Is the LMS industry’s halo waning off?

Of late, there has been much brouhaha in the L&D industry over the Learning Management System's (LMS) decline. Some feel that the system, the popularity of which hit a zenith in the 21st century, has entered its twilight years and is well on its way out. Their bone of contention is that the LMS has now become archaic and is unable to accommodate the emerging trends in teaching and learning.

A fact echoed by some recent surveys, like the one from Ambient Insight, which indicates that in 2016, global revenues for Self-paced eLearning reached $46.6 billion, down slightly from the $46.9 billion in 2015. By 2021, worldwide revenues for eLearning are expected to tumble further down to $33.4 billion. The steepest declines have decidedly been in Asia and Latin America at -11.7% and -10.8%, respectively. Historically, the LMS emerged from the need to plan, implement, track, and assess learning/ training. But over the years, their efficacy was challenged as they were channelized into a corporate setting. Fueling this further was the emergence of the multi-device world, new learning models, penetration of the Internet and mobile devices. But all's not lost.The Ambient Insight survey also points out that, despite the overall negative growth rate for Self-paced eLearning, there are still several lucrative opportunities in some verticals, globally. The aggregate global growth rate for eLearning in the healthcare industry is 7.4% and the demand for packaged online language learning content is also relatively strong in the healthcare segment at 6.6%.

From a Learning Management System market perspective, this calls for a system that is in-sync with the latest learning trends and technologies, caters to different user behaviours, offers more than just learning/training delivery and management, instead of an outmoded, utopian concept that the LMSs have perhaps become. Rehashing the idea of an LMS is the need of the hour.

UpsideLMS is one such innovative, future-ready LMS that fits all types of organisations no matter what size or industry or vertical. It can maximize the impact of your learning and training programs while assuring you speed, scalability and reliability. It boasts of several paybacks that can justify the investment of time and money in the system.

Here’s looking at some of them:

• Any time, any place, any device learning: From the time when eLearning was limited to desktops to today wherein multi-device usage has become an expectation, creating a learning experience that is holistically responsive has become more important than ever. UpsideLMS' light & responsive HTML 5 design enables learners to access learning/ training content seamlessly from any device of their choice – be it desktops, laptops, tablets and smartphones - across a wide range of browsers and platforms. To the learners it means complete learning flexibility and seamless experience - anytime, anywhere on any device.
• Faster go-to-market: UpsideLMS' SaaS architecture facilitates fast deployment and reduces TCO thereby maximising the impact of learning programs while assuring speed, innovation, and higher ROI. It's association with leading Cloud providers like Microsoft Azure and Amazon Web Services also give organisations the best-in-class security, scalability and reliability.
• Business Intelligence: Today, organisations are inundated with data that technically is redundant if they are unable to turn it into actionable insights for improving operational efficiency and business productivity. This is where MIS & Reporting tools come in handy because they help L&D departments to bring out vital information from the data, making analytical results available to corporate decision makers as well as operational workers. UpsideLMS comes with a robust Reporting engine that can help L&D professionals to translate their learning management data into meaningful information for devising better L&D strategies and improving processes.
• Learner Engagement: In the context of an LMS, User Experience (UX) plays a key role as the 'Learner Engagement' or the lack of it is hinged on its good/ bad quality. Learner Engagement helps in making learning ‘stick’, improving knowledge retention and enhancing on-the-job performance. Designed from the user's perspective, UpsideLMS is easy-to-use with simple navigation and workflows. Its user-friendly UI, enhanced interface designs for Catalog and Learning Plan, flexible Batch Management module with ability for learners to self-enroll etc., ability to stream videos, deliver learning/ training in a blended format bring in enhanced User Experience, and thereby high Learner Engagement.
• Automated workflows: Automating workflows and processes not only increases productivity and efficiency, but also eliminates the possibilities of human errors. This is precisely what LMS APIs do. They enable organisations to easily integrate the LMS with their existing (third-party) enterprise applications for data exchange, information sharing and managing various functions with ease. UpsideLMS' ever growing API and Integrations library includes APIs like Catalog API, Learning/ Training Plan API, Create/Update User in LMS Database API and Curriculum Assignment API.
• Learning beyond boundaries: Talking, observing others, trial-and-error, and simply working with people in the know are just some of the ways in which we learn, rather have been learning since forever ago. It's the emergence of social and collaboration tools in the recent past that has given rise to terms like 'Social Learning' and 'Informal Learning', which help learners to absorb information/ knowledge better, in a non-threatening and relaxing way, and by replacing boredom and procrastination with excitement and curiosity. Making this possible at an organisational level is UpsideLMS' Social Learning & Knowledge Collaboration module that provides a unique way for people to learn from one another through Communities, Discussion Forums, Friending, Live Twitter and more!
• Best of both worlds: ILT and eLearning, both are important components of a learning/ training strategy. Blended Learning refers to a combination of these to improve efficiency. In the world of eLearning, this approach is seminal because it can lead to an inimitable effect for the learners as well as the trainers. Thanks to the use of a variety of learning/ training modes, learners are more engaged. For trainers, it allows flexibility in creating personalised training experiences. UpsideLMS combines an array of learning/ training modes like eLearning, Classroom Training or Instructor Led Training, and Virtual Classroom.

In a nutshell, the LMS market is no longer the way we knew it. The same goes for 'Learning/ Training'. The need of the hour is to choose an LMS that creates a mark among the conundrum and future-proofs your L&D.