Professional Documents
Culture Documents
The Definitive Buyers Guide to the Global Market for Learning Management Solutions
David Mallon,
Principal Analyst December 2010
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction
Is the Learning Management System Dead? We Welcome Your Feedback
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9 10
Key Questions Addressed in This Report Research Methodology Learning System Solution Providers
11 12 13
2.
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3.
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4.
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5.
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6.
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7.
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The More Things Change, the More They Stay the Same (Part 2) The LMS Continues to Have the Highest Percentage of Dissatisfied Customers of Any HR System. Reporting, Customizations, Integrations and Usability Still the Primary Challenges with These Systems. Adaptability Is Now a Critical Market Driver for Learning Systems. SaaS Takes over the Enterprise. Platform-as-a-Service and Cloud-Computing Come to the LMS.
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9.
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10. Continuous Learning Is Becoming the Driving Force for Corporate L&D, Leading Many to Wonder about the Long-Term Need for the Traditional LMS. Market Growth and Globalization Collaborative People Systems: A New World of Corporate HR Platforms
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37 39
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Adaptability
The Problem of Customization A New Model The Adaptive Platform Adaptive Maturity Finding an Adaptive Provider Next-Generation Technology
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110 111 136 138 139
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Global Support
Multilanguage Capabilities Content Distribution Networks Local Expertise
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143 144 145
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146 154 160 166 170
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179 183 184 185 186 187
Selecting an LMS
Step 1: Develop and Communicate the Business Case Step 2: Gather Requirements Step 3: Identify Best Fit Provider Solution Providers Step 4: Make Initial Contacts and Create a Request for Information (RFI) Step 5: Develop Detailed Requirements Documentation
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Step 6: Develop a Request for Proposal Document Step 7: Evaluate Providers Step 8: Check Provider References Step 9: Make Provider Recommendation(s)
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204 206 215 216 217 220 226 231 232 233 234 237 244 249
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Appendix III: Provider Capability Charts Appendix IV: Adaptability Appendix V: Virtual Classroom Providers
Convergence with Other Collaboration Technology
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316 320 327 332 337 343 351 356 362 369 375 382 389 396 403
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Oracle Plateau REDTRAY Ltd. RISC, Inc. Saba Software SAP SilkRoad technology, Inc. SkillSoft Softscape SumTotal Systems, Inc. Technomedia Training, Inc. TEDS, Inc. WBT Systems
410 422 429 436 442 451 457 463 471 472 479 487 495
Appendix VII: Other Learning Systems Providers Appendix VIII: Sample Features by Application Functional Category Appendix IX: Table of Figures
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Introduction
Is the Learning Management System Dead?
That is a question that has been asked and argued over a great deal across the learning industry in the past couple of years. Substantial business pressures, new technologies and renewed understanding of how people learn are all forcing learning functions to question what they do and how they do it. Given the central role that the learning management system (LMS) has played in the recent history of L&D, it is not surprising that it is squarely in the crosshairs of those who are ready to move on completely from traditional notions of corporate employee development. Of course, deep and longstanding dissatisfaction with these systems does nothing to help their cause. We are here to tell you that these systems are alive. That said, whether or not we can pronounce them well remains to be seen. Organizations can and are driving real business value from these systems. But what constitutes a learning management system is changing sufficiently and significantly enough to warrant an honest discussion as to whether or not we need a new name (or names) going forward. These changes also mean that potential future value may not necessarily be derived in the same ways as in the past. In this report we will provide you with the latest state of learning systems, both what the landscape looks like today and where it is going. This report contains a detailed review of the LMS and related markets, including a discussion of market trends, profiles of the top providers and our proprietary Market Maps to help buyers understand the positioning of providers. This report contains a detailed review of the learning management systems (LMS) and related markets, including a discussion of market trends, profiles of the top providers and our proprietary Market Maps to help buyers understand the positioning of providers. The goal of this report is to help corporate buyers understand the learning systems market, identify key provider solutions, and plan for a successful implementation and long-term rollout.
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This report has many resources to help you find the short list of LMS providers that would best meet your companys needs. It does not, however, provide a ranking of providers. We believe our role is to help buyers understand the strengths and weaknesses of different providers, so that they can quickly determine the short list of solutions that best meet their needs. From there, we strongly urge buyers to follow our LMS selection methodology (see section, Selecting an LMS), or hire a consulting firm to help make the final decision and with the implementation. In addition, this report does not review every provider in the market. Rather, we have used our insights and market research to focus on market leaders providers that we feel are likely to be successful over the long term. The information included in this report comes from a variety of sources, including interviews with corporate buyers, briefings with providers and quantitative research. Sources are footnoted where appropriate.
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Research Methodology
Bersin & Associates officially launched our extensive research study into this complex and rapidly evolving market in June 2010. Using our WhatWorks research methodology, we studied market drivers and trends, products, and adoption. The Bersin & Associates WhatWorks research methodology is continuous, in-depth research into the relevant learning, human resources and talent management marketplaces. For more information, please visit www.bersin.com/research/index.asp. The following paragraphs describe the approach used to gather and analyze the research data. We invited 111 providers of learning systems globally to submit a comprehensive profiling instrument, ultimately analyzing data from 68 providers. We conducted in-depth briefings with 30 leading providers of learning systems. We conducted spot customer reference checks on each of the solution providers. We conducted an extensive, quantitative survey that captured responses on learning system adoption and customer experiences from more approximately 150 learning and development (L&D), and information technology professionals during July and August, 2010. We interviewed thought leaders from consulting firms and several financial analysts to offer additional context, and to provide feedback on our findings in each phase of this research study. We developed capabilities charts to display the solution providers capabilities against a standard set of criteria and the relative strength of their solutions in the solution provider landscape. (See section, Appendix III: Solution Provider Capabilities Charts.)
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All companies of all sizes need some form of training and learning management system these systems manage the business-critical work of training employees, customers, partners and resellers. This circumstance is why most companies already have at least one, or several in the case of many larger organizations. This fact helps to explain why the market for learning management systems is one of the oldest and most mature of all of the various HR technology platforms. With that maturity comes an overall commoditization of the basic features and functions; almost all systems can handle most e-learning and training administration needs. That maturity also brings a wealth of veteran, savvy providers providers with established customer bases and effective mechanisms for understanding what their customers want. On the other hand, what the maturity does not guarantee is successful realization of those customer needs; many buyers remain generally frustrated with their systems. Nor does this maturity beget overall market stability. In fact, this market is under extreme evolutionary pressures, including the race to integrate HR processes across the organization and the race to make these systems into spaces for collaboration. In response, the market is essentially splintering into separate but overlapping spaces as follows: 1. Integrated Talent Management Suites such as Cornerstone, Oracle, Plateau, Saba, SumTotal, Taleo / Learn.com, TEDS, SAP, et al; 2. Social Learning Platforms such as Bloomfire, Expertus, Jambok, OutStart Participate, and Q2 Learning, just to name a few; and,
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3. Specialists in: a. Industry verticals with unique needs, such as healthcare (e.g., HealthStream; MC Strategies, part of Elsevier; and, NetLearning, part of Cengage) or energy (e.g., RISC); b. Audiences with unique needs, such as the extended enterprise or compliance-heavy work environments (e.g., Certpoint, EMTRAIN, Gen21, GeoLearning or Strategia ), and c. Cross-over delivery methods include mobile learning (e.g., Intuition, On Point Digital and OutStart). Of course, most of these providers (with the exception of some of the dedicated social learning platforms) support the basics of general employee development. The lines between these segments are blurry; many of the above providers work in two or all three groups.
Figure 2: DEvolution of the LMS Market?
Social Learning
Communities of Practice, Content, Knowledge-Sharing
Talent Management
Performance Management Competency Mgmt., Succession
e-Learning Platform
Make e-Learning Possible Make e-Learning Easy
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If you read our last study1, you might recognize Figure 2. We used a somewhat different version of this chart to illustrate the evolutionary paths (social learning and talent management) present in the LMS market at the time. Those paths are still there; the question today is how much longer will this conversation be about one market taking several different paths or, instead, be about several discrete markets? Of Note: Very few providers interviewed for this study were willing to say that they were focusing on traditional general-purpose corporate learning as their core target market strategy. Almost all took great pains to attach themselves to one of the three submarkets noted in the above list. We can only conclude that market forces (in other words, you the buyer) are telling them that full credit will not be given for just being a traditional LMS. Here are other key findings from this years study.
The fastest growing of these three splinter segments, integrated talent management is definitely here to stay. It is now a mainstream concept in North America and the rest of the world looks to be on the same path. As talent management adoption grows, the market for talent management suites is consuming a major portion of the LMS market, especially for larger organizations; it is driving intense and high-profile consolidation at the top end of the LMS market. Recent combinations, including Taleo and Learn. com, and SumTotal and Softscape, are both evidence of this trend. The LMS market has been somewhat frustrating for buyers, for many reasons (we will come to the most common system challenges a bit later in this section). This market is fragmented and even the largest providers in this market have less than $150 million in revenue from their platforms, including Saba, SumTotal, Plateau, Cornerstone OnDemand, Blackboard, GeoLearning, Meridian KSI and dozens more. This means that large buyers (among the likes of IBM, Accenture, HP, MetLife, McDonalds, et al) are betting their employee and customer training infrastructures on providers that are essentially small companies.
1 For more information, Learning Management Systems 2009: Facts, Practical Analysis,
Trends and Provider Profiles, Bersin & Associates / Josh Bersin, Chris Howard, Karen OLeonard and David Mallon, April 2009. Available to research members at www.bersin. com/library or for purchase at www.bersin.com/lms.
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Taleo, the largest provider of talent management software, is now in a position to help stabilize and further legitimize this market even as it helps supersede it with integrated talent management. Taleo is a public company with more than $200 million in revenues and has demonstrated its ability to grow profitably, and manage its products and customer support well. The company (which started in the recruitment automation business) now has more than 4,700 customers, each of which needs some form of LMS. This makes Taleo a potential new gorilla in the LMS market. We expect the LMS solution provider landscape to continue to experience significant consolidation over the next 12 months, driven primarily by native talent management organizations buying existing learning management leaders. Several major talent management players remain without full learning management modules, including most notably SuccessFactors and Lawson. For buying organizations, this means there is a strong possibility that the solution provider you select today will be acquired or will acquire additional companies leaving serious question marks when it comes to its ability to provide consistent levels of service and ongoing product support. Unfortunately, when a solution provider is acquired, the buying company often stops development or migrates customers to another product. This will frustrate buyers (as it has in the LMS market for years).
A N A LY S I S
Expect continued consolidation amongst LMS providers, driven primarily by providers native to other talent and HR markets (non-learning) buying existing learning management leaders.
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They make it harder and harder for existing providers to distinguish themselves. The rising number of new names, of course, further frustrates buyers who are trying to make sense of it all. Want a very extreme example of this particular trend? Look at the LMS market in China for example (for more information, see section, Provider Focus Areas: China). You might be accustomed to hearing about small Chinese companies creating counterfeit versions of expensive U.S. or European merchandise. Perhaps you have seen street vendors in major cities trying to sell knock-off watches or purses? Well, in China, there are also companies creating knock-off learning management systems, in some cases quite brazenly. The largest current native (and we should say, wholly legitimate) Chinese LMS provider is a company called Cyberwisdom; its LMS is called Wizbang. According to Cyberwisdom, the company is aware of another very small company that has reverse engineered a copy of its platform and which is now marketing the copy as Wistbang, hoping to benefit from Cyberwisdoms success and reputation. Cyberwisdom says that it has seen similar activity with other LMS products, including most of the major, well-known providers. By the way, this growth in number of new providers is especially prolific outside North America, as other parts of the world gain in e-learning maturity.
3. The LMS Market Has Not Been Immune to the Economic Downturn. Growth Slowed Considerably in 2009. Elongated Sales Cycles Are Likely Here to Stay.
In 2009, the market for North American-focused LMS providers grew only to $852 million,2 a meager 1.4 percent (see section, Market Growth, for more details). The global growth rate was only just more than three percent.
Revised since last publication. Please Note: In this case, North American-focused
implies all providers for which North America is a primary market focus, but it does not describe from where the revenue was obtained. Because many North American-focused providers also sell outside of North America, this number includes revenue that was derived from other global regions. In our past studies, we did not attempt to break out a North American-specific figure.
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Despite the continued importance of having a learning system of some kind, organizations have been hesitant to make a long-term commitment to one solution provider over another. In many instances, the sales cycle takes anywhere from 12 months to three years, a significant increase from only six months a few years ago. The market is fragmented; these systems are highly complex. Even though the SaaS has helped to push costs and implementation times down, these are still relatively major investments in time and money. Finally, L&D is rarely the only group involved in purchasing decisions. Procurement and IT are becoming a critical part of the selection process. If other talent management functions are involved, many other groups will also have a say. Each of these groups brings a very different set of priorities and expectations to the table. Organizations need to clearly define their must-haves and nice to haves early in the selection process, and create clear use cases3 involving every group before engaging any solution provider in the process.
4. This Is a Global Market. Non-North American Business Is a Major Source of Market Momentum.
Both research data and anecdotal conversations tell us that e-learning in all of its forms (e.g., self-pace, synchronous, mobile, et al) is not as well-adopted in other global regions besides North America.4 That said, we do see evidence of increased maturity. The trends toward talent management and continuously learning do not seem isolated to North America, either. Put all of these factors together and you see marked growth in both adoption of learning management systems in the rest of the world and growth in providers native to these regions (see finding, 2. Yet the Market Is Growing in Number of Providers Overall.
the system necessary to complete a specific goal or function. Use cases are often co-authored by systems analysts and end-users, and are presented as a sequence of simple steps. 4 For more information, The U.K. Corporate Training and Development Factbook 2010: Benchmarks, Trends and Analysis of the U.K. Corporate Training Market, Bersin & Associates / Karen OLeonard, February 2010. Available to research members at www.bersin.com/library or for purchase at www.bersin.com/factbook-UK.
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A N A LY S I S
In 2010, approximately two-thirds of overall LMS revenue will come from North America and onethird from elsewhere. In 2011 and beyond, expect the relative weight of the other regions to increase.
and Market Growth, for more details). In 2010, approximately twothirds of overall LMS revenue will come from North America and onethird from elsewhere. Considering that we believe the 2011 growth rate globally will be anywhere from seven percent to 11 percent, versus two percent to five percent for North America, expect the relative weight of the other regions to increase. Not surprising, providers native to other regions (such as StepStone, imc, E2Train, Redtray, Cegos Group, Cyberwisdom, OZTime and Talent2) are now stepping up to compete with major North America-based players.
5. The Market Leaders Remain the Same, with One Exception. Blackboard, the Dominant Provider in Education Is Now a Leader for Enterprise Learning, As Well.
Despite the instability in the market overall, the market leaders (established providers with more than three percent of market share) remain substantially the same as in previous studies. For large global buyers, the familiar names of Plateau, Saba and SumTotal still lead the way, along with the ERP providers, Oracle (including PeopleSoft) and SAP. Joining these names in the market leader category are equally familiar providers GeoLearning, Learn.com (now part of Taleo) and (one of the largest learning industry players in the world) SkillSoft. The lone new entrant into the market leader circle is another powerhouse company, Blackboard. Long the clear dominant provider in education, Blackboard has made steady progress in corporate learning as well, often in concert with one of the other established providers.
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Figure 3: Global Top 30 Market Leaders (3% market share or greater) Plateau Oracle PeopleSoft (Oracle) Saba SAP SumTotal Emerging Providers (less than 3% market share) Ancile Solutions (RWD) ACS Business Training Library Cegos Group Certpoint Cornerstone OnDemand ElementK Healthstream Intuition imc Learnshare Meridian KSI MC Strategies Mzinga NetDimensions NetLearning REDTRAY RISC SilkRoad Technomedia TEDS WBT Systems
Source: Bersin & Associates, 2010.
Market
Global
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Almost under the radar, providers such as Healthstream, MC Strategies (part of major medical publishing house, Elsevier) and Netlearning (part of much large learning services provider, Cengage Learning) are quickly becoming some of the larger LMS providers in North America. As vertical specialists, they offer integrated best-of-breed content, targeted professional services and a system designed with the special needs of the heathcare world in mind.
7. The More Things Change, the More They Stay the Same (Part 1) e-Learning and Better Training Administration Still Dominate Purchase Drivers for Learning Management Systems.
KEY POINT
Despite the energetic conversations surrounding integrated talent management and informal learning, the top two purchase drivers for LMS remain training administration and e-learning delivery.
Reading this study, you will encounter much about the growing importance of talent management and social learning. These trends are very much the future of this space. That said, right now, the major business drivers that actually have most buyers making a purchase remain the same as in our past studies the basics. Nearly two-thirds of buyers list the need to better administer training as a primary driver and just more than one-half state the need to delivery e-learning as a primary driver. Buyers should be diligent in both clearly defining needs in these areas and in ensuring that the provider prove its ability to meet those needs.
