a minus in book)
• Has a little bit of a learning curve, but once you get the hang of it, simple
• While the UI is solid can be vastly improved

Pricing is based on two factors: Unison the platform and Focus – the recorders.

For Focus it is the number of recorders you purchase (think per machine. So if you have three people accessing the same machine and using the recording, you pay for only one license. If people are recording on different machines, then the fee is per machine, which in this case would be five licenses and on the other product Unison.

If you are using Camtasia or similar products and have no need for a recorder device NOR one for live streaming, you do not need the recorder. However you will need the Unison product (whose pricing is separate). 

That said pricing is affordable. Other fee is hours to use – which the base is 6,000 users at the cost of $3,000 USD. Unlimited people can access the system and use it. The whole thing – recorders and hours are yearly.

Disclosure: I am using the Panopto platform for my newest compliment to my blog – eVoluton by E-Learning 24/7, which will launch April 15, 2013 – and I believe will change the way you receive insight, product reviews (some will still be on the blog), etc. on the net.

That said, even if they weren’t providing the platform for me, I still will love the product. Anyone who read my post on a previous conference show from 2011 will have noticed comments on Panopto.

I personally believe the VLP market as a whole will be big. If I am looking to get into the e-learning market, I would go this route.

#1 ExpertusOne

Still the best LMS on the market. Perfect for those looking for a multi-tenant system (extended enterprise) and even just a system in general. Feature wise this product is fantastic.

I could go on with a lot of the capabilities for this product, but I won’t. Rather I will list just a few:

• Mobile support including online/offline synchronization and native app
• Best multi-lingual interface I have ever seen – everything changes to the whatever language you want – including the admin side
• E-commerce and SSL included at no charge
• FDA validation
• Workflow engine
• Lists the most popular training courses, highly rated training courses, new training courses, most active users on the home page (you can turn that off if you want)
• Social learning
• Native video player

Minuses

None I can really think of – that is why it is #1.

Pricing is mid tier.

Why isn’t:

SuccessFactors – I really liked this system in my previous rankings, but with a few new items I am hearing in relation to SAP, it drops it out of the top ten.

Specifically:

• Seems heavily focused on the Performance mgt. angle, as well as a HCM (Human Capital Mgt) platform. Actually IMO I believe it is more of a HCM that offers learning as a module, than a LMS first and foremost. 

SumTotal: Expensive system and what you are buying is name IMO. Personally, this is a human capital management system which has a learning component.

Saba: See SumTotal. Strong in social, but also a HCM and as previously noted: They also told me they saw their system as a performance management product, which is fine. Yeah you can use it as a LMS, but why?

Cornerstone on Demand: Again, buying a name. This is really a HCM and yes it has a LMS, but they continue to have issues with their UI. An extremely poor UI IMO. For all that money they have, you think they would invest it into a better UI. Admin side is quite robust – but as a reader noted to me: it is overwhelming – too much. A similar point I mentioned in my review.

E-Learning 24/7

It comes from fellow readers who send me e-mails or talk to me via social media. It comes from people I meet at events. It comes from me talking to vendors, buyers, monitoring the industry all the while taking notes and seeing the trends/patterns appear right before my eyes.

Web site stinks = product stinks

What has always amazed me are number of e-learning vendor web sites whose design looks like it came from 1995 when Netscape ruled the land. Frankly, it is unreal.  I mean look at any other industry, any industry and check out their vendors’ web sites.

I’d love to identify the top twenty worst LMS vendor web sites out there – but there are way too many to pick. The same for authoring tools.

You also can’t leave out m-learning platforms, assessment tool providers, web conferencing, audio conferencing and a couple social platforms.

Is it really that hard to make it user friendly and visual?

As a vendor you may say to yourself, “well it is not stopping anyone from contacting us or buying our products”, but you would be erroneous.

Here is what people have told me about poor web sites (most people bring up LMS vendors):

• The site looks bad so the product must be bad as well – the most common comment I hear from people
• I can’t see the product – no pure demo, and no screenshots – so the product must be poor
• I can’t find what I am looking for, it is too confusing – so I leave
• The screenshots are too small. I can’t click them to see them bigger. How is anyone supposed to see the product?
• The site stinks – the product stinks

What is equally of note are the number of people who tie bad web site design to poor product. In just the past month, it is the most common statement I hear from folks.  Which then brings back the “well no one is complaining” comment.

