A survey conducted for THINQ by Vanson Bourne suggests that buyers are failing to see a clear return on investment from potential investments in e-learning infrastructures and lack understanding of how employees can be trained to use e-learning.

The survey showed that IT managers in large companies see 'clarity as to the expected results and benefits of the programme' (44%) and 'training for all affected end users on how to use e-learning' (43%) as the major success criteria.

These concerns, which have overtaken traditional inhibitors such as inadequate IT infrastructure or poor communication with HR directors as constraining factors in the deployment of e-learning systems, indicate that more information is needed on return on e-learning investments in order for the industry to continue to grow.

These findings were especially pronounced among the large corporates (with turnover of over £250m) - the organisations most likely to benefit from the efficiencies of e-learning, according to THINQ - with 50% citing clarity as the chief concern and 53% citing training issues. The survey also showed that infrastructure and communication issues have largely been resolved with only 14% claiming their IT networks were unable to support e-learning and 25% claiming that they didn't work closely with HR executives.

Alex Raymond, UK managing director, THINQ, said, "Based on the results of the survey, it is clear the vendors have to work closer with organisations in order to demonstrate the true value of e-learning solutions and the usability of the products. Vendors must take a stronger partnership orientation and work more closely with customers to build the business case for e-learning past the early adopter community. More effort on the side of Training and IT Managers needs to be put into structuring education programmes and accepting new forms of technology to manage training effectively."