8. The More Things Change, the More They Stay the Same (Part 2) The LMS Continues to Have the Highest Percentage of Dissatisfied Customers of Any HR System. Reporting, Customizations, Integrations and Usability Still the Primary Challenges with These Systems.
Buyers beware. There continues to be something about the learning management space that makes it unusually challenging to satisfy
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KEY POINT
The biggest pain points for current LMS owners remain reporting, customizations and overall usability.
customers. As part of our overall talent management customer satisfaction research this year, we asked customers to rate their overall satisfaction with their current provider on a scale from 1 (completely dissatisfied) to 5 (completely satisfied). Preliminary data shows that the average score for LMS customers was 3.36 the lowest of any of the various talent processes. In fact, having an LMS as part of a larger talent management suite had the largest negative effect on overall satisfaction. In general, companies are fairly satisfied with the business value of their learning management systems. Most companies are satisfied that the LMS increases their productivity and that the solutions meet their business needs. However, the biggest pain points are the same as in past studies reporting, customizations and overall usability. We found that these same issues continue to drag down customer satisfaction as a whole.
9. Adaptability Is Now a Critical Market Driver for Learning Systems. SaaS Takes over the Enterprise. Platform-as-a-Service and Cloud-Computing Come to the LMS.
Helping to address the issues of customization and integration, the concept that we can call adaptability5 and its supporting partner, SaaS are now critical market drivers for learning and talent management systems. We expect the solution providers that offer their applications in the SaaS delivery model to capture market share at the expense of on-premise options, even for the largest of buyers. Staying power in the market over the long term will increasingly come from the level of adaptability offered. Both midmarket organizations and large enterprises will look for learning and talent management systems that are adaptive. The ERP model of buy and customize will be viable only for very large organizations that are the ERP providers target market. That model is too slow, too expensive and ultimately too restrictive for the majority of buyers. Enterprise software buyers increasingly expect and are beginning
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A N A LY S I S
Long-term staying power in the LMS market will increasingly come from the level of adaptability offered.
For more information, Adaptive Talent and Learning Platforms How Software as a
Service Is Changing the Markets for Talent and Learning Systems, Bersin & Associates / David Mallon, February 2010. Available to research members at www.bersin.com/library.
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to receive what they want without customization. They are looking for and will be able to find systems that come as sets of configurable tools and web services. So, the next time that your organization is in the market for an enterprise talent management or learning system, remember that it is possible to find systems which adapt to your needs, rather than the other way around.
10. Continuous Learning Is Becoming the Driving Force for Corporate L&D, Leading Many to Wonder about the Long-Term Need for the Traditional LMS.
KEY POINT
The need to enable continuous learning is becoming the driving force for corporate L&D overall.
Economic conditions, advances in technology and changes in workforces continue to force learning organizations to evolve into enablers and brokers of learning, not just sources of formal programs. We expect to see an ever-increasing focus on helping learners serve their own needs through on-demand learning environments, knowledge-sharing and collaboration. These modern high-impact learning organizations will seek out technology platforms that facilitate the efficient creation of high-quality content, and which also allow these departments to take their natural skills at creating, refining and managing content to the business teaching the business how to create and share knowledge with the care and consistency needed to ensure that content is findable and usable. Independent social learning platforms (e.g., Jambok, Bloomfire, Q2 Learning) are making noise, but not taking off just yet. Major skepticism still exists in the market as to whether or not this sort of activity should live in a special destination system or if it belongs in the LMS proper, or if it belongs in a more general-purpose collaboration space, such as SharePoint.
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Continuous Learning
Communities of Practice
Career Curriculum
On-Demand Learning
Training Event
JobAids
Novice
Traditional Training
Time
Source: Bersin & Associates, 2010.
Page 1
The presence of these systems, though and the amazing integrations of social tools accomplished by some of the most established learning providers (Saba Live, Plateau Talent Gateway, Expertus One, for instance) do have many learning organizations asking about the long-term relevance of the traditional LMS. How much of L&Ds programs and offerings really need to be tracked in that way or need to justify the overhead that usually comes with the LMS? These are questions that buyers ask us all the time now. Given finding 7, obviously there are still some core needs that do require basic LMS functions and these basic needs still drive LMS purchases. In the short term, this fact is not likely to change. We believe the long-term question for buyers and providers alike is, as L&D is better able to support both formal and informal learning in a continuous learning model, is the LMS still the most important technological enabler?
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As one of the most mature of HR systems segments, the LMS market has grown considerably over the last few years. In 2004 (when we published our first report on the U.S. market), we forecast North American-focused7 LMS provider revenues at $380 million. By 2008, that number had increased to $840 million8. But then in 2009, as the troubles in the global economy took hold, the North American-focused market grew only to $852 million,9 a meager 1.4 percent (see Figure 5).
$1,155
$1,046
$730
$643
2009 2010 Estimated 2011 Projected
$600
2008
LMS Global
Source: Bersin & Associates, 2010.
Unless otherwise explicitly noted, all revenue numbers in this report can be assumed
to refer only to revenue specifically derived from a learning systems platform or module. 7 North American revenue estimates include all revenue for providers for which North America is a primary market. In other words, these numbers include revenue earned outside of North America by providers covered in this study. We believe the providers covered in this study account for at least 90 percent of the total market for North American-focused providers and we believe North American-focused providers account for approximately 80 percent of the total worldwide market for learning management systems. 8 Revised since last publication. 9 Ibid.
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This year, many of the purchases that were delayed last year were actually finished. This pent-up activity helps to explain a healthy upswing in 2010 of roughly nine percent ($925 million). Not all is well just yet, however. Signs point to slower growth for North American-focused revenues in 2011 (between $944 and $972 million, two percent to five percent, respectively). Compare these numbers to the same timeframe for the overall global market and you can begin to see one of the major sources of growth in the space going forward. Between 2008 and 2009, the global market grew at a similar anemic clip, 3.2 percent. This year, global growth is likely to reach approximately nine percent, not too different from North America. Next year, however, the global market will likely sustain a more healthy growth rate of between seven percent and 11 percent overall. In Figure 6, we breakout the percentage of overall revenue attributed to each region by the providers that took part in this study. We are confident in predicting that all three other regions will grow in relative percentage, as compared with North America in the next iteration of this study.
Asia-Pacific 9%
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A N A LY S I S
In 2010, the relative share of global LMS provider revenues attributed to the midmarket segment will exceed those from large and global companies for the first time.
Of course the biggest factor in the slowdown of the market in 2009 was the global economy, but there are other factors, as well. The saturation in the market for large and global enterprises, along with the commoditization of learning management systems, are also partly to blame. This is very much a buyers market; multiple providers compete for most contracts, putting pressure on providers to keep pricing moderate. Overall, approximately 40 percent of U.S. training organizations reported that they have an LMS installed, a figure that has not changed significantly over the past three years. Rather than indicating a slowdown in LMS buying, we see this leveling off as a sign of market maturity. But the picture is very different for various segments of the market. For example, the large business segment is fairly well-saturated, with nearly 80 percent of companies now using LMSs10. Midsize companies have been and remain the hottest segment of the LMS market, with nearly every major LMS vendor rolling out solutions targeted at midmarket buyers. In fact, we believe the midmarket will, for the first time, eclipse the large and global segment in relative share of global LMS provider revenues in 2010. The small business market offers the greatest opportunity for growth, as only 31 percent of these companies are using an LMS11. Many of these businesses would like a low-cost, easy-to-use, easy-to-maintain system but, as yet, they are not willing to make the commitment. An LMS is still a nontrivial investment in money and resources.
10
Trends and Analysis of the U.S. Corporate Training Market, Bersin & Associates / Karen OLeonard, January 2010. Available to research members at www.bersin.com/library or for purchase at www.bersin.com/factbook. 11 For more information, The Corporate Learning Factbook 2010: Benchmarks, Trends and Analysis of the U.S. Corporate Training Market, Bersin & Associates / Karen OLeonard, January 2010.
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A N A LY S I S
The small and midmarket segments offer the greatest opportunity for growth in the LMS market. We estimate these segments will grow 20 percent and 15 percent, respectively, in 2011, as compared with only three percent for large and global buyers.
In 2011, we forecast continued growth in the LMS market (slow and steady in North America, faster in the rest of the world), fueled by these primary factors. First, L&D and HR organizations now clearly understand the important role that learning systems play. Deploying e-learning remains an important driver. Management of compliance training remains critical to most large businesses and often cost-justifies the LMS purchase, as the LMS is critical to managing and tracking these programs. However, our research shows that buyers are increasingly savvy and experienced, and now come with an understanding of the potential for a well-implemented LMS to enable 25 percent to 35 percent improvement in learning operational effectiveness and efficiency12.
12
the Management, Governance and Operations of Modern Corporate Training, Bersin & Associates / Josh Bersin, May 2008. Available to research members at www.bersin.com/ library or for purchase at www.bersin.com/highimpact.
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The role of the learning system is evolving. It does not simply include delivery of e-learning. Companies increasingly see the LMS as a learning platform home to the management of formal classroom, virtual classroom and directed e-learning; and, the enabler of informal knowledge-sharing, collaboration, networking and performance support. Finally, this growth is fueled by the evolution of the LMS systems themselves. Nearly every LMS provider has developed some form of integrated talent management capabilities, and most are adding informal and social learning functionality, as well. Providers understand the new market for talent management solutions and they are beginning to grasp the possibilities of the enterprise social software market. They believe that the LMS is taking on an increasingly important role as the hub or core of both integrated talent management and social learning platforms.
Expansion
The LMS market can be segmented into five main markets: Global; Large; Midmarket; Small; and, Federal Government (including military). Each of these segments has adopted LMS systems in a different way.
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$409.00 $495.00
$1,161.00
$399.00 $432.00
$1,046.00
2009 $176.00
$$200.00
$409.00 $367.00
$951.00
$400.00
$600.00
$800.00
$1,000.00
$1,200.00
$1,400.00
Total Market
Large / Global
Mid
Small
Source: Bersin & Associates, 2010.
The global market (large organizations with global operations) is the area on which most providers have tried to focus and thus is the most penetrated. Our research indicates that as many as 80 percent of U.S. global enterprise companies have some type of LMS already.13 These organizations typically have multiple LMSs, many of which are outdated and poorly used. In this market, there is a clear trend toward consolidation and the adoption of an enterprisewide global platform. These consolidation projects take years to cost-justify and complete, and we believe this consolidation will continue for years to come.14 The large market (large organizations with employees primarily located in any one country) is also growing slowly. These enterprises also have
13 For more information, The Corporate Learning Factbook 2010: Benchmarks,
Trends and Analysis of the U.S. Corporate Training Market, Bersin & Associates / Karen OLeonard, January 2010. 14 For more information, The LMS Operating Guide for Global Enterprises, Bersin & Associates / Karen OLeonard, March 2008. Available to research members at www.bersin.com/library.
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multiple LMSs, but they tend to have only one corporate training system. These companies may use a platform from SkillSoft (or one of the other midmarket players in sales or customer training), but would like to consolidate these into a single corporate system. SaaS is now the preferred delivery model for this segment. Finally, the fastest-growing segments of the LMS market are in small and midmarket15 organizations (companies or departments serving fewer than 10,000 learners in any one country). These are smaller, often fastgrowing companies with highly focused, expert training organizations. They often do not have a lot of IT support but realize tremendous value from an LMS. These organizations have many of the same complex needs as enterprise buyers, but their budgets and support staffs are far less. Small and midmarket organizations tend to favor an SaaS or hosted solution, and will often start their journeys into the LMS market through a single training program or program area (e.g., sales training, customer training, partner training, e-learning for compliance and so on). In 2010, these segments will grow at a rate of more than 22 percent per year for organizations with less than 1,000 employees and more than 18 percent per year for organizations with between one and 10,000 employees. Most LMS providers have made major changes in their business models to reach these customers effectively.
Figure 9: Projected Revenue Growth for 2011 by Market Segment
Small
20% 4%
Mid 3% 1%
0% 5%
15%
6%
Large / Global
10%
15%
20%
25%
Segment Growth
15
It should not be forgotten that there are far more, small and midmarket companies
in every country around the world than there are major global conglomerates.
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Workforce
Multigenerational Global Interconnected Mobile Transient
Workplace
Interconnected Dynamic Performance-driven New Leadership More Specialized
Candidate
Manager
Peer Partner
Mentor
Employee
Customer
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As the market for talent management software has grown, so has the definition of talent management itself. We see the talent management market rapidly shifting toward what we call people management an expansion of features and capabilities to take on all aspects of the employee lifecycle. Todays businesses (even small companies) now have access to email, instant messaging, discussion and group discussions, webcasting, virtual classrooms, mobile and IP voice communications, presence awareness (is someone online or not), activity streams (what is someone doing now), blogs16 and wikis17, knowledge databases, and a never-ending set of new communication and collaboration systems to come. All these tools, which continue to grow in quantity and type every day, need to leverage the connections and security housed in the people management system. If we are going to collaborate and interact with someone, it would be important to know who is connected to whom; who is working on what; what is the phone number, job and location of an individual; and, who is the expert or subject-matter expert (SME) on a given topic. HR software vendors see this opportunity for integration, and many are rapidly building and buying collaboration solutions for their platforms. While there is no perfect collaboration solution in the market yet, we expect to see integrated systems for collaboration, knowledge-sharing, employee directory and a wide variety of other collaborative solutions built right into the people management platform. If you have not yet considered collaboration and social networking a part of your HR and LMS systems strategy, now is the time. You will empower your workforce, improve collaboration and innovation, and help transform your organization for the future.
16
Blog is a shortened form of the phrase web log, which is a form of personal
publishing that readers can discuss. 17 Wiki is from the Hawaiian word for fast and stands for web pages that can be collectively and collaboratively edited on the fly by readers.
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But another critical trend is further shaping the market the tremendous demand and importance of social learning or informal learning. As we all well know, at most 10 percent of all corporate learning takes place in any formal training. At least 70 percent of learning occurs through interactions with peers, managers and experts and we believe 20 percent occurs through the ability to rapidly find important information online. Corporate learning systems are evolving to support the operationalizing of informal learning. Just as the traditional back-office training management systems became employee-facing systems when e-learning exploded, todays LMS platforms must rapidly adapt to meet the needs for social learning. Our research shows that some providers are moving aggressively in this direction, but there are also a large number of new companies entering the market with a sole focus on informal learning, social learning and content management systems. If you are in the process of selecting an LMS, it is very important that you identify what role you want the LMS to serve, both initially and longer term. The provider offerings and cost-justifications vary from phase to phase. Organizations which are trying to select the right learning management system should really think about deploying enterprise learning platform. While the LMS is never going to go away, our research clearly shows that, in order to be successful in the next thee to five years, you must focus on building a platform which does many things, such as: Manage formal learning and compliance training; Manage e-learning and supporting online materials; Manage customer or partner training (if needed); Manage the creation of and facilitation of social learning; Fit into your talent management systems strategy; and, Fit into your corporate HR systems and portal strategy.
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2
Approaches
Informal
Learning Architecture
Formal
On-Demand
Social
Embedded
3
4
Disciplines
Tools & Technology
Culture
Source: All rights Associates, Page Copyright 2009 Bersin & Associates. Bersin & reserved. 2010.1
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KEY POINT
Although a lagging indicator, the LMS has evolved, as the role of the learning function within organizations has also changed.
employee development and succession planning, and business process integration. Due to the profound influence and success of SaaS as a delivery model, buyers at all ends of the market are demanding fundamental adaptability, including support for deep configurability and automation of processes (not customization), flexible interfaces, and open data architectures. Of course, the maturity and depth of these features varies widely from provider to provider, forcing buyers to go through complex buying cycles. In the past, requirements for these systems were much simpler. Let us look at where LMSs started and the primary role of these systems. Fundamentally, LMSs have grown up as applications that manage the administration and management of corporate training. The most important word in LMS is management. An LMS is the single system of record for training and learning programs. As such, an LMS is heavily used by the following five potential audiences. 1. Employees Employees use the system directly or through an internal portal to browse learning opportunities, enroll in programs, take courses online, complete assessments, and view their learning plans and transcripts. 2. Training Managers and Administrators Training managers and administrators use the LMS to manage course enrollments, publicize new offerings, measure and analyze results, optimize the use of training resources (e.g., rooms, instructors and materials), and create skills and competency profiles. 3. Line Managers Line managers use the LMS to monitor the compliance of their workgroups, assign learning to employees, approve learning programs, and monitor and manage employee training programs. 4. Customers Like employees, customers and external partners may use the LMS to enroll and complete customer education and certification programs, sometimes for a fee.