• Most people never complain. When I worked in radio, my program director told me less than 1% of your audience will ever call you
• How often have you had someone train you or present a workshop – and they were awful – but you rated them as excellent?
• Nowadays, you have 45 seconds to make an impression when someone visits your site – if they can’t find or see what they need – they are gone, so why would they contact you?
• How many potential customers left without ever telling you? I will tell you – a lot!
• When you visit a site – do you stick around if it looks dated?
• Lastly, there is a reason people like the “WOW” factor in UI, the fresh, crisp and modern look – which is a continuing trend; they want it – so why would you keep your awful look at your web site, when you product doesn’t have it.

Some examples of cool web sites (this does not mean the product rocks – it may or may not – rather it is the look of the site)

LMS – this includes sites that show a fresh, modern look

• OpenClass – you will notice that each screenshot can be expanded and you can also scroll to see more images to expand
• Coggno
• Administrate - granted it requires you to scroll down (not a fan) and has more text than needed, it still is a fresh and modern look
• Litmos - modern look
• Panopto - modern and crisp, I’d want to take a dive into the site
• Seminar - modern look, but scroll down (wish it wasn’t) – however, I’d scroll down and explore
• Upside Learning
• aNewSpring - When you click “tour” you see the product by section

Authoring tools

• Articulate Storyline
• iSpring Solutions

App and Add-ons marketplaces

You knew it was only a matter of time, but vendors who offer apps for consumers to select is on the rise. The added twist is the ability for end users who have created apps to include them in the marketplace either free or fee based.

While content marketplaces have existed and are also increasing, the app side of the house is moving much quicker.  Here are the ways vendors are doing it (which explains why it works):

• Vendors create their own apps – it maybe as simple as a new gadget such as learning game
• Vendors include an API marketplace and list it within their app marketplace or as “add-ons”, “extras” – one vendor who does the extra angle quite well is aNewSpring
• End users create their own apps and include them in the app marketplace so that other end users can select and add them into their product or authoring tool (the LMS and authoring tool spaces are the biggest app gainers)
• Apps can be free or a small fee base – on the vendor side they typically are free, although I have seen one LMS vendor have freebies and fee base; on the end user side most are free, but I have seen fee based
• We are not talking advanced apps here that cost a fortune to build – unless they come from a 3rd party company who is selling them – this is a new angle but I surmise it will grow by the end of 2013

What I really love about these new marketplaces is how easy it is to install them. The end user simply clicks “install” and it does it automatically.  Thus the end user does not have to deal with the vendor to get it installed nor deal with figuring out how to manually install it.  Simple and easy!

One authoring tool vendor who really hits a home run with apps is the app angle authoring tool – ZebraZapps which includes the app builder within the product.

If I wanted to get into the act, I would offer an app builder within my product – there are plenty of them out there or you can create your own – without dropping $$$$ to do so.

Quick Hits

Here are a few more items I’m seeing on the growth track

• LMS vendors including content/courses at no additional charge – either they built it themselves, came from a 3rd party partner or a combination of both
• Some vendors have it within a marketplace where the end user chooses what they want and simply click it to install automatically
• Each end user in a LMS has the ability to personalize their pages, no more everyone gets it and that is it
• An anti-Skillsoft attitude when it comes to finding 3rd party content, similar to those folks who are anti-Microsoft or anti-Internet Explorer
• You knew it would happen – the anti-Facebook like page for social – Many people I have talked to recently mention this when it comes to social, I recently had a client who told me they wanted social but not a Facebook like page
• Social tied to groups, individual courses and alike – Topyx was the first to do this, now others are starting to follow
• No sales follow-up; when I was at TK13 I repeatedly heard this from folks, this is always has been a huge problem in the space, but apparently it is on the rise – especially with those who do not follow up on a phone message (beyond the standard lack of e-mail or contact us forms on sites)
• Languages included – no more you select your preferred language and then pay a fee for each additional language, now vendors are including numerous languages: either as a language pack or what is becoming more common – automatically with the system at no additional charge

Bottom Line

We are only six weeks into the new year and already trends are appearing right before our eyes. Some are a continuation from the previous year, many are not.

