Learning Management Systems (LMS)
A Learning Management System or LMS is the backbone for hosting and deploying your eLearning. A LMS is a management system that lets you up upload, maintain and administer eLearning courses, once uploaded learners are then able to launch and take eLearning from a variety of devices, providing they have a network connection.
At the moment using an LMS is a common practice in the eLearning industry, however Cloud-Based Learning Management Systems is a technology that might change how your business deploys and delivers digital training to your learners.
The difference between and LMS and a Cloud-Based LMS is that a vendor provides all the services of an LMS to you and charges a pay-as-you-go type model, similarly to how cloud hosting companies provide computing servies to its users.
Below are some of the benefits a Cloud-Based LMS could bring for your business.
Cost-Effective
The main benefit of a Cloud-Based LMS is the savings in cost. If you are a small business decide to purchase your own LMS this can be a significant investment as you have to purchase the hardware and software, hire people to set up the LMS and find space for it all. With a Cloud-Based LMS it may work on a pay-as-you-go system where the customer pays only for what they use. In the case of a Cloud-Based LMS it may be each time a course is launched, or how many courses are being stored and or how many users have access to your courses. For small businesses this can be a huge benefit as it gives them a good level of control without having to pay large set up costs or hosting fees.
Secure
Keeping your eLearning secure is important when it comes to hosting your content on an LMS. You don’t want people to be able to take and use your learning content without your permission. Using a Cloud-Based LMS means you probably won’t have to worry as much about security as cloud vendors often have a high level of physical and digital security for their hardware. This most likely will also apply to a Cloud-Based LMS vendors and is something that can reduce the amount of time and money you need to spend on security.
Maintenance
Even after you have set up your LMS there are still a number of costs associated with hosting your eLearning content. Most likely your LMS will be running 24/7 as learners will be taking training at different times, this means that you need to constantly maintain your hardware, if something breaks you need to get it repaired. With a Cloud-Based LMS this is taken care of by the vendor as it is their responsibility to ensure that the equipment is up and running with very small amounts of downtime. Over a long period of time this can save your business a lot of time and money and ensures your learners receive an uninterrupted learning experience.
Pathways has created many LMS and portal solutions for happy clients. Here are some examples of recent LMSs Pathways has created for happy clients.
If you are interested, in learning more about the customized LMS and portal solutions Pathways Training and eLearning has created for happy clients, please contact us at info@pathwaysinc.ca or 1-888-961-6011 extension 122.