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5. HR Managers With the growing need to integrate learning and performance management capabilities, HR professionals are using the LMS to examine talent profiles18 and identify skills gaps. Each of these audiences is, itself, comprised of many, varied subgroups; all bring their own sometimes widely different needs. Therefore, the LMS must first be flexible and extremely easy to use. The LMS is one of the only systems in the enterprise that is touched by nearly every employee and manager. In addition, the needs for a system generally change over time. An organization may purchase an LMS for one purpose but, ultimately, the requirements for the system may change substantially. Next, we will look at how the needs for these systems typically evolve within an organization.
Each of these roles has a different business value and corresponding cost-justification. If you are trying to cost-justify a new system or a major upgrade, it is important that you consider at which stage your company is. These are outlined in Figure 12. As Figure 12 shows, each role focuses on different business problems and solutions. If you are selecting an LMS for a corporatewide training group, you are likely to focus on using the system as an enterprise management or talent management application. If you are selecting an LMS for a business unit or customer education group, you are likely to focus on using the LMS as a training management system or e-learning platform.
18
include experience, educational background, certifications, and performance ratings and competencies) that make up the potential and readiness for a new position.
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Figure 12: Business Value of LMS at Each Stage LMS Business Value by Role Role of LMS Talent Management Cost-Justification and Business Value Automate training processes and administration; Improve efficiency of resource allocation; Cost-savings in administration; and, Better serve learners and instructors. Reduce travel and delivery costs through online training; Increase reach to more learners; and, Make it easier to build and deploy courseware. Meet corporate compliance requirements; Centrally manage e-learning content, programs and resources for greater consistency and less redundancy; Reduce overall training expenses by centralizing information and control; and, Align learning programs and spending with corporate initiatives. Identify critical skills gaps and implementing plans to fill them; Implement a consistent employee performance management process; and, Make it easier for managers and employees to align goals and implement performance planning. Facilitate connecting employees with experts in areas of need; and, Increase the scale, density, and utility of corporate social networks. Provide training to external customers and partners; Generate revenue; Increase customer success and loyalty; and, Increase adoption of products and platforms.
Source: Bersin & Associates, 2009.
e-Learning Platform
Social Learning
Customer Training
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This section of the report discusses the features of learning systems today.
19
Prescriptive learning is training that is designated for a learner based on his / her
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Security Granting different access privileges based on organizational hierarchy, domain or role. Encrypting data and personal information. HR-Related Basic features include synchronizing with the organizations HR database. Advanced features include integrating learning with performance planning, and managing skills and competencies (see section, The Advanced Features). Content Integration Implementing the industry standards of AICC20 and SCORM21, and making it possible to launch, track, bookmark and report on e-learning content. These interfaces are tested and certified against different content providers. Content Management Basic features include storing online learning content and indexing the content for search. More advanced features include managing the content and workflow among multiple groups (see section The Advanced Features). eCommerce Basic features include the ability to process payments and chargebacks. Advanced features include creating business rules for transactions, such as discounts for certain learner types or for course bundles, managing shopping carts, and checking certifications or learner status to determine eligibility. An LMS is a workflow-oriented system. It manages enrollments, registrations, completions, certificates, scores, prerequisites and course fees all functions that operate within a companys business.
20
technology-based training professionals that develops guidelines for the aviation industry in the development, delivery and evaluation of computer-based training (CBT) and related training technologies. 21 Sharable Content Object Reference Model (SCORM) is a set of specifications for course content that produces reusable learning objects.
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Analytics and Reporting Enterprise Security Search and Discovery Blended-Learning Program Management Virtual Classrooms Competency-Driven Learning and Capability Development Integrated Talent Management The Importance of the Employee Profile Informal Learning Management Mobile Learning Learning Content Lifecycle Support Adaptability Some of these functional areas need and deserve more detailed attention. In the following sections, we provide some additional guidance.
and Business-Driven Solutions for the Measurement and Evaluation of Corporate Training, Bersin & Associates / Josh Bersin, November 2006. Available to research members at www.bersin.com/library or for purchase at www.bersin.com/measurement. 23 Actionable information provides data that can be used to make specific business decisions. Actionable information is specific, consistent and credible.
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not intended to describe the details of implementing a measurement program, it is important for you to consider your measurement needs when you select your LMS. For example, if you are managing the deployment of many safety or other compliance-related programs, you will likely want to carefully measure adoption24 (e.g., who has / has not taken the courses, what percent of employees by managers have completed, which employees are behind in their completions, and what are the completion rates by geography, division and business unit). There may also be expiration dates on these programs, demanding that people retake these courses once per year.
Figure 4: Bersin & Associates High-Impact Measurement Framework Figure 13: Bersin and Associates High-ImpactLearning Measurement Framework
Satisfaction
Adoption
Did you reach the desired audience? Did they complete or comply as desired? Who did not comply and why?
Learning
Efciency
How efcient and cost effective was it? How did it compare to other similar programs or competitive programs? How well did it use the learners time?
Utility
How well do the programs solve the workforces particular problems? How well did it align to the specic job related problems and issues? Would learners recommend this program to their peers?
Alignment
How well were program business priorities dened? How well did business units buy in on the value of this program relative to other investments?
Attainment
How well did you meet specically dened client (business user or customer) objectives? These may be revenue, time to market, compliance, time to complete, etc.
Organizational Performance
General business measures or HR measures that are already captured in the organization (i.e., engagement, retention). Special surveys can be used to determine indicators using the wisdom of crowds.
24
Adoption measures indicate how well the program was targeted and marketed,
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Such a set of adoption measures establishes certain demands on your LMS. The LMS must: Capture all the completion data (all LMSs do this); Have the capability to aggregate this data by manager (most LMSs do this); Compute completion percentages; and, Generate reports that show exceptions (e.g., who has not completed, who is more than 30 days late and so on) by group and manager. Such reports should be dynamic (updated regularly), easy to distribute and easy to customize. If the LMS has a basic reporting package with a customizable SQL reporting tool (like Crystal Reports), you may find yourself frustrated with your ability to generate such exception reports. The answer may be a built-in tool for custom reporting and analytics.
KEY POINT
A reporting tool typically lets the administrator or user customize the report by selecting different filtering criteria.
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Analytics Versus Reporting There is a difference between reporting and analytics. Simply put, reporting is about viewing data, analytics is about using data to gain insights and, potentially, to draw conclusions to tell a story based on data. A reporting tool typically lets the administrator or user customize the report by selecting different filtering criteria, for example, show me all learners in the sales department who completed Introductory Sales Skills in the last 90 days. Such a customized report produces a list of results and is usually easy to generate in almost any LMS. In your evaluation and selection, you should make sure such queries are easy to create and can be saved for later reuse. An analytics tool goes much further. It takes the information in the LMS, and organizes it into dimensions25 and measures26. Dimensions are hierarchical, so they not only form filters they allow you to drill up and down, and see data dynamically. For example, in the query above (show me all the learners in the sales department who completed Introductory Sales Skills in the last 90 days), you may want to drill down and see the number of completions for each manager within the sales department. Or, you may want to drill up and see the number of learners who completed this course in the U.S., as compared with their peers in the U.K., France or Japan. A typical example of such an analysis is for a retail, sales or manufacturing organization for which there are multiple locations, each of which has multiple managers and each of which has multiple employee learners. You will want to compare completion percentages across groups, plants, divisions, geographies and business units. Such data will be highly actionable; it will tell you and the line managers where learning is not being completed. These examples are simple they use the most basic measures of adoption. More complex examples may include analytics and reporting of scores, number of student hours, dollars of training consumed, number of days spent in classroom versus e-learning, training consumption by media type (e.g., classroom, book, e-learning and external course), consumption of external fee-based education versus internal and much more. A powerful report is an analysis of the utilization of a providers
25 Descriptive information about the audience or program is often called
KEY POINT
An analytics tool goes much further by taking the information in the LMS, and organizing it into dimensions and measures.
dimensional information in an analytics system. 26 Measurement provides the information and data, which can then be used to monitor, analyze and evaluate. A measure is the extent, dimension or actual data element.
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catalogue content you may find that your costly license of an IT or leadership providers content is only being consumed by a small number of learners. Such information is highly actionable; you could negotiate a lower price or you could pass on this charge to the department consuming the training. Measurement and analytics is an area that you should explore carefully as you consider providers. In a survey of LMS customers done for this study, 39 percent stated reporting capabilities as their number one challenge with their current LMS. Analytics Technology Analytics is a reporting technology that gives users much more flexible and dynamic access to information. From an architectural point of view, analytics systems typically move data into a new data structure, as shown in Figure 16. Oftentimes, the LMS provider embeds technology from analytics tools, like Business Objects, Cognos or Microsoft Analytics Server. Many of the new LMSs now have built-in analytics solutions (Plateau, Saba, SAP and SumTotal, for example.) Many veteran LMS users have
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Activity
LMS
(Training Activity Results, Financials) Data Mart OLAP Database
Completion Financial Analysis Certications and Compliance Effectiveness / Impact Analysts, Managers Browse for Information They Need
Other Data
(Sales, Financial, HR)
built their own separate analytics systems, running on Microsoft SQL Server, or other data warehouse technologies from Business Objects (SAP) or Cognos. An analytics solution should provide the ability to drill up and drill down through the organizational hierarchy enabling any manager, director, vice president or business-unit executive to see aggregate results for direct reports, as well as to drill down into individual managers and learners to identify problems. To do this, we recommend that the solution use a multidimensional or online analytical processing (OLAP) technology for analysis. If you would like more details on learning measurement and analytics, please read our in-depth report on training measurement, High-Impact Learning Measurement.27
Enterprise Security
These applications hold a tremendous amount of data, some of it very sensitive. Add in local regulatory requirements (such as European Union
27 For more information, High-Impact Learning Measurement: Best Practices, Models,
and Business-Driven Solutions for the Measurement and Evaluation of Corporate Training, Bersin & Associates / Josh Bersin, November 2006.
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employee data privacy rules) and the systems overall support for security becomes a critical decision factor for many buyers. At the simpler end of the spectrum, basic functionality in this area incorporates the support to manage the organizations end-user authentication process and the role-based security permissions. All learning systems support basic user-name and password authentication, and most provide single sign-on integration (based on an enterprisewide security infrastructure). An integrated suite platform enables users to move between core applications and process areas without multiple logins or executing separate applications. Additionally, administrators can create user roles, and assign permissions for various levels of access to applications, processes, data, content and functional units within the system. Differentiating criteria in this area can include the following. Support for highly granular permissions Can permissions be set by user, role, function and individual data item? Support for database encryption Can the entire database be encrypted? Proven compliance with SAS 70 guidelines (please see the following section). Proven ability to support on organizations overall ISO 27001 compliance strategy (please see the following section). Support for specialist security standards, such as PCI DDS28 or FDA 21 CFR Part 1129 as appropriate.
28
The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) is a worldwide
information security standard defined by the Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council. The standard was created to help payment card industry organizations that process card payments to prevent credit card fraud through increased controls around data and its exposure to compromise. The standard applies to all organizations that hold, process or exchange cardholder information from any card branded with the logo of one of the card brands. For more information, https://www.pcisecuritystandards.org/security_ standards/pci_dss.shtml. 29 For organizations whose training audiences include anyone involved in U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA)-related testing, the FDA has established strict guidelines for how information in captured and stored. These guidelines are outline in a section of U.S. Federal law, entitled Section 21 CFR Part 11.
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SAS 70 Statement on Accounting Standards #7030 (SAS 70) is an auditing statement issued by the Auditing Standards Board of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA)31. SAS 70 provides guidance to service auditors when assessing the internal controls of a service organization and issuing a service auditors report. This auditing statement also provides guidance to auditors of financial statements of an entity that uses one or more service organizations. SAS 70 becomes very important to organizations that choose to use an SaaS provider for their learning or talent systems. SAS 70 provides auditing guidance for what to expect of the provider in terms of how tightly they secure your data. ISO 27001 Also a measuring of information security, ISO 27001 is part of the growing ISO / IEC 27000 family of standards32, and is an Information Security Management System (ISMS) standard published in October 2005 by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO)33 and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). Its full name is ISO / IEC 27001:2005 Information technology Security techniques Information security management systems. These standards govern how the organization as a whole systematically discovers and addresses the organizations information security risks, taking account of the threats, vulnerabilities and impacts.
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BEST
PRACTICE
If possible, expose the content and activities contained in the LMS to corporate search technology, such as a Google appliance, or to the search technology provided by your organizations intranet, such as Microsoft SharePoint or IBM Websphere.
example, Plateau and SumTotal have implemented solutions that search deeply within the SkillSoft catalogue for books, courses and reference materials by integrating the search into the SkillSoft metadata library. Saba (through its deep integration with Centra and Saba Live modules) provides search into archived events and supporting documentation, and search of other experts in the organization, in addition to searching the wide variety of Saba learning object types. LMS providers which offer content management systems also have search capabilities that can locate courses, chapters, graphics files, presentation files, instructors guides and so on. Going forward, advanced search capabilities inside of the LMS should be considered standard and par for the course. The distinguishing question that LMS buyers should now ask is whether or not the data contained
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in the LMS database can be exposed to external search engines, such as corporate Google appliances or Microsoft SharePoint34.
Organizations with complex regulatorycompliance training needs should look for a provider that offers the ability to design custom, business process-driven workflows related to blendedlearning program management.
Today, many training programs consist of a series of activities a combination of face-to-face, self-study, live online and support materials (called blended learning35). Most LMSs were built around the concept of courses; these individual learning activities typically have a delivery type, such as classroom, live online or self-study36. Until recently, LMSs treated these different training objects as individual events; few systems had features to bring them together into integrated programs, and align and track a whole series of programs together. We call this functionality program management. Today, many LMSs are developing systems for linking training opportunities of various types, including formal and informal, in a complete program. These systems must be able to track the order of events. For example, in some cases, the user must first complete an online module as a prerequisite, then complete an instructor-led class and, after that, take an assessment. If the learner passes the assessment with a score of 80 percent or higher, then the learner is able to move on to the next module. In addition, many systems provide interfaces for users to track progress through each step of an integrated program.
34
For more information, Enterprise Social Software 2009: Facts, Practical Analysis,
Trends and Provider Profiles, Bersin & Associates / David Mallon, September 2008. Available to research members at www.bersin.com/library or for purchase at www.bersin. com/socialsoftware. 35 For a detailed discussion of all the options for the design of blended-learning programs, The Blended Learning Book: Best Practices, Proven Methodologies, and Lessons Learned, Josh Bersin, Pfeiffer, October 2004. Available for purchase at www.bersin.com. 36 For more information, The Corporate Learning Factbook 2009: Statistics, Benchmarks and Analysis of the U.S. Corporate Training Market, Bersin & Associates / Karen OLeonard, January 2009. Available to research members at www.bersin.com/ library or for purchase at www.bersin.com/factbook.
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Many of the enterprise- and global enterprise-focused providers are also adding sophisticated tools for allowing organizations to customize workflows related to these programs to fit local business processes (see the section later in the report entitled, Adaptability, for more information on these configuration tools). Example custom workflows could include custom enrollment management and approvals processes; automatic assignment of programs or their components based on business rule and / or learning job role; or, notification schemes that target specific messages based on custom system triggers. These custom workflow tools are especially useful for large global organizations with complex regulatory compliance-driven training needs.
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Virtual Classrooms37
Learning leaders have to be concerned about keeping pace in a rapidly changing business environment, the rapid innovation in the learning industry, their departments relevance and a challenging economic environment. Their credibility and relevancy is increasingly based more on the timeliness38 (their ability to meet time-critical needs), rather than on the instructional craft of their content. Informal learning approaches are becoming the most important means by which training departments keep up, allowing for the learning needs of the organization to be met at speeds not possible through traditional learning programs alone. The virtual classroom represents an ideal technology solution for modern high-impact learning organizations. These platforms support rapid creation of high-quality content, are usable by non-specialist end-users and yet support high-interactivity, high-fidelity content if needed and provide an on-demand environment for employee collaboration.39 As well, both mature and emerging synchronous learning tools can provide benefits that foster productivity and reduce the cost of training. Virtual classrooms, video conferencing and telepresence technologies40
37 For more information, Virtual Classrooms: Facts, Practical Analysis, Trends and
Provider Comparisons, Bersin & Associates / David Mallon, November 2010. Available to research members at www.bersin.com/library. 38 To help corporate training, HR and business leaders understand the modern world of corporate learning and its evolving practices, we have developed the Bersin & Associates Modern Enterprise Learning Index a set of 10 indicators of overall readiness on the part of learning organizations for the transition to the next generation of high-impact learning. Timeliness (the degree to which the learning function can meet time-critical business needs) and content efficiency (the degree to which the learning functions content processes are efficient, and to which the department is adept at reuse or recycling) are two of the 10 indicators. For more information, High-Impact Learning Practices: The Guide to Modernizing Your Corporate Training Strategy through Social and Informal Learning, Bersin & Associates / David Mallon, July 2009. Available to research members at www.bersin.com/library or for purchase at www.bersin.com/hilp. 39 For more information, Providing Learning at the Speed of the Business: Using an Integrated Rapid e-Learning Development and Virtual Classroom Platform, Bersin & Associates / David Mallon, September 29, 2009. Available to research members at www.bersin.com/library. 40 A new, high-definition version of video-conferencing, telepresence systems typically involve purpose-built conference rooms with special life-size videoscreens lining at least one wall. The resolution on telepresence screens is even sharper than on highdefinition televisions.
