Today, very few companies can still have the luxury of having “knowledge preserving” employees around for decades. This wake up call rang like a bell about a decade ago and led to the establishment of LMS systems, which the smaller companies have adopted, too. But companies are not created equal in anything except opportunities. How to choose a learning management system, then? Here, we draw on our experience in custom eLearning development to analyze the up- and downsides of the top enterprise LMS to help make the choice easier.
What makes a good enterprise LMS?
It would be easier for everyone if there existed universal parameters to distinguish between the “good” and the “bad” LMS for everyone. However, the LMS market is filled with diverse solutions, each one having its own upsides and drawbacks, and it’s the choice of the company to decide what they do or don’t need.
Having a choice is not that bad, though, is it? In this article, we’re specifically focusing on what differences there are between large, mid-size, and small companies. In this space, there are no absolute parameters; there are factors you are free to prioritize. Here are the most important ones:
- Scalability. For the tech teams handling your future LMS, this means primarily the amount of users and their geographical locations. Larger enterprises now tend to operate globally with a large number of employees. So do some smaller ones, but global access for a limited number of users is easier to manage. LMS like Litmos and Docebo are known for handling larger lists of users, and there are countless other LMS that are specifically designed to manage multiple departments, regions, etc.
- Customization. This ultimately depends on what you mean to teach: some courses can even now be taught with 2000s’ technologies and multiple choice assessment, with rigid schedules, and so on. But the more niche your business is (and the more unique the operations across departments are), the more important it becomes to create customized modules and adjustable workflows, like what iSpring or TalentLMS mainly focus on.
- Analytics. In our previous article, we talked about how larger companies tend to experience a discrepancy between HQ and department needs that bleeds into eLearning. Smaller companies can face the challenge, too, especially if the budget is limited, so reporting that allows to juxtapose learning data with performance is important. On average, organizations that leverage learning analytics can improve training efficiency by 30%.
- Integrations. So we’ve talked about analytics, but does the data stay within the LMS, or is it supposed to flow into HR or CRM platforms? If you teach something except company policies and compliance, you’ll likely need to measure the impact outside (e.g. a sales course could impact the sales department KPIs, meaning an LMS-CRM integration is in order).
- Mobile friendliness. This is about getting the employees to actually go through the courses without groans or moans – in the format of coffee breaks, commutes, and the like instead of having to sit at the monitor overtime. Remote and hybrid work is also a factor here. As of now, 43% of employees prefer to learn on mobile devices, and major platforms (including the ones already mentioned, but also Canvas LMS and CYPHER) are focused on mobile experiences.
Making your own list of factors
Naturally, every company will have its own list of factors that influence the LMS choice. This doesn’t really boil down to any universal list, but is influenced by what we’ve listed before. The questions to ask will be something as follows:
- Do you prioritize scaling to multiple regions, or streamlining the entire process once and for all? (disclaimer: “for all” here means until the next large expansion)
- What type of content (and, consequently, format) do you and your department want to emphasize, and how standardized is it going to be? (for aspects like general compliance training, interactivity is not as important, while for applied, department-specific processes, more interactive content types may be needed)
- Do you really plan to use integrations to HR/CRM in the next 2-3 years? It’s generally a good idea to measure the KPIs after courses, but the decision is up to you.
- Do the employees have extra time on their hands? If they don’t (which is more or less the norm), you’ll have to choose the platforms that offer UX that is as intuitive as possible.
- Do you have a person at the company who could be assigned the setup and maintenance tasks? (Generally, the more advanced platforms with more customization opportunities suggest someone should manage the settings, so things need to be balanced – however, with custom-developed solutions, you can count on the developer team to mitigate this factor)
The Top 12 enterprise Learning Management Systems
Docebo
Docebo is specifically designed for large enterprises, so it has both customization, scalability, and powerful reporting. Equipped with AI capabilities, it also allows personalized learning paths. Integrations with Salesforce and Zoom are also prized. However, setting up and managing the platform requires its own fair share of expertise.
CYPHER Learning
CYPHER is a platform that’s oriented to both academia and corporations. As of now, it also has AI capacities and automation tools, which is good for reducing the burden on administrators. It’s also praised for intuitive UX and gamification features. However, the range of its integrations is not always sufficient, especially if your company deals with an extensive digital ecosystem.
iSpring
iSpring is widely known as the platform where course creation is the easiest – and without limiting the format types. This is usually a boon for smaller businesses, but large enterprises sometimes value the possibility to create huge amounts of learning content for every occasion, and fast. However, in terms of customization, iSpring is not always allowing what other platforms do.