This is an exciting time to be in the e-learning space.

An exciting time, indeed.

E-Learning 24/7

Let’s jump right in for the game action.

TOUCHDOWN

I was really impressed with a few new products
Go! Animate
A unique product that uses the power of animated figures

SaaS product and streaming included. Pricing is low.

Please note they do not yet support HTML5, but again with MP4 no worries – it can be seen on any tablet, including iPad

Mango

I see it not only as a standalone but also as a course or courses within a learning platform

INTERCEPTION

CODEBABY

Not sure what is going on here, but the product which was cutting edge a couple of years back, looks stale. One of their problems has always been the price point – way too high, but now others are in the game and why they don’t necessarily have the design similar to CB, they do have the ease of use angle. Which CB does not.

FIELD GOAL IS GOOD

I have been told that Articulate Studio 13 is targeting a launch anywhere from Q2 to Q3, but don’t be surprised if it gets pushed back into Q4.
That said, I will be providing a product review on Studio 13 before it is launched – AN EXCLUSIVE. I’ll be providing updates on this in the near future.

FIELD GOAL ATTEMPT – BLOCKED

Out of all the shows, this is the one show that brings the most decision makers, and yet the number of vendors here is not great. Equally surprising are the lack of LMS vendors. I mean a huge amount are not here.

Makes no sense to me. Although I do think one reason is the location. San Jose is not ideal for companies on the east coast and it is not a “must” want to visit location. Las Vegas which is where the show is held – every other year – is a far better location.

Still the numbers are disappointing.

That’s it for now. Thursday: Recap day two of the ASTD TK13 show, including expo. – another blog post.

E-Learning 24/7

Jargon

The industry uses a lot of jargon and it is easy to become confused. Let’s break down the most common terms and two new terms hitting the space.

• LMS – Learning Management System – most commonly sought out by folks. Can include talent management/performance management features or add-on modules (which are often built into the system, but turned off)
• LCMS – Learning Content Management System – going the way of the dodo bird
• M-Learning- Mobile Learning. This means the system can be viewed via a mobile device. It does not mean that the system comes with a native app nor offers online/offline synchronization
• E-Learning – Online Learning. Many people confuse the term thinking it means electronic learning and thus will boost that they were doing e-learning 20 years ago or even longer. Not true.
• TM/PM – Talent Management/Performance Management. Used interchangeably. The most common features within this area for a LMS, include 360 feedback, skill gap analysis, performance reviews and skill paths.
• HCM – Human Capital Management. A HCM will include such modules as compensation, payroll, recruiting (which may include career planning, job postings, etc.), benefits and HRIS (Human Resources Information Systems). You do not have to purchase all the modules. You can pick and choose or buy just one.
• RCAT – Rapid Content Authoring Tool. This is a product where you build e-learning courses. It is called rapid because you can build quickly without any real tech skill sets. Some tools offer more advanced capabilities and features for folks who have a strong ID (instructional design) or e-learning developer skill sets. Common brands under RCAT – Articulate, Lectora, Captivate, Rapid Intake, dominKnow Claro.
• Sim Tool – Simulation Tool. Geared towards ID and e-learning developer folks. Tech skill set is required. Not for novices.
• Authoring Tool. See RCAT.
• SCORM/SCORM 2004, 1.2, AICC – Please read post covering this topic
• PENS – Created by AICC in 2005. Offers some nice capabilities compared to SCORM, but not widely used.
• Users/Seats – This approach is still widely used in the industry. A seat means one user name and one password. So if you have 500 employees who will access the system every month or for the year, then you need 500 seats. Some vendors (and it is gaining steam) offer “active users”.
• Active users – People who are taking at least one course during the month. Let’s say you have 500 users, but only 100 are taking one course in May. You pay only for those 100 users. The next month, 85 use it. You pay only for 85. There are a few vendors who will charge only when the end user completes a course (but this is rare)
• E-Commerce model – It is rare, but there are vendors who offer it. It is ideal for B2B and B2C channels. The vendors who offer it (and those who do – do not make it public – so if you want it – you have to ask) tend to charge per course sold. The charge – is a percentile of the sale. You set the price of the course, video, etc. The percentiles are not outrageous.
• Tin Can API – Better known as Tin Can. Communicates instances between a system and a device. Right now works with mobile devices. Could in the future work with XBox 360, SMART TV and other items of that nature.