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can provide benefits not found in the face-to-face classroom with a greater return on investment. That is because the virtual classroom brings the learning experience directly to employees desktops or, in some cases, their mobile devices. Some learning systems providers offer their own virtual classroom technology, notably Blackboard, Learn.com, Saba and SkillSoft, among the leading providers. That said, most providers offer pre-integration support for connecting many of the leading independent virtual classroom platforms to their systems. Characteristics of Virtual Classrooms There are three important differentiators associated with the virtual classroom (synchronous e-learning), as follows. Time (synchronous versus asynchronous) o Synchronous e-learning involves groups of people learning from the same content at the same time online. It is collaborative because learners are online at the same time.41
Learning Mode (group versus individual) o In group learning, learning activities are with peers. Group members ideally make use of each others individual knowledge. 42
Virtual ILT versus Face-to-Face ILT o Online instructor-led training is delivered live over the Internet, but is not in-person.43
The interface for nearly all virtual classrooms includes a presentation slide window, a real-time chat window, a tool for launching a website, a whiteboard, drawing tools, a video window, a survey tool, and desktopand application-sharing tools.
41
time. It is flexible because learners do not have to be online at the same time. 42 In individual learning, learning activities are by oneself. Results from individual learning ideally are transferred into the organization. 43 Traditional face-to-face instructor-led training is delivered live and in-person.
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Feature Highlights
Basic Features:
Presentation Delivery, Desktop and Application Sharing, Audio, Emoticons, Polling, Chat, Whiteboard, Remote Control
Advanced Features:
Annotation Tools, Assessments, Breakout Rooms, Video, eCommerce, Email Integration, Low Bandwidth Adjustment, Attendee Number Flexibility, Download Materials, Labs, Video-Conferencing and Streaming, Integrated Audio (VoIP and Bridge), Record / Playback, Mobile Access, Moderation Services, Attention Monitoring
Other Features:
Branding, Advanced Security, Advanced Support (Moderation Services), Templates
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Basic features are those that are standard on most platforms, whether they are primarily designed for meetings or for training. Platforms designed for training offer more advanced features for greater collaboration and interaction. There are several other maturing and emerging web environments for synchronous e-learning that learning systems buyers should also be aware of, including: Video-conferencing; Telepresence; and, Virtual and 3D worlds. (For more information on virtual classroom technologies, including these alternatives, please see our report, Virtual Classrooms44.)
The ultimate measure of any of these learning organizations is the degree to which their efforts achieve high levels of business impact. Any high-impact learning organization, then, is one that contributes to organizational performance in one of the following three ways: 1. Skills and competency development; 2. Talent development; or, 3. Development of an organizational learning culture45. The mandate of the modern learning function and the ultimate role that it plays within our Talent Management Framework is to help the larger organization develop. Deep Specialization Developing deep expertise within the company in the critical roles and skills which define the organization in the market and provide competitive advantage, along with providing programs and processes which develop specialist leaders.
44 For more information, Virtual Classrooms: Facts, Practical Analysis, Trends and
Provider Comparisons, Bersin & Associates / David Mallon, November 2010. 45 For more information, High-Impact Learning Culture: The 40 Best Practices for Creating an Empowered Enterprise, Bersin & Associates / David Mallon, June 2010. Available to research members at www.bersin.com/library.
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Learning Agility Programs and processes designed to enhance the organizations collective ability to acquire new knowledge and skills, and to stay ahead of the market. These goals are over and above its operational and tactical responsibilities46. Knowledge is growing ever more critical in organizations today. The critical leverage point that connects L&Ds capability development activities with the organizations other talent and HR processes are competencies.47
BEST
PRACTICE
To be useful, competencies must have what are called behavioral anchors specific examples of behaviors that describe and demonstrate this competency.
All HR and L&D practitioners know that competency assessment and competency-driven learning is the holy grail of employee development. Without a clear learning objective, it is impossible to develop a high-impact learning program. Also, without a clear understanding of the desired skills and existing gaps, it is impossible to build a sound learning objective. In a sense then, each and every learning program is built on an implicit or invisible understanding of the desired competencies to be developed. Competencies can be very high level and values-oriented (e.g., quality, customer service) or they can be very granular (e.g., capable of backing up an Oracle 8.1 database). According to our Three Levels of Competencies Model, there are three primary types of competencies, as follows (see Figure 21). 1. Core Principles or Values Higher-level competencies that are often defined by the CEO, and are used universally to evaluate and coach every employee in the company. 2. Leadership Competencies Those competencies that define what makes a successful leader in an organization. 3. Functional Competencies Job-specific competencies that drive proven high-performance, quality results for a given position. Competencies are typically defined by and evaluated as a set of the following.
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Your Corporate Training Strategy through Social and Informal Learning, Bersin & Associates / David Mallon, July 2009. 47 Competencies refers to a set of clearly defined skills, behaviors and knowledge that are used to evaluate, assess and develop people.
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Leadership Competencies
Applied to different Managed by the roles and functions Senior VP of HR (sparingly) based and Board of on functions Directors maturity.
Functional Competencies
Functional Competencies
Functional Competencies
Functional Competencies
Only 35% of organizations use competencies in performance management and only 25% of those organizations regularly maintain them.
Behaviors Sometimes referred to as anchors, the way in which someone expresses general character, state of mind, or a response to a situation or other people. Typically, there are a number of behavioral anchors that comprise a single competency. Experiences The involvement in or exposure to some person, thing or event that generates the development of specific knowledge or skills. In other words, the person has been there, done that. Skills The capabilities, talent and expertise that are critical for a persons successful performance in a job or role.
BEST
PRACTICE
High-performing organizations tend to evolve and improve their competency models over time.
Very few organizations develop enterprisewide competencies at each level. We find that most companies start with values-based competencies for all employees, develop functional competencies within business functions (e.g., IT, sales and service), and develop a set of leadership competencies used to assess and develop leaders. The bottom and top competencies in the pyramid are usually built directly into the companys performance management process if you are automating this process, this is your opportunity to codify and standardize these competencies.
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Competency Management Competency management is a set of practices that identify and optimize the skills and abilities required to deliver on the business strategy. Competency management provides a common language for organizations to define and manage the skills, attributes and behaviors for the job family profiles, job profiles and roles across all talent processes. A central repository manages all competencies (including competency libraries), proficiency scales, behavioral anchors, and interview and assessment questions. Competency management provides the foundational data to support strategic HR processes, including workforce planning; sourcing, recruitment and selection; career planning and development; and, performance management. Competency management is a vitally important part of any talent management strategy. Centralized competency management allows organizations to:
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KEY POINT
Many organizations, however, have been successful in an enterprisewide approach by defining only a small number of skills areas.
Improve recruiting by using a consistent job profile and create behavioral interviewing based on a known competency model; Effectively manage employee performance potential by comparing people against known competencies for each role; Implement career planning by using competencies and job profiles to identify future roles for each individual; Share talent by identifying people with key skills across the organization; Measure organizational capabilities, skills gaps and managerial bench strength48; and, Increase the effectiveness and alignment of L&D programs by building them upon the competency requirements for a given position. High-performing organizations tend to evolve and improve their competency models over time. Our recent research on best practices in this area identifies how high-performing companies in different industries focus on different competencies.49 Many companies have tried to develop enterprisewide taxonomy for skills and competencies that include job-specific roles. While this has much potential, our research finds that it is rarely successful (the U.S. Navy is undergoing a massive project in this area right now) because the competencies and behaviors must be maintained regularly. It may take several years to develop all the right competencies and these competencies must then be updated periodically through a steering committee or other governance process. Since products, markets and organizations change so frequently, job roles must be updated regularly making a skills and competency model quickly obsolete. Most companies cannot sustain the resources or focus to keep these models current. Today, we see this evolving into a more pragmatic approach that we call critical skills and competency management. The most effective
48
move into key professional and leadership positions. 49 For more information, The Role of Competencies in Driving Financial Performance, Bersin & Associates / Josh Bersin, January 2007. Available to research members at www.bersin.com or for purchase at www.bersin.com/competencies.
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KEY POINT
The LMS can play an important role in facilitating the implementation of competency-based learning.
approach is to choose one business initiative or function. Take IT, for example. Most organizations can identify a set of IT skills that are critical to success over the next two to three years. Such skills libraries can be purchased from companies, like ITG Competency Group or PeopleSciences. Once you select the skills deemed critical to your organization, you can begin an assessment process to identify which employees lack such skills and from there decide what training, hiring or other programs you need to close that gap. By focusing on one business area, you can avoid the boiling of the ocean, which occurs when trying to develop enterprisewide skills and competency models. Many organizations, however, have been successful in an enterprisewide approach by defining only a small number of skills areas. Aetna, for example, has developed an enterprisewide skills and competency model that is built on fewer than 10 major competency areas. IBM leadership programs are built on only five major competency areas. Now where does the LMS fit into this area? The LMS can play an important role in facilitating the implementation of competency-based learning. Figure 23 details some of the important features and issues to consider.
Figure 23: Features and Issues in Competency-Based Learning Features Competency Model Behavioral Anchors Association with Job Descriptions Proficiencies Issues How flexible is the model can you easily create sub-competencies and assign learning objects to each? Can you make learning a prerequisite and associate learning with different levels of proficiency within a competency? Is there an easy way to create a behavioral anchor or set of behaviors that can be viewed with the competencies? Can these be viewed by managers and employees? Does the LMS have the concept of job descriptions or roles that can be assigned competencies? Are there clear definitions of proficiencies (levels of competency) in the system that can be implemented consistently? Is it easy for a learner to search for learning programs by proficiency and to assign a set of learning programs targeting a specific proficiency? Many organizations would like to prescribe a set of learning programs to target a certain proficiency within various competencies. With all these moving parts, how easy is it for a manager or employee to prescribe these learning programs? How easy is it for the manager and employee to track progress against the desired proficiency? Many organizations license competency libraries from ITG, Lominger and other companies. Does the LMS vendor have pre-built integration available, so that these libraries can be used out of the box?
Source: Bersin & Associates, 2009.
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Figure 23: Features and Issues in Competency-Based Learning (contd) Features Integration with Performance Management and Succession Planning Issues If the competency model is part of a larger suite, is it completely shared between the modules? How easy is it for a manager to assess an employee against a competency, and then create a development plan targeting a higher proficiency or a new job level?
Assessment Tool
In some cases, the assessment of proficiency may come from an online assessment, taken at the end of a course. How powerful and easy to use is the LMS-provided assessment tool? Does the assessment tool have a wide range of question types, question-level analysis and question-skipping capabilities? Is the assessment tool available for 360 or multirater assessments for performance management? Can the employee connect with other employees who are either working on the same competencies for support or with experts for mentorship? Can employees see their current progress? Can they see a library of other job roles and sets of competencies, and then state career development goals?
Source: Bersin & Associates, 2009.
Collaboration
Self-Service
As you can see, there are many features and process-related issues to explore in competency-based learning. Most LMSs have much of this basic functionality, but you will find many different levels of maturity. If you expect to use competency-based learning in your organization, make sure that you talk to reference companies using the LMS you select.
high performance, is capable of a lateral move, may be qualified for a broader role within the same profession; and, has reached the potential to move upward in a management capacity.
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The phrase talent management was coined many years ago and initially referred to the programs we used to manage the top talent in an organization. Over the last five years, with the help of our Talent Management Framework (see Figure 24), organizations have come to realize that integrated talent management strategies should be applied to all workforces in the organization. We first published our comprehensive research on this topic in 2007 with our report, High-Impact Talent Management52, a time when most HR and L&D managers were still new to these concepts (e.g., the integration of recruiting with performance, succession, leadership development and compensation). Today, we find a wide variety of definitions for talent management even within the same company. The concepts (which were pioneered in 2005 and earlier) have been expanded to address new challenges in the workforce and workplace. The market for talent management software, tools, services and strategies has also greatly expanded. In fact, we believe that we have entered the third stage of HR in which integrated talent management is now considered one of the backbone strategies for any modern HR function53.
51
For more information, 2009 Talent Management Factbook: Best Practices and
Benchmarks in Talent Management, Bersin & Associates / Karen OLeonard, July 2009. Available to research members at www.bersin.com/library or for purchase at www.bersin.com/tmfactbook. 52 For more information, High-Impact Talent Management: Trends, Best Practices and Industry Solutions, Bersin & Associates / Josh Bersin, May 2007. Available to research members at www.bersin.com/library or for purchase at www.bersin.com/hitm. 53 As part of our ongoing research in the area of HR, the Four Stages of HR are: (a) the Personnel Department, (b) Strategic HR, (c) Integrated Talent Management, and (d) Business-Driven HR.
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Talent Acquisition
Total Rewards
Talent Management Suites One of the biggest challenges HR professionals face in supporting talent management initiatives is a lack of consolidated information to help identify talent gaps and support talent planning. Providers of talent management point solutions have tried to address this key challenge by broadening their core solutions through either acquisition or internal development efforts in order to offer an integrated suite of applications. Most organizations have, so far, implemented multiple web-based applications over time to help HR realize significant efficiency gains and compliance improvements through automation and self-service in a single process area. This leads to a tapestry of useful but un-integrated applications each of which has different data models and different user interfaces for its audiences, severely hampering cross-process communications and the ability to share critical talent data.
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The talent management suite is a new breed of software that supports multiple strategic HR applications on one integrated platform to help organizations attract, deploy, develop, motivate and manage talent more effectively. A truly integrated suite leverages the same data, process and workflow management, security model, reporting and analytics tools, and user portals to improve alignment, planning, decision-making and service delivery. In addition to supporting the strategic HR processes that organizations have in place today, the suite enables new highimpact processes (such as workforce planning, career management, succession planning and total rewards management), all of which require integrated talent information. There are more than 250 solution providers promoting their products as talent management solutions, including many of the providers covered in this study. Very few solution providers have a full suite per our definition. The applications offered will depend on a particular solution providers heritage and progress on its product roadmap. Figure 25 provides a high-level illustration of the comprehensive talent management suite architecture. In the following pages, we will walk through each layer of the architecture by describing the core functionality and the value to an organization. We will also provide examples of additional peripheral features and content often found packaged by the solution providers as part of the suite.
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Presentation Layer
Employee
Manager
Executive
Recruiter
HR Specialist
Administrator
Workforce Planning
Performance Management
Career Management
Succession Management
Learning Management
Application Layer
Process and Workflow Management Social Tools Profile Management Competency Management Organization Management Reporting and Analytics Security
Data Layer
Consolidated Internal Database
As represented by our Talent Management Framework (see Figure 24), strategic HR applications are enablers of a talent management strategy not a strategy in themselves. As powerful as technology can be, organizations should be careful not to let the system define their strategies. Integrating Learning with Talent Management In our research, companies rated integration of training with performance and competency management initiatives as one of their top priorities, with 36 percent of all organizations citing this as a focal area54.
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Trends and Analysis of the U.S. Training Market, Bersin & Associates / Karen OLeonard, January 2010.
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This has grown in importance over the last three years, as L&D moves away from a purely performance-driven approach to more of a talentdriven approach to learning55. This requires close coordination between learning and talent initiatives for example, by shaping learning programs around competencies for key roles and by linking learning opportunities with employee development goals.
Figure 26: Performance-Driven Learning Versus Talent-Driven Learning Performance-Driven Learning Drivers Business performance issues in operational units and functions. Develop individual capabilities and fill performance gaps. Sales training, customer service training, field service certification. Aligned by job within function. Months or even shorter. Functional. Product launches, new service offerings, geographic expansion. Performance consulting, program design, manager engagement. Solving business problems (e.g., sales, service, quality, turnaround).
Talent-Driven Learning Talent and leadership gaps, critical skills shortages, engagement and culture. Develop organizational capabilities driven by competencies, not performance. Multitier leadership development, new hire onboarding programs. Aligned to all job roles in a job function. Multiple quarters to years. Enterprisewide or divisionwide. Performance management, recruiting, succession planning. Resource allocation, program design, job alignment, manager adoption. Filling and solving talent gaps (e.g., shortages, recruiting goals).
Source: Bersin & Associates, 2008.
Goals
Examples
Integrated with
Challenges
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the Management, Governance and Operations of Modern Corporate Training, Bersin & Associates / Josh Bersin, May 2008.
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BEST
PRACTICE
While nearly every major LMS vendor now offers an integrated talent management suite, consider talent management features an important but separate set of requirements for your LMS.
