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In
an era of cost-cutting, executive training is invariably the first
casualty. Organisations worldwide are however increasingly realising
how Learning Management Systems (LMS) can be a critical business
initiative—a marked shift from being just a tool for managing
content to enabling performance management, thus giving value for
money in real terms. LMS vendors globally are now leveraging on
the fact that the value of e-learning can be extended across broad
organisational requirements for competitive business advantage.
 Leading
global vendors like Saba, Plateau, THINQ and Docent, have all adopted
different strategies for differentiation of their products. The
focus varies from content-centric models to developing people competencies
to enterprise wide applications. “Because of the early nature
of the LMS adoption curve, there is room for each of these strategies
and customers will naturally gravitate towards those that can solve
their problem at hand,” says Ray Maskell, president and CEO
of Massachusetts-headquartered THINQ Learning Solutions. While THINQ
has adopted the ‘best-in-class’ approach, Plateau’s
pride is its open and extensible architecture. Saba’s USP is
extending the scope of learning management to Human Capital Development
and Management (HCDM) and Docent focuses on linking learning to
critical business goals.
Business
priority
In
recent times, organisations worldwide have adopted LMS as a business
critical initiative, but this requires a measured strategy. Ray
Maskell admits that all the recent customers of THINQ have made
it a business priority first. “Every organisation must have
a cohesive learning strategy, from the CEO down to the juniors.
They must be clear about what they want and how they are going to
measure it and then be sure that their investments match the metrics
to be delivered,” he adds. For new products the LMS can identify
all the people who have to be trained, alert them of the training
requirements, track the success rate, speeding time to market and
improving quality control. “When companies merge, LMS can become
a unifying platform to give the merged companies a holistic view
and its training needs, increasing the efficiency of the merger.
Even in instances when a new regulation forces an organisation to
change its business procedures, the LMS can realign the company
to address this new requirement and track compliance, reducing potential
liability,” points out Paul Sparta, chairman and CEO of Virginia-headquartered
Plateau Systems.
Docent’s
USP is LMS solutions that link learning to critical business goals.
Its business performance management solution addresses specific
needs in key vertical industries like pharmaceuticals, financial
services, manufacturing, retail, energy, and healthcare. The application
solution includes channel and customer education, sales force effectiveness,
new business launch, regulatory compliance and corporate universities.
“LMS systems will evolve from stand-alone point products to
becoming a feature of broader business performance management suites
that include performance management, Learning Content Management
Systems (LCMS), informal knowledge exchange and Web collaboration,”
says Tobin Gilman, vice president, product marketing for Docent.
Courtney
Ostermann, manager, public relations, Saba explains how user organisations
can extend the value of e-learning investments across broad organisational
requirements by leveraging the LMS as a mission critical solution
to meet the following business goals—revenue (by reducing time
to market, increasing sales and channel productivity); market share
(acquiring more customers faster, integrating mergers and acquistions
quicker); reduction of operating and compliance costs; and risk
reduction (avoid missing financial goals, loss of competitive position
or being out of compliance).
Integrated
platform
Organisations
can extend the value of their e-learning investments only by focusing
on the entire enterprise rather than business units or divisions.
Sparta states why: “If an LMS is implemented as an enterprise
strategy, integrated with other business applications and used as
a platform to consolidate all learning on one system, its value
is greatly extended and its ROI greatly increased.”
Replacing
disparate solutions by an integrated e-learning platform has its
evident advantages. For example, using Saba Learning Enterprise
to power Procter & Gambles’s RapidLEARN initiative. P&G
has reduced costs by consolidating multiple LMSs into a single system
that has accelerated the pace of learning globally. “The company
is forecasting a five-year tax savings of over $14 million,”
informs Ostermann. The American Redcross is replacing numerous legacy
systems with the Plateau 4 LMS to manage learning for more than
12 million people worldwide. Maskell however believes that integration
is often not possible because the industry is still too new to derive
the best solution for everything.
The
Indian scenario
Awareness
in India about the benefits of LMS has changed in recent times.
“India is a market that has great potential and as the need
emerges THINQ plans to work with localised partners here,”
asserts Maskell. Deloitte Consulting is the company’s global
partner.
Headquartered
in Redwood Shores, California, Saba has a development centre in
India. Gaurav Mehra, the managing director of Saba Software India,
agrees that the market in the country has considerably changed in
the last few years, with the level of understanding and awareness
of what such systems can do for business growing substantially.
“A couple of years ago the market around e-learning and LMS
was focused around training-for-profit vendors who wanted to set
up websites to give training to general audience. We now see the
real buyers—corporate entities who wish to achieve some or
all of the benefits,” says Mehra, adding that there is a greater
understanding of the distinction between the LMS and content, and
the need to manage all forms of learning and not just e-learning.
The market has also witnessed a substantially increased willingness
to provide the necessary budgets to buy best-of-breed systems and
solutions.
Worldwide
businesses across every vertical—manufacturing, financial services,
hi-tech manufacturing, IT, energy, communications, government—have
deployed LMS to achieve competitive business advantage. Mehra points
out that similar trends are being witnessed in the Indian marketplace,
which has all indications of accelerating in the near future.
Corporates
in India are understanding the multi-pronged advantages of LMS.
It is only necessary to target the right learning to the right people
and at the right time.
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PEOPLE