Requires a native app (self-contained) on the mobile device and enables online/offline synchronization. Online/Offline synchronization allows the learner to take courses, etc. offline, without an internet connection and then when they have a net connection all instances (data) is communicated back to the LMS or other SaaS product. Some RCAT vendors have the Tin Can API as well as some LMS vendors.

• API – Application Program Interface. Many systems offer you the ability to add your own APIs and vice versa.
• LRS – Learning Record Stores. The newest kid on the block. In its simplest terms:

1. Tied to the Tin Can API.
2. Stores learning activites which are records
3. The records are housed in a learning store (repository)
4. While it can be a standalone it is more likely to be a part of a LMS
5. If an employee or whomever leaves the company/org., etc. and thus the LMS, and then goes to another system (another company) their learning record can go with them. This will enable the record to be stored in the new LMS of their new employer. The same could apply to customers (although not sure why you would allow it).
6. If you decide to switch to another system who supports LRSs, the employees/customers records could be moved into the new system, assuming you are having the same courses in the new system. You can have just a few of the previous courses or some materials that they have previously used or even completed test results.
7. Reported to be the next generation for e-learning and opens up the possibility of true interoperability from one system to the next

At this point, LRSs are really not ready for prime time. As one vendor who has LRS told me, it is still a work in progress and they do not offer it to their customers.

While it has amazing potential, I have some concerns tied to privacy and security, which I believe need to be resolved. These concerns are

• Would a company want their x-employee to have their learning record which would contain information that exists within your own system? Granted it would be of learning, but I know plenty of companies who do not allow former employees to take any materials, work that was created while employed at the firm.
• How many clients -i.e. businesses would allow their employees’ learning move from their solution into another, without their consent? Again, it ties back into the previous.
• Compliance issues and privacy. What about countries who have staunch laws regarding privacy. How would this work?
• Security concerns. How much data stored in the learning record would be moved? Honestly, if I was a training director for a financial firm or aerospace/defense, I wouldn’t be likely to allow them to take their own learning record. It opens up real security issues.

Do it yourself or Hire a consultant

When it comes time to do the leg work and identify systems that you are interested in and thus take a deeper dive leading to purchasing, the first thing you must do is decide whether to go it alone or hire a consultant.

What are the advantages of hiring a consultant

• Knowledge and expertise already exists. Assuming the consultant has vast experience in finding systems for clients, the time saved is tremendous. Many consultants, including myself know the market and thus are able to jump right in and move at a quicker pace than say someone who is new or in the process of looking around.
• Looking for a system or authoring tool can be overwhelming. With over 511 LMSs on the market and more than 140 authoring tools finding the right one can be an exercise in pain and confusion. A consultant will handle it for you and thus enable you to do other things, without having to worry about finding the right system or product.
• Assist with business processes. If you have never implemented a system, needing assistance in this area will reduce resources and productivity challenges. Not all consultants can offer this, but a few like myself do.
• Eliminates creating RFPs, shooting them out everywhere and waiting for a response. Plus it eliminates the sales people following up with you and for many people they do not want to deal with that.
• Time equals money and if you can lower the time spent, the cost for hiring some consultants will be well spent.

Going to Alone

I’ve done it many times – as a training director/manager – and haven’t had any problems. I never did a RFP nor spent more time than necessary to find a system. Sure things have changed – more systems than in any previous year – but if you are willing to take the time to do it – it can be done.

You should have a plan ahead of time of what you want to do and how you want to go about it. Many people don’t and that is where you will find yourself facing challenges.