As we have discussed here, ultimately, companies would like to integrate all of their talent-related activities, including learning, performance and competency management as well as recruiting, leadership development, career development and succession planning. This often requires reorganizing the governance structure and redesigning internal processes. It also requires integrating systems or purchasing new systems with integrated capabilities. While nearly every major LMS vendor now offers an integrated talent management suite, consider talent management features an important but separate set of requirements for your LMS. Since most companies would like to implement an integrated platform, the challenges of implementing an LMS are large in themselves. We recommend that organizations try to separate the requirements gathering and implementation process of the two systems. Both require extensive analysis of business requirements and the adoption of standard processes for which you need buy-in from line managers. Performance management, in particular, necessitates a requirements gathering, change management and training process that must reach out to all line managers in all organizations. We recommend that, although you may consider the performance management systems during your LMS selection process, you manage, budget and staff the performance management system rollout separately. It takes extensive focus and executive attention and draws upon different skills and people than does the LMS rollout.
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KEY POINT
The integration of performance and learning management enables a set of more advanced applications, such as succession planning, leadership development, and the rating and ranking of employees for compensation decisions.
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Profile Management In combination with competency management, profile management serves as the data foundation for all talent management processes. The profile is all the data about an employee. Comprehensive profile management supports the capture and management of information for employees, job profiles and job families. Organization and job profiles define the required skills, competencies, certifications, work experiences and other attributes required for success. As you can see in Figure 29, one common job profile is used to develop requisitions for sourcing, populate performance plans, define career paths, create development plans and plan for compensation. Employee profiles provide a consolidated view of all talent-related employee data that is generated by system processes, added by administrators, managers or employees, and by external systems. Most profiles available in talent management systems today probably include data for performance objectives, performance history, training, certifications, competencies, education, awards, succession plans, career plans, mobility and languages. They also usually support organizationdefined fields, as well as the ability to expose or suppress certain fields, depending on operational, legal and cultural practices. In slightly more sophisticated talent management suites, contextual segments of the talent profile are presented within talent processes (such as talent planning, succession management and pay for performance) to inform and influence the users decision-making and planning efforts. The information helps managers answer questions, including the following. Who has the necessary background to support a project or company initiative? Who can fill this internal vacancy today? Which person is a better fit for this job? Does this person consistently meet or exceed performance plans? Can this person work in another country? Does this persons career interest align with a specific need we have for him / her today? In addition, solution providers that have embraced social tools in their applications provide opportunities for employees to connect with
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each other (similar to Facebook and LinkedIn) for expertise finding, networking, career exploration and knowledge-sharing. Employee profiles are compared with job profiles to conduct a fit / gap analysis. For example, employees can compare their profiles against open jobs and apply for an open position, or identify development needs to close gaps. Managers can search for internal candidates by using the job profile to find employees who are qualified, based on their profiles. (See Figure 29.)
Employee Prole
Jane Doe, Sales Representative Name Location Manager
Job Prole
Sales Lead
Fit Analysis
Skills and competencies Pro ciency levels Languages spoken Certi cations met Experience Gaps identi ed
Compare
Location Responsibilities Required competencies and pro ciency levels Knowledge and skills required for job Experience required for job Education required for job Relationship to other jobs Common career path
Skills and competencies acquired, and pro ciency levels Performance ratings Salary and merit pay history Certi cations, designations and transcripts Career interests and goals Work history (prior experience) Location preferences Languages spoken Physical limitations
Apply for the lob Express career interest Create a development plan
Sales Director
Sales Operations
Sales Lead
Sales Representative
Sales Representative
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Todays corporate learning organization is no longer just the source of training for the organization. Forward-thinking learning organizations understand that most learning within todays workplace happens in subtle and informal ways. The content, technology and formal design processes currently in use do not always fit into the knowledge pathways that take place within the organization itself. So, in response, these modern learning organizations are rethinking their perspectives, processes and approaches to best support the natural flow of organizational knowledge. In response to these changes, corporate training functions are beginning to rethink their mandate and mission and they are looking for technology solutions that support a holistic approach to learning. Organizations are waking up to the fact that most learning is not formal and does not happen via formal channels like the classroom. In short, organizations are beginning to formalize informal learning. Buyers of learning systems are looking for the best technology platform through which to support employee social networking sometimes choosing purpose-built social software platforms, but often realizing that existing enterprise applications (such as the LMS, talent management suite, CRM or corporate intranet) now offer the needed functionalities. To remain relevant, todays LMS platforms must, therefore, adapt to support management of informal learning in all of its forms, including social and on-demand learning. Our research shows that some providers are moving aggressively in this direction, but there are also a large number of new companies entering the market with a sole focus on informal learning, social learning and content management systems.
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ModernizingYour Corporate Training Strategy through Social and Informal Learning, Bersin & Associates / David Mallon, July 2009.
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Portal
Personalization data, meta, search tools, LCMS
Authoring Standards
Community Contributors
Source: Bersin & Associates, 2009.
2
Approaches
Informal
Learning Architecture
Formal
On-Demand
Social
Embedded
3
4
Disciplines
Tools & Technology
Culture
Copyright 2009 Bersin & Associates. All rights reserved.
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Formal Versus Informal Learning As illustrated in our Enterprise Learning Framework (Figure 11, repeated in this section), in todays corporate training world, there are two broad categories of approaches formal and informal. What precisely is the difference between formal and informal training? In a learning context, formal commonly means that the program elements are designed, have a formal structure and have specific, well-defined learning objectives. From the standpoint of our research, formal training programs are those that have traditional modules and a formal structure in essence, a beginning and an end. Most of the traditional learning managed by a learning management system would be considered formal. In a learning context, informal has typically referred to learning that was accidental, ad-hoc, unplanned and which happened without the disciplines of instructional design. It has typically referred to the learning activities that training professionals did not necessarily pay attention to, but knew were occurring.
For more information, The Blended Learning Book: Best Practices, Proven
Methodologies, and Lessons Learned, Josh Bersin, Pfeiffer, October 2004. 58 Podcasts are simply the publishing of audio or video files online, and then using syndication technologies, such as RSS (really simple syndication), to make them available to interested audiences by subscription access. Although the term podcasting was originally derived from Apples iPod, you can listen to or view a podcast from other portable electronic devices (or from your PC). Through syndication technologies, users can download new podcasts automatically and access the content offline, whenever and wherever it is convenient for them. This subscription feed concept is the broadCASTing part of the word podCAST, and is what distinguishes a podcast from a simple download or real-time streaming. Traditionally, people think of podcasting in terms of audio files but, now that iPods and other devices support additional media types, video podcasting is becoming more popular.
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forms of content that the learner uses on his / her own when needed or as directed. In this approach, the learner learns through his / her own interaction with the content and he / she essentially assembles his / her learning with help from the training department. Social Learning (also called, collaborative learning) Learning is inherently a social activity. In the corporate training world, many learning experiences are social, simply because the person with the expertise is on the job (OTJ). When you run into a problem on the job and need help, you find someone who is an expert you would rarely, if ever, go back to the training department for assistance. In todays new technology environment, social learning can take place in new, low-cost, highly interactive ways. We can connect people very quickly and in very granular groups by using social networking, communities of practice59 (CoPs), quality councils, wikis, blogs and instant messenger. Using these tools, we can now create highly specific social learning groups that can leverage the expertise of many people to solve the problems of the few. In this approach, people learn from peers and experts, not from formal trainers. One of the important dimensions of social learning is learning culture60. Organizations today have realized that just creating groups does not create knowledge-sharing and learning. Many new cultural concepts must be considered, such as how to incent people to share knowledge and expertise rather than hoard it. Embedded Learning Finally, the third type of informal learning approach is embedded learning. Here we consider processes, content and systems that help an employee solve problems, and learn while doing his / her job, reflecting on the successes and failures encountered every day. There are many forms of embedded learning some obvious and some not so obvious. Help systems in software, job-aids, checklists, reference cards and online performance support are all forms of embedded learning. For this approach, it
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share an interest or concern about a common topic, and who deepen their knowledge in this area through ongoing interaction and relationship-building within their group. While communities often come into being spontaneously, they nonetheless require nurturing if they are to become valuable to the members and remain viable over the course of their evolution. 60 For more information, High-Impact Learning Culture: The 40 Best Practices for Creating an Empowered Enterprise, Bersin & Associates / David Mallon, June 2010.
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is important for the program designer to consider what parts of an employees job or problem can be solved as needed. Many retail, customer service and manufacturing learning programs justify large amounts of embedded learning. More subtle aspects of embedded learning include elements like a stretch goal or an after-action review. These managerial activities help people learn new approaches, as well as learn from their mistakes. They tend to be monitored by talent management processes, but fall directly into the category of embedded-learning activities. Finally, we must consider the role of customer-intelligence activities. Customer interviews, councils and feedback surveys are also a form of embedded learning. While these types of programs do not directly fall into the ownership of the training department, they have a big influence with on-the-job learning and should be considered in some programs.
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As organizations move to integrate informal learning with formal learning programs, they look for ways to offer learning content in the context of an employees job. Formal learning begins to coexist with a wide variety of programs and mechanisms that embed learning where the learner actually performs and offer it just in time.
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2009 2008
2007
2006
companies are using EPSS or KMS solutions, a figure that has remained fairly steady over the past few years61. LMS buyers interested in the intersection of EPSS and LMS tools are looking for such things as the tracking of EPSS content consumed or completed to be captured by the LMS, or the ability to assign EPSSguided content through the LMS.
Figure 33: Threaded Discussion Group Embedded in a Formal Learning Program62
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Trends and Analysis of the U.S. Corporate Training Market, Bersin & Associates / Karen OLeonard, January 2010. 62 For more information, Educating Customers Online Westinghouse Streamlines Nuclear Power Plant Training with Blended-Learning Approach, Bersin & Associates / David Mallon, February 2010. Available to research members at www.bersin.com/library.
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Enabling Social Learning and Collaboration Our research shows that organizational support for social learning usually takes one of these forms: Blending63 Social Activities into Formal Programs A simple, straightforward approach to leveraging social learning is to include social activities (e.g., discussions in blogs or discussion groups, collaborative writing in blogs) as part of the learning flow of a current formal program. Companies which have taken this approach tell us that including such activities helps to shorten the time to mastery for learners. Expertise Directories and Network Building Connecting employees to employees, some companies are now explicitly helping employees build networks, including such a process in onboarding programs, for instance. Expertise directories are an extension of the corporate contact directories already familiar to most organizations. At the heart of these directories is still a searchable database of employees and their contact information. What makes them different is the inclusion of additional, searchable data about the employee including, for instance, areas of personal expertise, competencies mastered, personal interests, past experience, current or past projects, hobbies, association memberships, accreditations, community-ofpractice activities, and job functions past and present. The purpose is to facilitate employees finding other employees with a given expertise or interest. Coaching, Mentoring, Apprenticeship and Job Rotation Programs Formalizing on-the-job experience, coaching, job rotations, job shadowing64, or long-term mentoring and apprenticeship programs build lasting connections between employees, bonds that help tie together the organization as a whole. These immersion programs give participants a more holistic understanding of the company, and of its various operations and functions.
63
Issues, Solutions, and Platforms for the Management of Blended Learning Programs, Bersin & Associates / Josh Bersin, January 2006. Available to research members at www.bersin.com/library. 64 Job shadowing is an activity in which an individual spends time with a professional on the job, observing actual workplace tasks in order to explore best -practice performance in the work environment.
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Coaching65 is a familiar and very helpful social learning use case, because it provides a ready example of how many organizations (perhaps unbeknownst to them) are already formalizing informal learning. Coaching is one of the simplest, most common and most effective forms of social learning; most of the coaching that happens in organizations is very informal. However, when a company institutes a coaching program (providing explicit alignment to business needs, structured opportunities for coaching to happen, and defined templates to follow), they are formalizing it. Communities of Practice A group of people who share an interest or concern about a common topic, and who deepen their knowledge in this area through ongoing interaction and relationshipbuilding within their group. Communities of practice help to cultivate a strong organizational learning culture, encourage the flow of knowledge and strengthen social connections between employees. Social Learning Environments Learning environments represent the next generation of blended learning. Rather than deploying a blend of learning opportunities in a single, structured curriculum to meet a single learning need (i.e., one intact learning program), organizations instead offer an open-ended environment of approaches, deliberately staged to be available to the learner when needed and capable of addressing many different learning needs. As the use of the word environment implies, the learner is moving through a space. The design of learning environments brings an almost architectural perspective to instructional design. Thought must be given to placement relative to anticipated need, instead of the more traditional instruction scaffolding decisions, such as what to blend and prescribed order of completion. Such decisions (normally the purview of an instructional designer) are now decided by the learner.
KEY POINT
CoPs help to cultivate a strong organizational learning culture, encourage the flow of knowledge and strengthen social connections between employees.
65
Improve Sales Performance, Bersin & Associates / David Mallon, March 2009. Available to research members at www.bersin.com/library.
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BEST
PRACTICE
A structured coaching program is a highly effective example of formalized informal learning; it has the added benefit of directly engaging front-line managers.
Functionally, todays learning environments are anchored by a website (often a portal) that aggregates and organizes content and contact opportunities. These environments typically support both formal and informal approaches, seamlessly blended. Increasingly, they include explicit social networking functionality the means by which to connect and build networks with other employee learners in order to find mentorship or share best practices.
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For more information, Enterprise Social Software 2009: Facts, Practical Analysis,
Trends and Provider Profiles, Bersin & Associates / David Mallon, September 2008. 67 Web 2.0 refers to a perceived second generation of web-based communities and hosted services (such as social-networking sites, wikis, folksonomies, weblogs / blogs, social bookmarking, podcasts, RSS feeds, social software, web application programming interfaces / APIs, and online web services), which aim to facilitate creativity, collaboration and sharing between users. Although the term suggests a new version of the World Wide Web, it does not refer to an update to any technical specifications, but to changes in the ways software developers and end-users use the web.
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Figure 36: The Four Cs of Social Software Figure 1: The Four Cs of Social Software
Conversations
Connections
Content
Collaboration
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Figure 37: Social Software Features and the Four Cs Conversations Blogs Forums Micro-blogs / Life-Streaming Chat / IM VOIP Content Content-Sharing Content Management Tagging / Rating Social-Bookmarking Syndication Connections User Profiles Social Graphs Friends / Contacts People-Matching Wikis Workspaces Project / Process Support Innovation / Idea Generation Calendars and Events
Source: Bersin & Associates, 2009.
Collaboration
The LMS providers will continue to adapt to meet the needs of their clients, including adding and refining social software components to their product lines. LMS providers are likely to feel some pressure from the single-purpose social platform providers and from other enterprise application providers (particularly from intranet technologies, such as Microsoft SharePoint), especially related to clients with very simple training needs. Some organizations may decide that an enterprise social networking platform without formal LMS functionality is sufficient. That said, the continuing needs that most organizations have for capturing and reporting of compliance training, as well as the increasing investment in talent management, should ensure that the need for an LMS will only increase for the foreseeable future. Building Learning Environments: The Evolution of the Learning Portal As organizations look for a more dynamic, user-centric experience for learning, a common evolutionary path is to create a learning portal a friendly face in front of the LMS in which all learning assets and activities are aggregated. Training programs are typically deployed through a user portal, consisting of a single website that gives the employee or customer a wide range of functions and information (see Figure 38). The LMS often is the portal itself or, in enterprise implementations, the LMS sits behind an employee or customer portal.
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KEY POINT
Portals give users a single point of access to the LMS and many other applications; they give the company one place to publish new information quickly.
Portals offer a few very big advantages they give users a single point of access to the LMS and many other applications; they give the company one place to publish new information quickly. For example, an employee portal would likely include learning management, performance management, performance support and general employee information. Portals give people the specific information they need within the context of their jobs. Rather than leave the work environment to learn a new process, procedure or technique, people can retrieve useful information from wherever they are working. While formal training programs are still required to develop basic skills, the portal environment lets the learner decide when a problem warrants formal education, information or a small module of instructional content.
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Manager
Tech Support
What I need to know right now. What skills and competencies I need. Who I can ask for help. Its all about me. My job. My role. My assignment.
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The Learning Management System Fading into the Background Regardless of whether you are standing up68 a learning portal or social learning environment, a key resource to which the learning portal provides access is the companys learning management system. A critical question for organizations looking to implement a learning portal will be the exact relationship of the LMS to the larger environment and the users direct experience of that relationship. In our research, we have found the following three models for this relationship. 1. Destination In this model, the LMS is the portal, and is a separate and specific destination to which learners go in order to learn, collaborate and gain access to knowledge resources.
