Choosing an Online Training Platform
That is a question that is becoming more complicated with the emergence of each new LMS, LCMS or course delivery system. When talking to training partners looking for a platform, the first three questions always revolve around cost, content support and license structure. Finding the right platform for your business depends on making an accurate comparison of products in these three areas. A few things you might want to consider in each area include:
Cost & License Structure
Finding your true cost for a solution requires that you consider up-front fees, per user or use fees and recurring license fees. You need to also watch out for less obvious cost items such as data or file storage or video streaming costs. There is usually a break even cost per user for buying licensed software versus a subscription based hosted solution. Licensed enterprise LMS systems dominate the market in large organizations because of the economy of scale. For organizations with a few hundred, up to a couple thousand users, the cost and support for an enterprise LMS is too high for consideration. There are basically three license models on the market today:
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Licensed software - This is the traditional CD in a box that you install on your server and configure/support yourself. Normally the cost is a single license fee or an annual fee based on the number of licensed users.
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Licensed hosted software - This is often a twist on the traditional licensed software model and includes hosting or other recurring server costs from the software provider.
- Software as a Service (SaaS) - In this product type you are often paying for the use of the software online either by course or by user.
In general, licensed products have a higher initial cost but depending on how long you use them, they can become more cost effective. SaaS products typically have a lower cost of entry but you could spend more over time. When doing the comparison, you have to factor in the cost of servers, staff and support that is not included in licensed products.
Content Support & Features
The question of total solution versus best of breed crops up when it comes to features and content support. Ultimately what the product does and the content it delivers is the reason you are buying an online training product. Getting the swiss army knife of LMS products might seem attractive but if your users can't find their way through the maze of features, the entire exercise is pointless. Buying a highly specialized product that does one thing very well could limit your capabilities. The best approach might be to use two or three products that play well together. Some important questions to consider when looking for products that are compatible include:
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Is my content and data retrievable or accessible in standard formats such as XML or CSV for example?
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Does the product include a standard Application Programming Interface (API) to communicate with 3rd party products?
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Does the product offer a single sign-on option to integrate between their product or site and your company portal or system?
- Are there extra costs involved in any of these activities? It would also be advisable to ask for reference implementations you can look at before diving in.
You might be wondering where DigitalChalk falls into these criteria. We are a SaaS product that focuses on delivering on-demand (stored or prerecorded) courses. We have invested a lot of our focus into delivering multimedia and video well. Our pricing is on a per course delivery basis with no monthly recurring costs if you want to offer training outside your organization. For internal training we also offer an annual per user option. DigitalChalk integrates easily with most web systems and offers standard API and single sign-on options at no extra charge.
If you have any more questions, please give us a call or email us.