Always follow these steps, which are essential to finding a system.

• Try to avoid using a RFP template. There is one vendor out there who has it and many people use it. The problem is that it contains so much information and it is geared toward that said vendor, it will be impossible for other vendors to match every item. Plus, nowadays many vendors can tell when someone is using “said” template and will not respond.

If you are going to use a template (I will be creating one in the near future for folks to use), focus on the key features you will need. Ask them for the price of the system and have it based on the projected number of users (seats) for the first year.

Also have them list the pricing for other items such as setup, SSO (Single Sign On), additional skins (if you plan to have an extended enterprise product), additional languages (the first one is always free) and any additional modules – if you are interested in them.

You always want the items to be listed – i.e. itemized and not one lump price. Find out what is included in the setup fee and whether it is one time or yearly. Make sure to tell them to be very specific when it comes to pricing and seats. Some vendors will tell you they cannot give you a price point. That is totally bogus.

Ask them if they will provide a sandbox (trial) with full access if they are in the top three. Ask them who would be your point of contact – it may not be the person who is doing the RFP.

Even if you choose not to use a RFP, make sure to create a quick spreadsheet listing the features you want – being specific. For example: you want a calendar. But do you want to be able to have the calendar on the home page? Do you want to offer people to register for ILT or webinars on their own? Do you want a wait-list? What about e-mail notifications?

Do you need to have a template within the system? Can you track to see who opened the e-mail notifications and who did not? Do you want to have SMS (text messages), which is growing in popularity? Do you want the ability to color code different sessions, add a brief description, include pricing (if applicable)?

As you can see, just saying one item and assuming the vendor knows what you want is not enough.

Similar to using the RFP, i.e. pricing, setup, training, etc. and the other information presented above, you should do the same if you are talking directly with the sales person.

Ask for specifics. There are some vendors who will refrain from giving you pricing as if their system is a secret project for only a select few.

It makes absolutely no sense. With so many products out there – you have the leverage so use it. I know of only two vendors who fought me on pricing and I ended up walking away. If they are doing this now, what happens when I get the system.

Speaking of features, if you want mobile learning ask them for specifics. There are plenty of vendors who say they offer mobile, but really want they are saying is you can view the system via your mobile web browser.

To me this is not mobile learning. If you want on/off synch ask them. That said, I have vendors who said yes or what do you mean, so expect to provide them information.

Forecast for three years

When you are preparing your game plan, you should focus on three years. This is because that is how long it will take you to build mass. Sure, you might do it earlier, but on average it takes three years.

Let’s say you find your system and want to get down and dirty with the pricing. To score a lower price point, provide estimates on how many users will be in year two and year three. If you have 1,500 employees right now, do you think you will have the same number in three years? If you are rolling it out in stages and in year one only 75 employees will be using it, how many do you think in year two?

Many vendors are now offering/going with “active users”, which is quite beneficial to those of us who do not want to pay for folks not using the system in any given month.

Demos

Only look at products you are seriously interested in. Salespeople will want to ask you some questions ahead of time before scheduling a demo, even if you want one. You will always want to have the demo with only yourself or team and no one else.

Some vendors schedule demos, which means that anyone including you/your team can be on it. I hate that. If you are important to them, they will go one on one with you. Also there are vendors who have demos online for you to see.

The problem is that they are not full demos, but rather pieces. You want the full one and you want to see front and back end of the system. The back end is the administrator’s side.

A vendor who knows what they are doing will ask you questions ahead of time (before the demo) so it can be tailored to what you want to see and need.

Always ask to see a few systems that are skinned/branded so you can get an idea on what a system could look like because the demos are typically vanilla (i.e. no real skins).

Make sure that the designs you are seeing are ones that are included in the price and are not an additional cost i.e. heavily customized by the customer. I’ve seen a few of these and then had to ask the vendor if the client paid extra for such a design.

A vendor who does not want to show you at least the front look and feel of another client, is not worth your time.