68 Standing up refers to an established protocol for initiating or building a learning
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2. Embedded In this model, the portal is separate from the LMS. The learning portal is often part of the companys primary portal, or perhaps its ERP or CRM system; this means that it is more likely to be embedded in the day-to-day workflow of the employee. In this model, the learner may never actually enter the LMS; instead, the LMSs data and resources are brought to the learner in the portal. 3. Mixed In this model, the question is somewhat muddled. A learning portal exists separately from the companys portal or systems, which is separate from the LMS. Learners, however, travel between all environments to access content and resources wherever these resources are housed and managed. Many LMS providers offer ready support for the destination model, offering portal technology as the LMS itself; this means that the LMS environment is the aggregator for all of the resources offered by the portal. In the embedded model, the LMS now becomes a web-service it still performs all of the functions of an LMS, but it is connected via web-service protocols to the portal, as well as to other HR and content management systems. These web-service interfaces (also called serviceoriented architectures69) are now common in other enterprise applications, making it easier for the LMS to be anywhere, even on a vendors hosted servers. We will cover this topic in greater detail in the section entitled, Adaptability. Only a few (Plateau, Saba, SAP and SumTotal) have developed open portal strategies that could support embedded implementation. SAP sells a separate portal product that is an open, database-driven system. This can be used to create employee or customer portals in front of the LMS, and the LMS then becomes the learning center within the portal. (See Appendix III: Solution Provider Capability Charts for detailed comparisons of providers and their support of such technologies.)
A N A LY S I S
In todays content-rich environment, training organizations must strive to provide highly relevant, well-aligned solutions that enable employees to gain just the information they need.
69
and integration where functionality is grouped around business processes and packaged as interoperable services. SOA also describes IT infrastructure, which allows different applications to exchange data with one another as they participate in business processes. The aim is a loose coupling of services with operating systems, programming languages and other technologies, which underlie applications.
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Which of these models is best? Each organization will need to answer that question based on their own individual needs. However, we expect the continual evolution toward social and collaborative learning, along with the desire for on-demand, targeted learning solutions, will cause more and more organizations to seek the fully embedded portal path. Regardless, all organizations should consider how to make learning content and resources more accessible to the learner as close to where work happens as possible70.
Mobile Learning71
As the data from our Corporate Learning Factbook shows (see Figure 41), growth in mobile or m-learning has been positive, but somewhat slower than anticipated.72 For the most part, m-learning has remained in the early-adopter stage, particularly in the corporate world. There are success cases to share, but the results so far have been incremental in nature, not transformational.
17%
14%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
70
information, High-Impact Learning Practices: The Guide to Modernizing Your Corporate Training Strategy through Social and Informal Learning, Bersin & Associates / David Mallon, July 2009. 71 This information is based on our current research on the topic of mobile learning, the report for which is due to be published Q12011. 72 For more information, The Corporate Learning Factbook 2010: Benchmarks, Trends and Analysis of the U.S. Corporate Training Market, Bersin & Associates / Karen OLeonard, January 2010.
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What distinguishes m-learning from other forms of e-learning? The primary factor for identifying m-learning today is portability and access. Portability The learning is delivered via a device that is truly mobile, without wires, which can move with the learner with trivial effort. Access The learning is delivered by a device that has the potential for frequent, if not always-on and ubiquitous, access to new data and new content. The ability to move and yet stay in frequent contact with content sources are the key differentiators. We, therefore, include laptops, but not desktops, game consoles or any other stationary, Internet-connected equipment. In general, with the recent explosion of mobile devices and the blurring of the line as to what constitutes a computer, we think it is best to avoid placing too much emphasis on the technology. The interesting part in m-learning is the learning.
Figure 42: Possible m-Learning Platforms Today and Tomorrow Mobile Phones Smart Phones Email Pagers e-Book Readers Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) Laptop Computers Netbook Computers Tablet Computers Handheld Video Game Players MP3 and other Media Players Personal GPS Devices (handheld and onboard the car) Near Future: Wearable Computing Devices (e.g., watches, glasses, et al)
Source: Bersin & Associates, 2010.
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Types of m-Learning Given the form factors one can expect with a mobile device and the likelihood that a mobile learner will be in an environment in which his / her attention must be at least somewhat divided, m-learnings best initial use as a means of content delivery is for short pieces of easily consumable knowledge. Performance support and on-demand learning, therefore, are a natural fit. Figure 43 catalogues many of the current and evolving uses for m-learning.
Figure 43: Types of m-Learning Approaches: Formal and On-Demand Approaches Communications News and Alerts Event Information Reminders Possible Uses Late Breaking Product Information for Field Sales or Support Internal Marketing for Products, Major Company Initiatives or Training Key Message Reinforcement in Support of Major Change
Formal
Skills Training for Remote Audiences Team Building for Virtual Teams On-the-Job Knowledge Checks Field Certification and / or Compliance Enterprise Talent Reviews Post Formal Training Evaluation (Level 2 or 3)74 Live Event Audience Response, Feedback and / or Evaluation
On-Demand
Informal
73
For more information, Virtual Classrooms: Facts, Practical Analysis, Trends and
Provider Comparisons, Bersin & Associates / David Mallon, November 2010. 74 For more information, High-Impact Learning Measurement: Best Practices, Models, and Business-Driven Solutions for the Measurement and Evaluation of Corporate Training, Bersin & Associates / Josh Bersin, November 2006.
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Figure 43: Types of m-Learning Approaches: Formal and On-Demand (contd) Approaches Course-lets or Nuggets Practice Materials Searchable Reference Job-Aids Checklists Podcasts Books / Articles Media Libraries Audio Video Possible Uses Self-Development Test Prep75 On-the-Job Performance Support Field Sales Enablement Product / Process Adherence Pre-Formal Training Preparation Post-Formal Training Additional Resources Help Desk Call Avoidance
Following Leaders / Experts Direct Connection to Experts / Coaches On-the-Job Content Creation / Capture Virtual Meetings Access to Virtual Team / Project Spaces Social Media76 Decision Trees, Decision Support Augmented Reality Location-Based and / or ContextSensitive Content Live Recording / Sharing of Events Feedback Capture
Coaching and Mentoring Programs On-the-Job Training or Performance Support Field Sales Enablement Experiential and / or Action Learning Projects77 Best-Practice Sharing Communities of Practice78 Pre- or Post-Formal Training Support Alternate Reality Games
Social
Field Triage (such as for medical professionals, security teams or other rapid-response roles) Product / Process Adherence JIT79 Equipment Operation, Training or Troubleshooting Location-Specific Training or Performance Support Experiential and / or Action-Learning Projects Best-Practice Sharing Communities of Practice Reflective Learning Support After-Action Reviews
Source: Bersin & Associates, 2010.
Embedded
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available to help individuals prepare for and ultimately achieve higher grades at standardized tests such as college entrance examinations. 76 For more information, Enterprise Social Software 2009: Facts, Practical Analysis, Trends and Provider Profiles, Bersin & Associates / David Mallon, September 2008. 77 For more information, Experiential Learning for Leadership Development: Approaches, Best Practices and Case Studies, Bersin & Associates / Kim Lamoureux, May 2010. Available to research members at www.bersin.com/library. 78 For more information, Developing Communities of Practice: Best Practices and Lessons Learned from the Defense Acquisition University, Bersin & Associates / Chris Howard, May 2007. Available to research members at www.bersin.com/library. 79 Just in time.
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Mobile Learning and Learning Systems Just as with e-learning, the technology challenge for organizations is to distribute, track and report on m-learning activities. In other words, you will need an LMS. The question then becomes, will it be your primary, enterprise LMS or a specialty platform? The technology in this area is constantly changing. That said, today, a major factor in reaching an answer to this question will be the type of mobile-learning experience desired. Right now, there are two overall strategies employed by providers of technology for serving and tracking m-learning: Leveraging the mobile browser (e.g., Safari on Apple devices, Opera on many others, et al); and, Leveraging a native application (e.g., such as an App from Apples App store or the Google Android marketplace). There are positives and negatives to both approaches.
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User experience within the browser is often not ideal and the provider has far less ability to define that experience; and, Generally less secure; less control over the content once downloaded.
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For many organizations, the deciding factor will be that most major LMS companies today support accessing some, if not all, of their systems and content via a mobile browser. Most do not offer apps and many of those that do offer apps require at least a separate specialty platform to manage this content.
As learning systems continue to grow, many providers now offer broad learning platforms that include not only learning management systems, but also content management, content development tools, assessment tools, virtual classroom and collaboration tools all in one product suite. The goal is to provide an end-to-end learning solution. Providers take two approaches in this area they either try to build all the components or they try to provide partner products in these areas. We urge buyers to clearly understand the difference between learning management (the role of the LMS) and content development, delivery and management. As Figure 44 shows, the training and e-learning ecosystem is very complex and broad. Within the content development tools market alone, there are many types of tools. The typical e-learning developer uses four to five different tools to build content and will nearly always need tools that are not provided by the LMS provider. The core role of the LMS is in the management area (in Figure 44, indicated by the orange arrows). As the LMS becomes integrated with a talent system, sophisticated analytics and integration with other enterprisewide applications, just developing the core LMS functionality and making the system fit into the corporate infrastructure is a huge task for providers.
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Tools Tools
Content Developers
Content Development
Program Management
KEY POINT
We recommend that buyers focus on the core functionality for training administration and management, systems integration, and reporting.
Almost every other provider in this report offers third-party products or integration relationships with recommended providers for e-learning development solutions. We recommend that, when purchasing an LMS, buyers focus on the core functionality for training administration and management, systems integration, and reporting. Remember that you are likely to change tools and collaboration systems over time, but your LMS will be with you for many years to come. As for additional tools, the full-suite approach makes the most sense for small and medium businesses, or organizations new to e-learning. These organizations typically do not have the time or staff to use separate tools, so an e-learning suite makes the most sense. Many of these companies start with a suite and, as they become more sophisticated, they turn to best-of-breed solutions. This is particularly true in the
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authoring tools market. Most sophisticated companies will adopt separate authoring tools and integrate the content with their LMSs.80 (For more information, see section, Appendix VI: Solution Provider Profiles.) Learning Content Management
KEY POINT
Bersin & Associates highly recommends that you understand your companys content development needs while considering an LMS strategy.
Should organizations purchase a single system for content development (an LCMS) and administration when making an LMS decision? It depends. It is certainly appropriate and, in fact, highly recommended that you understand your companys content development needs while considering an LMS strategy. However, trying to force fit a single system into solving both of these technology needs may not be the right approach. In this section, we will look at modern content development needs in the context of the LMS decision. As companies begin to build and acquire more learning content (through in-house, outsourced resources, or created by the learners themselves), a learning content management system becomes a valuable tool in reducing development cycles and making content more accessible. These systems offer features for managing and publishing e-learning content, and for automating workflows for groups of developers. Advanced systems support the capability to manage electronic content in multiple formats and outputs, such as online courses, presentations, instructor guides, mobile devices and printed documentation. Today, there are basically two technology approaches when considering an LMS and LCMS: 1. The e-learning platform (mentioned in the previous section); and, 2. The best-of-breed approach. In the e-learning platform scenario, the buyer chooses an integrated LMS / LCMS. From the content perspective, the platform is typically used to: Assemble predeveloped assets and modules into a course; Create, deliver and track assessments;
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For more information, A Review of E-Learning Authoring Tools, Bersin & Associates /
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KEY POINT
Although we believe that the LCMS market is distinct from the LMS market, most LMS providers have built in or include an LCMS solution in their product offerings.
Store the metadata associated with the content; Enable users and developers to search for content; Provide basic content management support, such as content staging and version control; and, Provide run-time capabilities that assemble the course and track user performance. In most e-learning platforms, learning assets are AICC- or SCORMcompliant courses81, or learning objects that can be selected by an instructional designer and arranged into a course. Assessments are one of the most popular types of learning objects that are commonly stored and used in a content management system. We believe there is much value to managing assessments through the LMS, since these assessments can then be used across many programs. The e-learning platform is not used for content authoring nor does it support dynamic delivery capabilities that customize the content pages for each course or user. Content is authored using other tools, and then imported into the e-learning platform using the packaging guidelines of the SCORM and / or AICC specifications. This strategy is the most popular in the marketplace today and is appropriate for organizations that do not have large content production requirements and do not need to repurpose the instruction into different media formats. Content is most always constructed using rapid development and / or general-purpose web development tools. The Best-of-Breed Approach For companies with large, geographically dispersed teams of content contributors or large volumes of information assets, however, a separate, best-of-breed LCMS is likely to be the preferred choice. These companies requirements are more extensive than those provided by most platform products and may likely include support for a variety of information output formats. We, therefore, see many enterprise buyers selecting LCMSs (from providers like OutStart, eXact Learning Solutions, Xyleme and other smaller companies) separately from their LMSs. While these providers also offer low-end LMS products, the systems are designed to help program developers launch and manage their
81
For more information, SCORM and AICC: What Are the Differences?, Bersin &
Associates / Chris Howard, February 22, 2007. Available to research members at www.bersin.com/library.
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KEY POINT
Buyers looking for an enterprisewide solution are advised to choose a best-of-breed LMS separately from their best-of-breed LCMS solution.
local programs, but are not designed to handle corporatewide learning initiatives. Hence, buyers looking for an enterprisewide solution are advised to choose a best-of-breed LMS separately from their best-ofbreed LCMS solution. Apart from the list mentioned above for the platform solution, best-ofbreed products are used to: Provide template-based content development tools for rapid content creation; Build and manage structured content that can be: o o Output in multiple formats, and Reused across various training and knowledge programs;
Provide a run-time delivery environment for customized course pages and more extensive levels of training user interaction; and, Create knowledge management repositories that can be used for justin-time access of both formal and informal knowledge assets. Whether you purchase an LCMS from your LMS provider or from a separate provider, it is important to understand that there are five content maturity levels that will help you decide what the right solution is for you (see Figure 45).
On-Demand
Enterprise
Development Efciency
Collaborative Rapid
Traditional
Source: Bersin & Associates, 2007. Source: Bersin & Associates, 2007.
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Each of the five levels of the Learning Content Maturity Model has clear and distinct characteristics yet, these levels are nonetheless flexible and they sometimes overlap. Although an organization can jump in and get started at any level within this Maturity Model, in most cases competence at one level assumes and requires competencies mastered at the lower levels. The following summarizes the essential nature of each level.
Traditional
This type of content development refers to the way in which content was managed before the emergence of e-learning. Using traditional instructional design methodologies, along with standard content authoring and publishing tools, developers built instructor-led courseware and self-paced CD-ROMs. These methods and tools have been easily adapted to web-based training (WBT) and are still the most commonly used means for developing all kinds of instructional content. The best practices of traditional development provide a solid foundation for maturing levels of content development capability and capacity.
Rapid
Quite simply, rapid development seeks to increase the speed by which content is developed and delivered to the learner. In some cases, the quality of instruction made possible by traditional development methods is sacrificed for speed; but, in other instances, accelerated development is achieved through greater process efficiencies and specialized tools without diminishing the quality of the finished product. Rapid development became necessary when, in some cases, traditional methods could not keep up with both the promises and demands of anytime, anywhere e-learning.
Collaborative
Collaborative development provides capability and capacity for increasing the scope and scale of learning content requirements. Through processes and technologies that allow for more specialized and geographically dispersed staffing (as well as tighter project management), organizations can implement traditional and rapid development best practices in team based development environments. Page-based development (afforded by shared content repositories) is also common at the collaborative level, and can often accommodate strategies for content reuse or repurposing.
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Enterprise
At this level, an organization expands its content development capabilities and capacity to include asset-based content management. Often, this expansion is driven by the increasing volume and variety of content sources, a need for multiple delivery outputs, and greater potential for the reuse and repurposing of content. Generally, enterprise content management affords content that is more contextual, personalized and much less course-centric. Effective content management initiatives usually require competency in collaborative development, as well as significant upgrades in content strategy, development processes and enabling technology.
On-Demand
On-demand content management brings personalized learning content to the learner at the point of need, often integrating the learning experience with other enterprise systems, processes and supplemental content. At this level of maturity, an organization must have the capability and capacity to leverage its learning content in the service of enhanced performance support and enterprisewide knowledge management initiatives. It requires total alignment of training with strategic organizational objectives and desired business results.
Figure Figure 46: LMS, e-Learning Suite 39: LMS, LCMS and LCMS and e-Learning Suite
Course Administration User Administration Training Administration Job Proles Launch / Track Courses Self-Registration Reporting Class Scheduling Content Repository
Platform
Content Authoring Content Templates Assessments Course Publishing Version Control Multiformat Output Asset-Based Architecture Content Reuse or Recycle Team Development Personalized Content Metadata
Common Features
Source: Bersin & 2009. Source: Bersin & Associates, Associates, 2006.
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Understanding which category your requirements fit into will help you make the right decision regarding your companys e-learning platform strategy. Figure 46 illustrates how the e-learning platform incorporates some capability from both the LMS and LCMS worlds.