Canvas LMS
Canvas LMS is the archetypal “academic” LMS, but due to its great mobile experience, it has a fair share of admirers in corporate circles, too. Its integrations include Google Workspace and Microsoft Teams, while customization possibilities are impressive (but also require someone to really study them and not feel overwhelmed by choice).
EducateMe
EducateMe is a well-thought, simple-to-manage LMS in the “Goldilocks” zone of mid-sized enterprises as the target users. It’s easy to roll out and allows the main features in course management. However, companies that need more sophisticated analytics or specific integrations are likely to find the platform limiting.
360Learning
The go-to platform for peer-driven course creation, 360Learning is perfect in case your company has the culture of mentorship within departments. Employees can easily contribute courses focused on particular skills, while the platform offers social learning capacities. 360Learning may not be particularly rich in features or offer certifications, but it deserves its popularity.
Talent LMS
TalentLMS is an easy-to-use and affordable platform, initially intended for mid-sized businesses, but also popular with the larger companies. Its advantages include fast course creation and Salesforce and Slack integrations. However, users from enterprises have noted the reporting capabilities and analytics are not always enough for their needs.
Absorb LMS
Absorb LMS is lauded for its intuitive interface and strong administrative controls, both for larger and smaller companies. Customization is reasonably well-developed, too. There are also integrations with the popular HR and CRM platforms. However, the feature set, while broad, is also not something that sits well when choice paralysis is a factor, so this one is for organizations where there’s at least one LMS enthusiast to take care of the setup.
Cornerstone OnDemand
One of the leading LMS platforms, Cornerstone is especially popular with large enterprises. The reason is mostly scalability, but it also offers powerful analytics and reporting, meaning it’s a good choice to make a connection with LMS and overall ROI. There are also integrations with HR systems and talent management platforms. The drawback is (as with all comprehensive solutions) complexity, meaning there needs to be an enthusiast who’s also a tech-savvy person on board to allow the company to reap the benefits fully.
SAP Litmos
SAP Litmos is highly regarded for its user-friendly interface and mobile compatibility, making it a popular choice for companies with remote workforces. It’s also the go-to platform if your company values mentorship, what with all the content authoring tools and a marketplace for off-the-shelf courses (in case you want outsider expertise, too). Integration with platforms like Salesforce and other enterprise tools is a significant plus. However, while it offers many features, some users have reported limitations in customization, particularly in comparison to other enterprise-level LMS platforms.
LearnUpon
LearnUpon is mostly about a balance between user experience and administrative efficiency. It offers an intuitive dashboard and strong reporting tools, which come in handy if the company needs to measure user engagement (e.g. it’s the first LMS in the company’s history). Interestingly, there’s also multi-language support, so this is to be considered if your company has offshore workers. In brief, it’s easy to use and implement, meaning it’s a perfect fit for the newer type of companies that are small in staff size but international.
Moodle Workplace
Moodle Workplace builds on the popular open-source Moodle platform, but with additional enterprise-focused features. It offers high flexibility, allowing businesses to customize their learning environments fully. It supports multi-tenancy, making it ideal for large, geographically dispersed organizations. Additionally, Moodle’s open-source nature allows companies to integrate third-party tools easily. However, Moodle’s extensive customization options can require significant technical expertise to implement and maintain, which can be a drawback for companies without dedicated IT support.
Conclusions
These are only twelve of the leading enterprise LMS, and there are many more that would deserve a place in the list. However, there is an even more important consideration: any company will typically have about 8 major factors to choose the perfect LMS solution. The out-of-the box providers have a list like that, too, but they will rarely commit to an industry-specific niche.
Meanwhile, industry specifics define quite a lot in the way learning management systems would operate: you can’t expect the same functionalities for a dentist association, a house insurance company, and an order fulfillment provider, for example.
Here, custom development enters the picture – not that we advocate for each and every enterprise LMS to be developed individually, though. In about 70% of cases (based on our own consulting experience) out-of-the-box solutions are fine, maybe just with some additional outsource consulting. But the remaining ones require truly unique solutions that not only balance the different general factors, but also cater to the industry specifics, and leave enough wiggle room for talented department-level specialists to share their expertise for the employee generations to come.
This is where Lionwood can come in handy, since EdTech and eLearning have always been in the focus for us as a priority industry. The course of action we suggest is:
- make a list of the major factors for LMS at your organization
- craft a list of solutions that could potentially fit in
- supply that list with pluses and minuses
- contact our experts for a consultation on what would be better for your organization at this moment (and in the mid- to long-term perspective)