Negotiations and Contracts

I have an extensive blog article on this topic, but in a nutshell:

• Sign only a three year deal. Nothing more, nothing less. You can renew after the three years if you like the system. Some folks who bought the Learn.com system did not care for the Taleo purchase and thus were stuck.
• Opt out clause at the end of each year of the contract. Before the next year kicks in, you want that opt out clause, which says you can leave the system without any additional penalties or fees. Vendors do not put these into contracts, so you have to negotiate for it. I have only had one vendor who refused to do this – and guess what? I said goodbye. If they aren’t willing to do this for you, how rigid are they going to be or difficult when you need some other things.
• You want a discount. Never pay street price. Within the industry the discount tends to be 15%, although some vendors are now doing only 10%. If you are a non-profit, education institution or government entity you may get an automatic discount. This is quite common with non-profits but you need to ask and will need to provide a 501 C3.
• The bigger you are – i.e. size of users/employees the better the discount should be. If you have 50,000 seats you should have a better deal than someone who has 5,00 seats (sadly, this is the case). And that deal should include a better discount.
• Always have them itemize everything. I’ve seen vendors who have said the discount is in the total price, but how do you really know? You don’t.
• Also find out if the discount is yearly or only for the first year. What I have done in the past is break out the discount over my three years. One time I had a 20% discount. So what I did was pay full price the first year (when I had less seats), take 5% the 2nd year and then 15% the third year (when I had more seats). Again, some vendors will offer the split, some won’t but you won’t know unless you ask.
• If the salesperson says he/she cannot offer a discount ask to speak to the sales manager/VP of Sales or whoever is in charge. Nothing against the salesperson, but many cannot offer great deals. However the sales executive can.

Bottom Line

Buying a LMS requires some leg work on your part.

There are more advantages for you than in the past because there are more systems. Not surprisingly there are plenty who do the same if not better than the extremely well known vendors.

More importantly, you do not have to spend 250K or higher on a system. Nor do you have to spend 60K or higher for 500 seats.

The keys to success are right there for you.

It is what you do with them that will make the difference.

E-Learning 24/7

Sometimes the responses are innocuous, sometimes it is confusing and sometimes you wonder if the person responding themselves are providing knowledge that sounds accurate, but in reality they themselves don’t know (but afraid to admit it as so).

It reminds me of Ron Burgundy in Anchorman when discussing what San Diego actually means.

Ron: “ I’ll be honest, I don’t think anyone knows what it means anymore. Scholars maintain that the translation was lost hundreds of years ago.”
Veronica: “Doesn’t it mean Saint Diego?”
Ron: “No. No.”
Veronica: “No, that’s what it means.”
Ron:”"Really.”
Ron: “Agree to disagree.”

A little bit of this..A little bit of that

“I need the ability to group users to see x only courses and not other courses.” “I want the ability to assign documents and materials to my users.” “I need a calendar.” “I need e-mail notifications and auto-reminders.” “I need the ability to generate reports within the system.”

Th0se features are common in today’s learning management systems. As previously noted, these features fit into my 90/10 rule, which means that 90% of the features exist in all LMSs (excluding say the next gen lite systems), so it comes down to the 10% differential.

What would be some examples of these 10%?

• Track CEUs
• Video streaming
• Built in authoring tool
• Multi-tenant (extended enterprise) (multi-portals)
• E-commerce
• Social learning
• TinCan API
• Change labels, headers, text
• Widgets
• Integrate with 3rd party accounting tools
• Multilingual at no cost – as in the system comes with x number of languages which you get at no additional fee

“I need an inexpensive LMS, what do you recommend?”

With this question invariably you will receive a lot of responses from vendors touting their own product (not all of them do, mind you).

Others (group members) will provide you their own opinion (after all, that is what you are seeking), but again, take it with what it is – an opinion. Nothing wrong with that mind you, but it should be just part of your exploration.

Today there are so many inexpensive systems out there (and of course it is how you define “inexpensive”), you will have more than enough to choose from.  However, you should watch out for the gotchas.

