LMS evaluation

Learning systems buyers are always more successful when they invest their limited time evaluating qualified vendors for their specific business situation vs. trying to qualify 700 vendors themselves.

Adobe wisely assumes that potential customers need a successful 30-day trial to seriously consider a purchase and "self-service" setup tutorials are essential to a strong start.

The "traditional LMS" is a loose term associated with learning platforms that require a mandatory, formal setup/implementation process.

The LMS Almanac defines corporate LMS market trends, types of corporate LMSs, business uses, feature and functions, hosting models, license models, service and support models, return on investment and provides real-life examples of all.

This type of approach is consistent throughout the product and provides a lot of flexibility because you can approach an administrative problem from many angles to get, set and report on training the way you need it.

If you can’t define and predictively measure how the purchase of an LMS is going to help your organization make or save money – way more money than the cost of the LMS – you aren't ready to buy a system.

 Defining your LMS requirements like a professional helps you cut through the marketing fluff of 600 potential LMS vendors and find the closest match to you and your needs.

There are new buzzwords out there since the last time you paid attention like Gamification, Social Learning, Mobile Learning, Cloud, SaaS, Tin Can, NextGen, Talent Suite and extended enterprise LMS and you are not sure what it all means and how it applies to you.

If a vendor can get in early, educate you, and get you to skip the request for proposal (RFP), then they get to shape the solution, cover their own holes and set the pricing negotiation.