LMS Guide

Download our LMS Software Solutions Guide

Download our LMS Software Solution Guide Guide to compare LMS systems and choose the best LMS that ticks all your boxes.

LMS software solutions are transformative tools to help your organisation elevate its current training programs and better engage learners. From streamlining training company-wide to efficient tracking and scalability, LMS platforms offer a myriad of benefits.

After reading our LMS guide, if you’re still unsure which LMS best suits your organisation’s needs, complete our online quiz and our team at SMC will provide 100% independent advice on which vendor best suits the needs of your business.

If you have any queries, contact our team, who are happy to assist.

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Learning Management Software: Factors you need to consider for your business

When you compare LMS platforms, the best LMS should have the following capabilities:

Online assessment tools — Instructors can create automated assessments and assignments for learners to access and submit online. Learners should receive certificates and learning badges to demonstrate their knowledge retention. Automated test scoring and performance management systems are also catered to the users’ behaviours.

User feedback — Trainers can create discussion groups to allow learners to provide valuable feedback and to facilitate a conversation between learners, increasing course interaction.

Synchronous and asynchronous learning — Your LMS platform should allow students to complete self-paced course content or undertake synchronous learning through webinars. Built-in tutorials and lesson plans provide further course development support to learners.

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Discover more about Learning Management Software

There are various factors to consider in choosing the best LMS for your business. We’re here to talk you through the different types of LMS platforms, so you can compare LMS systems and decide on the right fit for your business:

Enterprise vs individual

Enterprise LMS is best-suited for larger companies with 500 or more employees, as it is highly scalable to grow with the company. The best enterprise LMS should be equipped with many features to fulfil the needs of your business. This includes the ability to monitor and track employee progress and inbuilt analytics to spot knowledge gaps and provide additional support where needed. An enterprise LMS is known for its content management capabilities, making it easy to modify content, whether it’s building interactive quizzes or integrating multimedia.

An individual LMS offers fewer features than an enterprise solution but focuses on the course providers’ needs, particularly well-suited to a smaller organisation or individual to produce various learning materials. With LMS providers offering different subscription plans, your business can utilise the LMS platform to suit your needs at a reasonable price.

Free vs commercial

Free, open-source LMS platforms allow you to deploy and create courses in an eLearning environment with various available features, whether it’s a built-in authoring feature, admin portal or certificate generation. The main issue with free LMS platforms is they lack the level of support some users are accustomed to, and platform updates will require your time and attention, sometimes not going smoothly.

A commercial product, however, is used for any organisation or educational institution and is far easier to deploy. It’s more intuitively designed, with many features and far better support. It’s backed by teams of analysts and developers hired to constantly improve the product, so you can trust you have the best LMS platform that utilises modern high-tech eLearning solutions.

Cloud-based vs on-premises

A cloud-based LMS is hosted on a secure off-site server and allows access to learners via several computers and mobile devices. It includes several popular features expected from learners and is far more scalable than an installed version.

On the other hand, an on-premise LMS is a licensed product built and installed to your organisation’s required specifications on the server of your choice. This can be more limiting since you will require several servers on a large scale. As a result, a cloud-based installation can be more cost-effective.

Integrated

A modern LMS utilises your organisation’s existing software and blends them to provide a seamless user experience. Integration requires connecting the LMS with other compatible products to enhance the learners’ experience. While your organisation may decide to keep your LMS entirely separate from other systems, it diminishes the integration potential.

Built-in authoring tools vs pre-written CMS

When you compare LMS, you’ll find that most modern LMS platforms contain content authoring tools or support The Experience API/xAPI (or SCORM) standard to allow developers to upload already created courses from authoring tools or LCMS/CMS.

Developers highly prefer built-in authoring tools to ease the process of course creation as well as any required revisions.

Unlike an LMS, a content management system (CMS) is a different product that houses learning materials and product documentation. Learning and development teams can determine course design ahead of rolling out the actual courses. That said, a CMS is no substitute for an LMS. Pre-written course lessons can be developed and imported into the LMS at a later date.

Boost efficiency and streamline employee training with learning management software solutions

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A learning management system (LMS) software will create, distribute and manage your company’s educational content. You can host it as a stand-alone or, more commonly, a cloud-based platform. LMS technology is a powerful tool to enhance your business’ training programs, foster employee growth, boost efficiency and streamline your training.

Investing in an LMS software for your organisation reaps several benefits:

Reduce training costs — Your company can save on physical materials like paper-based guides and choose a far more cost-effective, eco-friendly alternative.

Foster blended learning — An LMS platform means you can blend face-to-face and online learning for a more interesting learning experience.

Monitor learner’s progress and performance — Track assessment results and send reminders to learners regarding outstanding learning.

Optimise data storage — Managers can gather data in one centralised location.

Fulfil regulatory compliance — Your organisation can remain compliant in fulfilling mandatory training obligations.

Central user portal —Train more people with fewer resources to free up managers to deal with more significant issues.

Automated reminders — Training managers can more easily monitor the learning process of larger groups who will receive automated reminders for outstanding training.

Enhanced learning engagement — Online learning comprises video content, quizzes, voice-overs and more to better engage learners than an outdated PowerPoint or prevent them from having to sift through pages of policies.

Scalability — As your business grows, so does its training needs. LMS platforms are scalable, allowing your organisation to expand its training initiatives without incurring extra costs.