Topyx for example, charges you extra to remove their name from your LMS.  Some other gotchas (and common mind you)

• Charging you a setup fee (extremely common)
• Charging for each additional language (1st language is always free)
• If you have an extended enterprise platform – charging you extra for each skin, and in some cases each portal (with this angle – the first portal is free, after that a fee)
• Charging you to add your own APIs
• Charging you for a higher tier of support/training
• Charging you for e-commerce
• Charging you a yearly base fee
  
• Charging you for SSO (Single Sign-On)
• If you are using e-commerce – charging you to have Verisign (if available)
• Charging you for a custom domain (thankfully the vendors who are offering domains are slowly pulling away from charging)

Pay up front and get a discount

I’ve never been a big fan of that. The discount isn’t that awesome and if you have serious issues, you have paid upfront, so leverage can become a factor. Also if you decide to leave, getting a refund is not an easy process. 

Internet Independent Directories and some other stuff

On the Internet you will find these amazing “independent” directories, but be careful before you think, “hey this is truly independent” -

• Capterra – here is how it works:
  

a. Any vendors can be posted into it free of charge

b.  If a vendor wants to participate in Capterra’s premium program they can. They can choose either pay per click or pay per lead. 

To find out who is paying premium look to those who have extensive information – typically listed higher.

• Some other organizations have directories which consist of only members. So if you are not a member you are not in the directory.
• There are a few directories that are truly independent – i.e. they do not accept funds of any such – these include Don McIntosh and Jane Hart (it should be noted that there are plenty out there – I’m just naming two)
• My LMS directory which you can find on the top of each page under “directories” – is 100% independent
• eLearning Atlas is a tad confusing. While they state that it is 100% independent and that no one pays to be ranked higher, I still do not understand how some vendors are (and it is not due to A-Z or some other typical algorithm).  They have told me that it just comes out that way, but in that case, why not place the vendor in the appropriate order (A to Z or Z to A – name, product name, etc.).  It should be noted that in return for vendors to be listed, they have to agree to provide some information to Rustici Software – who is behind the whole thing – and this information is not the stuff you see online.

Another funky thing with eLearning Atlas is the cross-checking to verify that the vendors listed are those whose systems are available to everyone (for example, LMS) and are not resellers of another vendor or a consultant shop creating custom systems. This is why you see the LMS list which has more than 600 vendors.  I don’t fault eLA for that, but I wonder if they truly verify everything or have the vendors enter the information.

Speed

Recently I saw a posting on Linkedin seeking an e-learning portal that could push out courses at a high speed.  While I rarely post responses on other groups, I did so – because I see this question a lot. 

Speed is often not an issue from the vendor side of the house. Reason being is that many vendors use what I call server farms – such as Rackspace, and as such speed and load balance is quite good. 

The speed factor is usually on the end user side – a result of various factors. Here are the most common:

• End user is accessing off-site (out of the workplace – extremely common, even in retail – some of these places have slow speeds) – as a result whichever provider they are using can be fast in one area of town and slow in another. Some internet providers have reputations of slow speed in some cities.
• What time of the day they access – Some speeds tend to drop if you access at 6-8 p.m. in some areas. This is because it is often a high traffic time – as in other people in the area hitting the net.
• Speed you purchased with your provider. While there are people in some areas who have 100Mbps speed, most people do not.  Regardless of the type of device – i.e. DSL, Cable, etc. – if you have bought 4MBps (megabytes per second), you should expect an average speed of 2-3MBps. If you paid for a higher priced MBps, then expect a small decrease in speed.  Another thing is that those speeds are not download speeds.
• Using a Wi-Fi router. If you live in a place that has a lot of walls and you are in say one room and the router is in another, expect a slower speed.  In some cases you may find the speed is awesome in x number of rooms and than in another it constantly crashes.
• Browsers – I sometimes run into Chrome going at a slower speed than Opera even though my speed is quite fast.  Some people find IE as a slug monster.
• Size of file/course – if the course is a massive video course, expect speeds to drop

Bottom Line

I know I only scratched the surface, but hopefully with this article and the should help.  There is a lot of information to digest with learning management systems and there will continue to be as these systems and the technology itself evolves.

So don’t be afraid to seek out answers, but realize that sometimes people just don’t know.

It isn’t because they haven’t figured it out, rather it is because they are learning.

Which we all are.

E-Learning 24/7