Choosing a Learning Management System is a big decision for a small business. Any small businesses owner that considers the use of a Learning Management System (LMS) should find a solution that not only meets their current needs but can grow as the business grows. Taking the time to review the marketplace options for LMS offerings is an important first step.
What is a Learning Management System?
A learning management system is a software platform that provides a business with the ability to host, deliver, and track training for employees, customers, or partners. Not only does an LMS allow you to build and deliver online courses, but many include tools to streamline the user onboarding process, enable messaging, offer supporting knowledge management features, and provide analytics to measure progress and success.
On-Premises Cloud-Based v. Learning Management Systems
As you explore the various LMS options available for your small business, you will find that there are two primary options, On-Premises and Cloud-Based.
On-Premises LMS
With an on-premises LMS, your company runs the entire learning infrastructure on its own environment. While this approach gives you a great deal of control in how you create and manage the learning experience, most small business owners find it to be cost-prohibitive as it requires you to make a significant up-front capital investment in the software and hardware. Your team must then manage all of the day-to-day aspects of the system to ensure that it is operational and available.
Cloud-Based LMS
In a cloud-based LMS offering, the platform is hosted by the vendor and your company essentially rents the use of the system. Small business owners tend to find this approach to be preferable as it eliminate the need for a large up-front capital investment and instead allows for a monthly operational expense. In addition, the upkeep, availability, and security of the system are handled by the vendor. This on-demand approach to eLearning ensures that your business only pays for the features and capacity it needs at any given time.
Important Learning Management System Features for Small Business
When evaluating a Learning Management System for your small business, some of the features to consider can include:
Powerful Course Building
The LMS you choose should provide flexibility in how you will deliver your online course content. Look for a system that is flexible enough to support all types of learning content, including video, HTML5, documents, and images.
Easy Student Onboarding
Your LMS has no value if you cannot get anyone to use it. Look for a system that offers a systematic and intuitive approach to bringing students into your online learning environment and into the courses that are relevant to them.
Corporate Branding
Any small business owner who is serious about their brand will want to work with an LMS that offer an ability to apply their own branding to the learning environment. This can include adding your own corporate logo, images, favicon, and title.
Robust Analytics
The LMS you choose should include powerful and customizable tools for reviewing and analyzing student engagement and progress. These tools should allow you to review the aggregate system information, as well as the data for each student, class, or other segmentation.
LMS Portals: Learning Management System for Small Business
LMS Portals provides a powerful eLearning platform that allows our small business clients to launch and manage their own branded private Learning Management System portals. Our system streamlines the process for building and delivering comprehensive online courses and supports the overall learning experience through messaging, knowledge management, and other robust learning tools.
Contact us today to get started for free!