2006
The LCMS market has not taken off the way we once thought it would. The penetration of learning content management systems overall remains stagnant, with just 18 percent of companies using these systems (the three-point increase from last year is not itself a significant difference but it is the second year in a row with such growth).82
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For more information, The Corporate Learning Factbook 2010 Benchmarks, Trends and
Analysis of the U.S. Training Market, Bersin & Associates / Karen OLeonard, January 2010.
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90%
80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% 13% 27% 10% 2007 Small Midsize
37%
30%
27%
20%
14% 2008 Large
13%
2006
Although usage is highest among large businesses, the number of large enterprises using these systems has actually declined over the past two years.
Pa
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As a business-process automation tool or (shall we say) as a learning-process automation system that helps the L&D function to truly optimize its processes; and, As part of (and an enabler of) the organizations larger social learning and collaboration strategy. Todays worker still needs formal training, built around specific problems and talent needs but he / she also needs the availability of a learning environment in which he / she can find information, collaborate and build his / her own learning plan. The learning organization must go beyond the disciplines of building content for use online; L&D must also provide context and pathways by which people can learn. Consider the following statistic. Our High-Impact Learning Practices research (conducted in fall 2008)83 found 61 percent of all corporate training managers state that the biggest challenge their employees now have is finding relevant information to do their jobs, not developing the skills to do their jobs. Learning leaders tell us that their three biggest challenges today are: 1. Building the next generation of blended-learning programs; 2. Using social networking and other tools to enhance the learning culture; and, 3. Updating and better understanding the disciplines of the modern training organization.
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Your Corporate Training Strategy through Social and Informal Learning, Bersin & Associates / David Mallon, July 2009.
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organizations will need new roles (such as the information architect) to help make information design decisions; they will also need systems to help guide and enforce workflows and standards. For many organizations, we think the LCMS can and should play this role. Now more than ever, learning organizations need holistic content management expertise, and that means more than simply schemes for naming, versioning and storage. It entails managing the endto-end lifecycle of content the natural uses of an LCMS. According to our High-Impact Learning Practices report84, optimizing the lifecycle of content has become one of the most important core competencies for modern L&D organizations. Process matters. Lean times expose organizations with inefficient processes. L&D should look for ways to simplify and streamline content processes. Settle on templates, guidelines and workflows that are easy to use. Utilize the LCMS to enable and enforce these decisions. It will be much easier to expand the bounds of the development process to include on-demand, social and embedded approaches if those underlying processes are optimized. L&D has the expertise to become a center of excellence within the organization for content in all of its forms. How to create it (many in the organization might know how to use PowerPoint, but how well)? How to publish it? How to measure its effectiveness? L&D can bring the natural skills sets of the instructional designer (e.g., putting knowledge into context, following consistent formats and processes) to bear on the organization at-large, helping the organization. We believe that the market for the systems currently known as LCMS continues to be at a crossroads. The market could merge with social / collaboration tools to become knowledge-sharing
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Your Corporate Training Strategy through Social and Informal Learning, Bersin & Associates / David Mallon, July 2009.
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platforms or merge with larger, enterprise content management or portal / intranet platforms, for which learning content is just one more type of content that the system manages. We believe the onus is on the LCMS providers to ensure that their systems are well-positioned to help L&D organizations respond to the realities of the modern corporate learning function. e
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Adaptability
A recurring theme in our LMS and talent management systems market research over the years is the role that customization or, more specifically, having to customize, plays in customer satisfaction. Software systems as delivered are rarely a perfect match for an individual buyers landscape. The best providers understand the critical need for these systems to be highly configurable, so that they can best meet customer needs without customization. For several years, the architectural solution to this problem has been to give the software a very high degree of configurability, both for the processes that the system drives, as well as for its ability to connect to other systems and sources of data. In todays environment, however, this need for flexibility in the system is going even further. Now we see customers demanding what we call an adaptive platform a workflow management system with pre-built learning and / or talent management processes that can transparently integrate into many different parts of the corporate HR and IT infrastructure.85
Figure 49: Bersin & Associates Adaptive Talent and Learning Platforms Maturity Model
Adaptive Platform
Adaptive System
Configurable
Hosted
85
For more information, Adaptive Talent and Learning Platforms How Software as a
Service Is Changing the Markets for Talent and Learning Systems, Bersin & Associates / David Mallon, February 2010. Available to research members at www.bersin.com/library.
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Customizing a system to meet individual needs sounds like a good idea in theory. In practice, however, it has proven to be highly problematic. Take the LMS market for example. According to data collected for this study, the need for system customizations in general was the second biggest driver of customer dissatisfaction with LMSs (following only unhappiness with reporting functionality). So why does customization cause such heartache? Customizing the system itself (i.e., adding custom fields, modifying screens, building ad-hoc integrations with other source data systems and altering core system behaviors) are all risky and potentially expensive propositions. While these kinds of changes are not difficult, they create a set of customer-owned modifications that must be continuously retrofitted as new releases of the application are released. Companies that develop such customizations end up with highly parochial systems that drift further and further away from the providers core product roadmap over time, making updates and upgrades to the software increasingly difficult and expensive. In some cases, the distance between client system and provider core can become too great for the provider to continue supporting. Adding to the difficulty, customization rarely solves for every gap between customer need and provider system. Most LMS buyers tell us that they are still unhappy with what they identify as some of the their most critical functionality needs, including easy-to-use training administration processes, and strong reporting and analytics. From our perspective, it seems that (despite the additional outlay of money for the custom work) providers are only able to take the core application from meeting 80 percent of feature and function needs to meeting 90 percent to 95 percent at best, not the 100 percent a buyer might be expecting for the added expense. To make matters worse, our data shows that customizations invariably take longer and cost more to complete than they are originally specified. Finally, an often overlooked negative side effect of customization is that the more different the buyers system is from the base provider platform, the farther outside of the comfort zone and expertise of both the provider and its general customer community the buyer will be. The more atypical the buyers instance, the less applicable training, support,
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KEY POINT
An often overlooked negative side effect of customization is that the more different the buyers system is from the base provider platform, the farther outside of the comfort zone and expertise of both the provider and its general customer community the buyer will be.
consulting and other external sources of collected best practice will be. All of these sources are essential to the best use of an enterprise system and help to maximize the value for the purchase. In summary our research has found that few things are more predictive of dissatisfaction with an enterprise application, such as an LMS (or talent management suite) provider than a lot of customizations; it is easy to see why.
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Software as a Service (or SaaS) refers to the business of selling software over the
Internet as a web service. In this business model, the software vendor charges an annual rental fee and can predict recurring revenues far more reliably than with the licensed software model. As SaaS becomes proven and the delivery strategies more refined, most analysts agree that more and more enterprise software will be sold in this way.
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Software as a Service
On the hardware side, new technologies are reducing costs, and dramatically increasing scalability and efficiency for providers. Many more users can now be supported on the same architecture and adding new resources as usage grows is increasingly routine. The result is that providers can both easily manage the hardware needs of their clients (at far lower costs in terms of time and money), and successfully support most or all of their customers on common instances of their applications. The benefits of that first outcome with the provider hosting the clients application are fairly straightforward. Client organizations usually have better things to be devoting time, money and IT department attention toward than implementing and supporting HR technology. In addition, providers can achieve economies of scale by providing hosting for many customers. The second outcome involves providers supporting customers on a common instance of the application, which is also known as a multitenant architecture87 because more than one tenant (customer) is living on the same equipment. Combine application hosting with a multitenant architecture and you have what is now commonly known as software as a service (SaaS). In this model, the buyer is not actually buying software; instead, the buyer is renting the use of the software for as long as they choose. The single code base and controlled management environment of SaaS enable solution providers to move to more frequent (e.g., quarterly or semiannual) releases of enhancements to the software. SaaS allows the learning or talent management system buyer to avoid licensing, installing, upgrading and maintaining software. While the cost of ownership is not necessarily lower (SaaS systems are licensed monthly, with higher monthly fees than licensed software maintenance), the time to implement and complexity is far less. SaaS offers many additional benefits for both providers and buyers.
87
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Figure 50: The Benefits of SaaS Time to implement Low cost of entry and initial investment Easy and continuous upgrades with centralized feature updating Immediate access to the latest innovations Reduce overhead with minimal IT infrastructure requirements Platform independence Improved security Limited IT involvement required Predicable spending Freedom of choice if unsatisfied
Source: Bersin & Associates, 2009.
A N A LY S I S
Today, organizations of all sizes are implementing on-demand solutions and have provided strong testimonials on their satisfaction with their delivery choices. SaaS is now the most popular model for software delivery in the talent management market.
In some circumstances and for some organizations (e.g., very large enterprises, government organizations, companies in highly regulated industries, et al), the need for control and security over data has outweighed the benefits of having the provider bear the IT load. In these cases, both hosting and SaaS have seemed less viable as options. Only three years ago, many considered on-demand to be a delivery model for the midmarket only incapable of scaling and providing the level of security appropriate for large organizations. That is no longer the case, as organizations of all sizes are implementing on-demand solutions and have provided strong testimonials on their satisfaction with their delivery choices88. In response to the increased acceptance, the HR solution providers that only offered their solutions in an on-premise delivery model have either already launched an on-demand option as their midmarket solution or are in the process of migrating customers to a new version of their products in an on-demand delivery model. No matter the organization size, the business case for on-demand is compelling.
88
Implementation Experiences, and Solution Provider Profiles, Bersin & Associates / Leighanne Levensaler and Madeline Laurano, September 2009. Available to research members at www.bersin.com/library or for purchase at www.bersin.com/tmsuites.
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As our latest Talent Management Suites study indicates, SaaS is now the most popular model for software delivery in the talent management market89.
2008 2009 0%
2% 2% 80% 100%
60%
SaaS as a delivery model has become very popular and with good reason; but it comes with a side effect that could be either a benefit or a flaw, depending on your perspective. True application customizations are not really possible in a fully multitenant model; changing the base code would defeat the concept. So, how is it that all of these companies are choosing an SaaS model when no customizations are possible? First, there are many varieties of SaaS out there; many providers that market SaaS offerings as a delivery mode do not actually adhere to the model in its truest form90. That aside, for SaaS to be viable, the provider cannot always expect the customer to change to fit the software. In place of the ability to customize, the provider has to make it possible for the customer to change the software in other ways.
89
Implementation Experiences, and Solution Provider Profiles, Bersin & Associates / Leighanne Levensaler and Madeline Laurano, September 2009. 90 For more information on SaaS maturity: 2005 Software as a Service Taxonomy and Research Guide, IDC / Erin Traudt and Amy Konary, June 2005.
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KEY POINT
Increasingly, differentiation between software products comes from the degree to which application developers are able to build more and more flexibility into the system, so that customization is less and less necessary.
Luckily, enterprise software development has been changing just as fast as the hardware. Software development practices continue to evolve. The cost of development is decreasing. Software is now highly modular. It is true that SaaS solutions cannot be customized but several solutions on the market do not need to be customized in order to meet an organizations sophisticated needs. Leading solution providers now offer as much configurability as possible to accommodate nuanced approaches, as well as variability in the approaches, based on business unit, region, type of worker or any combination of attributes. Functionality for establishing business rules, templates, controlling data access and setting up notifications can now be defined at a very granular level. In addition, the solutions have come a long way in offering distributed administration privileges. Depth and breadth of functionality is not the only thing that separates providers and their products. Increasingly, product differentiation comes from the degree to which application developers are able to build more and more flexibility into the system, so that customization is less and less necessary (if possible at all). Differentiation comes from how well software can take full advantage of new hardware architectures that are designed to be more open, making connections to other systems and data sources increasingly routine.
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Our recent studies of both the LMS and talent management suites markets confirm that many providers are evolving their offerings to have as much engineered flexibility as possible. These learning and talent management providers are creating platforms that adapt to client needs, not the other way around. In the next section, we will identify what differentiates an adaptive learning or talent platform from the rest.
Based on our research with exemplary talent and learning providers, we have identified where the markets are today and where they are going. In each section, we have used this intelligence to further break up criteria into a Good-Better-Best arrangement, based on what you can expect to find with providers today. We summarize these categorizations later in our Adaptive Talent and Learning Platforms Maturity Model.
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How the software works; Whether or not a given feature or function is enabled; or, Whether an upgrade to the system will be applied? In the simplest terms, the more control you have, the more adaptive the system will be to your needs. In practice, the line between configuration and adaptability is crossed when a provider can give you tools to build your own processes, not just configure the processes they have already built into the system.
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Potential for Automation Another increasingly important adaptive criteria related to the application is the ability to automate system functions. For organizations with hundreds and thousands of employees, the amount of transactions in the system can be hard to manage, especially for activity that is both frequent and recurring, such as compliance training needs. Todays system increasingly offers the ability to use logic to automatically drive processes, such as assignment of training content based on criteria set by the organization. System Permissions Todays organizations are increasingly complex. There is often not just one audience to manage. It is now common for organizations to use their learning and talent systems for several different types of employee, as well as external audiences, such as partners and customers. Consequently, many different types of users access the same system in one of several roles. It has, therefore, become critical that providers support highly granular system security and permissions sets, allowing clients to create custom bundles of permissions by role, individual user, user group and directly by system functionality. System Extensibility A key distinction that separates true platforms from everyone else is not just the ability to alter the current functionality of the system, but also having the ability to grow and extend that functionality. One of the simplest and most commonly supported methods is for the client to be able to create custom database fields in the system. Custom fields allow clients to meld unique data elements with common system elements in both processes and on reports. Extensibility can also take the form of being able to create custom workflows and processes within the system, or by adding functions to the system through custom plug-ins and web applications. Finally, following the lead of systems such as Intuits Quickbase, some providers now also have methods of allowing clients to create entire custom tables in their database. Finding an Adaptive Platform: The Application Expect most on-demand providers to include software updates in the base subscription costs and to update the software regularly (at least semiannually). To find an adaptive platform, look for the following.
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Good A high degree of configurability for existing application functions. Modular functions that can be turned on or off independently. The ability to say no or delay all but the most major product upgrades (see section, A Few Notes). A custom web form builder for capturing user data and initiating system functions (see section, A Few Notes). The ability to use custom database fields wherever native system fields are used. Some system functions can be automated by custom business rule. Better All of the above and the following. Access to a system registry, allowing for more fine-grain control over system functions. A continuous product update cycle. A custom workflow builder for creating your own workflows using some existing system functions. The ability to customize or create any system communication. Some ability to extend the product using plug-ins or custom-built web applications. Best All of the above and the following. A workflow builder that can use all or most existing functions. The ability to create custom database tables and views (see section, A Few Notes). Independent communities of developers that create, sell and use plug-ins and custom web applications for this platform (see section, A Few Notes).
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A Few Notes
KEY POINT
The ability to control upgrades and a willingness to guarantee that client configurations will still work after system upgrades are both highly indicative of a provider that has been able to successfully separate its application into different tiers or layers, including a core code base that only changes for major updates.
Many providers will state that their platforms are configurable, referring in truth to the ability to add customizations to the system, not true configurability. Buyers should exercise diligence when comparing providers on this topic. Ask providers to demonstrate that your desired changes to system behavior can be made without customization. The ability to control upgrades is highly indicative of a provider that has been able to successfully separate its application into different tiers or layers, including a core code base that only changes for major updates. Having an immutable code base is a great way to build flexibility into the system. The base system remains static, while most changes over time occur around the periphery of the system. Any alteration is possible as long as it still works with the static base. Of similar note, ask your prospective provider to guarantee that your configurations will work after system upgrades. If the provider can guarantee that your changes will still operate as defined after the core system has changed, then that is also a good indicator of an adaptable, tiered architecture and not customization. Finally, another related indicator of overall adaptability is the number of customers using the same version of the base code. The more the provider can focus on just one evolutionary path for the application, the more the provider is free to find ways to add innovation and flexibility to the platform. Also, the more customers that use the same code base means a larger community of users with common experiences and best practices to share. It is common for many learning and talent systems to have form builders as part of the performance management and onboarding support. In this case, look for a form builder that can be used throughout the product as part of many of the applications processes, not just performance management. The ability to create customer database tables is a powerful way to increase the unique value of the platform for your organization. Such tables can contain organization-specific data related to a given learning or talent process, which can then be used as part of custom workflow. This option is common in the customer relationship management market (e.g., Salesforce.com); however, it is very new to the learning and talent world.
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KEY POINT
A vibrant community of third-party developers means more people bringing fresh perspectives to growing the value of the platform; it also increases the likelihood that someone has already created a solution for one of your current needs.
