I have been tasked to find out the starting costs for a Learning Management System. It has been suggested to me that because LMS have apparently gone out of fashion that their prices have dropped. Does anyone know if this is true and/ or what the basic costs for an LMS would be to a company with 500 users?
Hannah Bovington
6 Responses
Choosing an LMS
I am sure there will be no end of responses to this question! But let me be on of the first!
Choosing an LMS has always been fraught with excitement! You are right in that costs have, in the past, hindered many organisation’s progress in selecting and implementing a suitable system, as the costs of implementation in terms of budget and time must also be taken into account. Also, the original concept of requiring three-year contracts was an issue for many. And then there’s the “chicken and egg” situation…content first, then the LMS or the other way around?!!!
Costs have clearly dropped and there are many more vendors in this market place…which is a problem in itself!
Having both implemented an LMS within a previous role and having advised others on this since, the key is to really know what you need. The feature sets of some of the LMSs out there are enormous and you could be paying for things you don’t need. You also need to assess the relative importance of each feature and try…as much as you can…to perform a like-for-like comparision between the different vendors to see where you are getting the most value for money.
The concept of charging per person in the organisation (regardless of how many people will use the LMS) is starting to wane, which is a positive step but having to forcast potential use may also be something you may have to consider when getting quotes.
Then there’s the decision whether to host it yourself or to use a third party hosting service. Again there are cost implications here.
As to precise costs, this has been an issue for as long as I can remember, as there has been a general reluctance in the industry for price transparency. That is, however, changing.
Not knowing what your precise needs are, it’s hard to make any recommendations, but for the number of users you are suggesting, I would look more closely at some of the smaller players in the industry, rather than “the big boys”, whose solutions are generally aimed at a much higher number of users.
A good starting point may be next week’s Learning Technologies trade show at Olympia in London, where there are sure to be players in this area who would be particularly attractive to your particular needs.
Learning Technologies
Just to add to Tim’s comment you can find details of the Learning Technologies show at https://www.trainingzone.co.uk/learningtechnologies/
Well recommended.
LMS
It depends on how many features you need, wether you need everything an LMS has to offer or a LMS that a content provider offers along side training materials. Contact me if you would like to discuss further I have experiance in this area.
LMS and Fashion
I get worried when I hear of fashion changes when linked to learning. The fact is learning does not go out of fashion. It is a cultural response in organisations that I venture to suggest have failed to understand the true nature of an LMS. The implementation of policy is dependent on a clear understanding of the benefits and one of the real benefits is to establish a vibrant elearning community within the organisation. This should be the first objective. It is only when people are comfortable with interacting, both with learning material and each other, when they are challenged to respond and do so in positive ways, modifying their understanding of concepts as they go,that they are learning.
Oooooh I do love a good rant
bye for now
Graham
Studymates Limited
http://www.studymates.co.uk
‘Books that provide the right answer to learning everywhere’
LMS out of fashion? Hope not!
Out of fashion? I hope not.
The need for an LMS is very much alive. You may as well have asked if brains had gone out of fashion. Without a brain we could not manage our bodies, and without an LMS, managing training can be just as difficult.
We recently developed an online LMS specifically for the Care Industry. And I’m pleased to say that the main concern is getting the learning to everyone SIMPLY. People don’t want to learn how to use an LMS, they need to get to their learning materials or schedule.
So your question about starting price isn’t that straight forward. How much functionality do you need? Do you want to own the system outright, or do you want to rent annually to keep up to date and get continued support from the vendor.
In previous jobs and my current one, I’ve completed 100’s of LMS implementations for both small and large companies, so if you want to talk about this some more, and get an idea of how much you would pay for your requirements give me a call. (01434 38 11 36)
Regards
Craig
Learning Management Systems
Hi Hannah
Some great comments below and I’m sure many people could talk about this subject all day.
I would be more than happy to talk to you in more detail if you would like to contact me.
We have developed a Learning System that incorporates authoring and management tools used by small and very large businesses alike.
I would be happy to give you costs as a starting point for further comparisons.
Rick Handy
Seminar Product Manager
01223 312227