If plug-ins are possible, many of them will come from the provider directly. However, independent communities of plug-in developers exponentially increase the possibilities of an extensible, adaptive platform. More developers mean more people working on growing the value of the platform; it also increases the likelihood that someone has already created a solution for one of your current needs. Independence from the provider equates to fresh perspectives and unexpected new uses for existing system functions. Of special consideration in this area is that some providers use opensource technologies within their products. Open-source code often provides the vendor with a similar benefit as does a community of plugin developers for buyers it increases the pool of resources working on growing the application. So it helps to speed up the overall development cycle. For buyers, the use of open source can increase the potential for extensibility, depending on where and how open source code is used. For example, Plateaus new Talent Gateway module91 (a learning portal and enterprise social software front-end for this vendors talent platform) is based on an open-source portal technology called LifeRay92. Plateau customers with the technical skills and knowledge of LifeRay could actually take advantage of its open source nature to create custom additions to the Talent Gateway module.
91
For more information, Enabling Social Learning: Technology Strategies for Social and
Collaborative Learning, Bersin & Associates / David Mallon, September 29, 2009. 92 Source: http://www.liferay.com.
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Figure 53: Adaptive Talent and Learning Platforms Summary The Application Level 1: Hosted Functions are grouped into modules; Product upgrades are included in subscription costs (no additional charge); Updates occur at least semiannuallly; Client can create custom dB fields; Client can customize stock system communications; System permissions are granular, groupable by role or function. Level 2: Configurable Function behaviors are configurable without affecting other clients; Modules can be turned on or off independently; Most upgrades can be controlled by client; System includes custom form builder for initiating application functions (not just for performance management or other learning / talent process); Custom dB fields can be used wherever native dB fields are used; Some functions can be automated based on business rule; Application is extensible by provider using custom webapps or plug-ins.
Source: Bersin & Associates, 2009.
Level 3: Adaptive System Clients have admin access to application registry for deeper control of application behavior; Updates are continuous; System includes workflow builder tool for building custom behaviors with some existing functions; All system communications and triggers are customizable without need for customization; Application is extensible by client using custom webapps or plug-ins.
Level 4: Adaptive Platform System includes workflow builder tool for building custom behaviors with all / most existing functions; Client can create custom dB tables and views; Most / all functions can be automated; Third-party development community exists for custom apps and plug-ins; Application uses open source in transparent ways.
Application
Interface Flexibility
The next major category of adaptive criteria is the presentation layer the softwares visual interface. The depth and breadth of the information and features in an LMS or talent management suite can overwhelm users if the experience is not well-designed. Easy-to-learn, intuitive and efficient applications are much more satisfying than traditional
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forms-based transactional systems. Users are more willing to use the applications when they believe that they are getting something out of the system and the experience was not cumbersome.93
Configurability Just as with the application, the measure of adaptability for the interface begins with the degree to which that interface is configurable. Most providers support the clients ability to at least make cosmetic changes to the interface, including color palette, images and logos, fonts, and vocabulary used for menus and titles.
93 For more information, The Talent Management Experience Series New Roles and
Expectations for Systems: (1) Part 1 The Manager Experience; (2) Part 2 Business Leader Experience; and, (3) Part 3 The Employee Experience, Bersin & Associates / Leighanne Levensaler, 2008. Available to research members at www.bersin.com/library.
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A N A LY S I S
In the most adaptive of systems, the interface is controlled by a client customizable CSS file.
Todays adaptive platforms go beyond cosmetic configuration to offer both deeper and broader control over the user experience. Portal style interfaces are increasingly common, meaning system functionality is deployed in the interface as discrete objects. These objects can be moved around by the client (and, in some cases, by the end-user) or turned off altogether. Most detailed visual control over todays websites is accomplished using cascading style sheets or CSS94. Many application interfaces are now governed by CSS files; the most adaptive systems allow the client to freely customize the CSS files. Domains and Audiences As mentioned in the section earlier on security and permissions, most organizations need to support multiple audiences in these systems, both internal and external, and around the world. Many provider platforms now support clients having different interface setups for different audiences. Personalization Finally, as platforms look and behave more like portals, clients increasingly expect some support for end-user personalization, including the ability to show or hide content, change the location of some content elements, and decide the level of prominence for some content items. Finding an Adaptive Platform: The Interface Organizations evaluating any learning or talent management applications should develop detailed use-case scenarios focused on addressing the role of the manager, employee and business leader. The use cases must define what the applications should be doing, as well as how it supports the end-user. Expect all hosted systems to support cosmetic interface configuration and some ability to support multiple interfaces for multiple domains
94 Cascading style sheets (CSS) is a way to define the look and formatting of a
document by placing the instructions for formatting in separate style sheet files from the document itself. Its most common application is to define the look of web pages written in HTML and XHTML, but the language can be applied to any kind of XML document. The CSS specifications are maintained by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). Internet media type (MIME type) text / css is registered for use with CSS by RFC 2318 (March 1998). For more information, http://www.w3.org/Style/CSS/.
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(although some providers are clearly better at this ability than others). Most major providers should also have out-of-the-box support for many languages, including double-byte character sets, such as for Chinese Mandarin. For more adaptive platforms, look for the following. Good A portal-style interface allowing for relatively free movement of system functions around the screen. The ability to control the look of the interface using templates or skins. The ability to automatically select and display an interface based on domain or user type. A localization table allowing for the easy replacement of any interface text element anywhere in the application (see section, A Few Notes). Better All aspects of the display are control by a customizable CSS file. The interface can be set by business rule. Support for some amount of end-user personalization. Best A visual interface editing tool allowing for on-the-fly changes to the interface without needing specialized expertise in web design. A Few Notes Localization tables are, first and foremost, a straightforward method for supporting translation of the interface into other languages and character sets. In such a table, each current interface text element is listed with some opportunity for the client to enter his / her preferred replacement for that element wherever it appears. While very helpful for deploying systems to audiences with different primary languages, these tables are also extraordinarily helpful with organizations that only want to use very precise and organization-friendly vocabulary, even in English.
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Figure 55: Adaptive Talent and Learning Platforms Summary The Interface Level 1: Hosted Client can make cosmetic adjustments to interface (colors, images, fonts); The application supports multiple, independent user domains and / or subdomains within the same client deployment, each of which may have separate application and / or interface configurations; Out-of-the box support for more than 20 languages including double-byte characters. Level 2: Configurable Portal-style interface in which application functions are deployed as configurable, movable objects. All aspects of the interface can be adjusted through custom templates or skins; Interface appearance can be automatically determined by domain or user group; Uses of the written word within interface elements (titles, menus, et al) can be changed via customizable localization tables.
Source: Bersin & Associates, 2009.
Level 3: Adaptive System All aspects of interface appearance are controlled via one or more customizable CSS files; Interface appearance can be automatically determined by business rule; Clients can allow end users to customize aspects of their own interface.
Level 4: Adaptive Platform The system includes a visual interface editor supporting dynamic changes to interface appearance without need for web programming.
Presentation
Data Openness
Underlying a learning or talent management system is a wealth of rich data. Our next adaptive category covers the differences among providers in terms of how they work with this data. Systems are adaptable in so far as that data is directly and easily accessible by users or other systems. Inputs and Outputs Learning and talent systems do not stand alone. They can and are often integrated with many other sources of data within the organization, such as: HRMS The corporate HR employee database; Financials The corporate financial system that captures revenues and expenses;
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CRM The corporate customer database, often called the customer relationship management system; ERP The large systems managing large-scale processes and related logistics; Reporting Stores Many organizations have central reporting systems through which data from many different business applications is aggregated for analytics purposes; and, Other Learning or Talent Systems Most organizations do not have fully integrated suites of learning or talent systems. To keep the system useful, these data feeds should be updated regularly. All providers should give clients tools with which to import and export sets of data manually; providers should also support simple automated file transfers by periodic batch process. Todays more adaptive systems go beyond batch processes to offer well-documented, client accessible application programming interfaces (APIs) and / or web services through which live, dynamic connections can be built. Also included under this criteria is the most common type of data output the report. Reporting is one of more important requirements for buyers of learning and talent systems; yet our research on these markets shows that providers continue to struggle to meet client expectations in this area. The adaptive solution to this problem is to give clients easy-to-use tools with which to build their own reporting and analytics. Commitment to Open Architecture Continuing on the theme of APIs, a major movement in modern enterprise software applications is what is called services oriented architectures (SOA). There is no commonly agreed-to set of criteria that define SOA; instead, SOA is a loose set of design principles encouraging software providers to create their applications for a set of modular services. These services talk to each other as part of how the application gets work done. But these services are designed to be open and, therefore, should be able to talk with other services within the organizations overall enterprise software environment. The primary goals of SOA are to completely rethink system integration, supporting open data flow throughout the organization and to allow users to string together functionality to form ad-hoc applications
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that are built almost entirely from existing software services, the corporate mashup95. It is important for buyers to explore the maturity of APIs. At a minimum, most buyers will need access to data models or database descriptions for the systems most utilized functions. For more extensive integration, the system should have a set of documented interfaces to update the database, enter transactional changes and query the database from an external application. Finding an Adaptive Platform: The Data Expect all providers to include a comprehensive set of customizable stock reports within the system. For learning systems, expect adherence to the oldest and most mature learning standards AICC and SCORM 1.2. For more adaptive platforms, look for the following. Good A tool for manual import of data, such as user accounts, user information or past history. A tool for manual export of data, such as batch reporting. A client accessible API or set of web services that reaches at least some of the data and functionality in the system. Better An embedded visual report-building tool or pre-integrated connections to an external third-party tool. Separate hardware infrastructure for reporting for performance and scalability. The API can access all or most of the system.
95
In technology, a mashup is a web application that combines data from more than
one source into a single integrated tool, thereby creating a new and distinct web service that was not originally provided by either source. Content used in mashups is typically sourced from a third party via a public interface or API; other methods of sourcing content for mashups include web feeds (e.g., RSS / really simple syndication), web services and screen-scraping.
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Access to comprehensive documentation of the systems data model and schema. Best A services-oriented architecture. The API is RESTful (see section, A Few Notes). Access to library of pre-built portlets ready to use in industry standard external portals. Support for industry portal standards, including: JSR 168, JSR 264, and WSRP. A Few Notes REST or representational state transfer is a style of software architecture for distributed systems, such as an LMS and other client systems. REST includes a set of guiding principles for how these systems should talk to each other. The goals of REST are to simplify communication between systems, improve scalability of connections and standardize the interface between systems. An API that adheres to REST is said to be RESTful.
Figure 56: Adaptive Talent and Learning Platforms Summary The Data Level 1: Hosted Includeds a comprehensive list of customizable stock reports; Learning Standards supported include: AICC & SCORM 1.2. Level 2: Configurable Includes a built-in tool for importing data (including user); Includes a built-in tool for exporting data; A client accessible API and / or web services are available; SCORM 2004 (single SCO). Level 3: Adaptive System The application includes an embedded visual custom report building tool or comes with preintegrated connections to an external tool; The applications reporting functions are based on separate hardware resources from the core application; API / web services access most / all system functions / data; Clients have access to up-to-date documentation for the applications database model and schema; SCORM 2004 (multiple SCO, sequencing).
Source: Bersin & Associates, 2009.
Level 4: Adaptive Platform Services oriented architecture API is RESTful. Provider offers outof-the-box library of pre-built portlets; Portal standards supported: JSR 168, JSR 264, WSRP; HR data standards supported: HR-XML.
Data
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In most organizations, the LMS is the single system of record for training, certifications and compliance programs. If your LMS is being used for customer or channel training, the system will be your single system of record for customer certification programs and customer training revenue (which, in some companies, is a significant percentage of product and service revenues). The bottom line is that the LMS does not stand alone; it must be integrated with several important systems, such as: HRMS The corporate HR employee database; Financials The corporate financial system that captures revenues and expenses; and, CRM The corporate customer database, often called the customer relationship management system. For internal training, integration with the HRMS is either important or critical. Particularly for compliance programs, training information must be correct, current and auditable (e.g., every change should be recorded and held in a log). What does HR integration look like? Ideally, the LMS should contain an up-to-date record of all employees (or customers, if it is a customer training system), including: Name; Department or organization; Location; Reporting structure; Job level; Charge codes; and, Date of hire. To keep this system useful, these data feeds should be updated regularly. In the early stages of implementation, this usually is accomplished by a batch data transfer. Over time, however, the LMS will need to stay more current with HR and other systems, and will require more frequent updates daily, for some companies.
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If you are implementing a performance management application, then additional information will be captured, such as: Performance ratings; Competency assessments; Job history; and, Development plans. Because integrated performance management is so new, you will find that some of this information already exists in the HRMS (i.e., job history). It is important to consult with your HRIT or IT staff to define the single system of record for each of these data elements otherwise, you may find it difficult to run accurate reports for succession planning. An even more complex but often important issue is the integration of company financial information. When a learner registers for a course, a fee or chargeback often is assessed. The LMS must reflect the correct accounting codes and transaction amounts, so that billing is accurate and then the charges are reflected in the corporate financial systems. For this information to be accurate, the LMS must have current financial accounts for each employee / customer, group and manager. Our research shows that many LMSs do not have accurate account codes. Many organizations use a periodic batch process to transfer charge codes from the financial system to the LMS. As employees change jobs and the company is reorganized, this information must be updated. Most LMS buyers stress the importance of integration. In past years, these integrations were most important when the LMS was used as an enterprisewide application, rather than when the LMS was used as a customer or departmental system. Today, there is less of a distinction. More small companies now have the other systems (e.g., HRIS, CRM) for which an integration with the LMS is valuable. In addition, integration is critical for any level of analytics; the more reporting required, the more important it is that the data be current and accurate. For those companies that do need this integration, the key issues to consider are as follows.
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KEY POINT
Include integration in your implementation plan and budget. HR and financial systems integration can be very expensive, and requires an ongoing investment.
What tools and experience does this LMS provider have in integration with your particular HRMS, CRM or financial system? Do you have people internally who understand the nature of your HR system and can you budget their time to work on this integration or will you have to hire someone externally? Does your LMS provider have a services organization that can build this solution? Can you talk with some of the providers references? Does it make sense to buy the LMS from your HR provider (e.g., SAP or Oracle / PeopleSoft)? Usually, integration is a key benefit here but you should talk with references because, with some ERP provider products, the LMS is a standalone system that is not tightly integrated into the ERP (i.e., PeopleSoft ELM and Oracle iLearning). Oracle and SAP provide HR integration with their systems, although the integration architectures vary widely from product to product. While this integration can be a benefit, it comes with a price. In many cases, the integration provided by the ERP solution reduces flexibility and requires the buyer to implement a specific version of the providers HRMS application. (For more information, see section, Appendix VI: Solution Provider Profiles.) Include integration in your implementation plan and budget. HR and financial systems integration can be very expensive, and requires an ongoing investment. HR systems have complex data models and you will need someone who understands your HR implementation well. If your LMS implementation is enterprisewide, you must budget for this integration upfront and make sure IT is involved in the initial stages since, ultimately, most of the work typically falls upon your companys IT staff and / or external consultants.
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The most widely adopted maturity model for SaaS was published by IT research firm IDC in 2005.96 Level 1: Ad-Hoc / Custom Each customer has its own customized version of the hosted application and runs its own instance of the application on the hosts servers. Level 2: Configurable Many customers use separate, configurable instances of the same application code. Level 3: Configurable, Multitenant-Efficient The third maturity level adds multitenancy to the second level, so that a single program instance serves all customers. Level 4: Scalable, Configurable, Multitenant-Efficient Technologies, such as load balancing, multitiered architectures and virtualization, increase the scalability of the platform. For many LMS vendors, the SaaS model has been a challenge. Many LMS vendors (with the exception of vendors like Learn.com, GeoLearning and Cornerstone OnDemand) started life as licensed software companies, so they have had to adapt their products, business models and companies to build SaaS offerings. In the talent space, many of the providers are younger and so a great proportion of them started as SaaS. Global organizations will want to pay attention to whether or not the provider already has built-in relationships with global content distribution networks, or if their data centers are themselves distributed globally. Finding an Adaptive Platform: The Delivery Model To gauge adaptability for delivery model, simply determine the providers SaaS maturity.
96
Source: 2005 Software as a Service Taxonomy and Research Guide, IDC / Erin Traudt
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Figure 57: Adaptive Talent and Learning Platforms Summary Delivery Model Level 1: Hosted 24 / 7 hosted access to application. Level 2: Configurable All clients share a common immutable code-base; Built-in relationships with content distribution networks (e.g., Akamai). Level 3: Adaptive System Multiple clients share an instance of the application (multitenant); Application is broken into tiers to better balance hardware to traffic. Level 4: Adaptive Platform Architecture is efficient multitenant; One or more of the following may be used to increase efficiency and scalability: virtualization, globally distributed infrastructure or cloud computing.
Source: Bersin & Associates, 2009.
Delivery
Most providers offer training and documentation for implementing and operating the system. Most major providers have an extensive consultative selling process in place to make sure the buyer is sold the right product. SaaSs effect on the learning and talent management markets (and where we see adaptive providers evolving to) is not to replace the current practices in sales and training but to add to them substantial capacities for self-service. An adaptive platform is all about giving buyers the tools to accomplish what they need to do, and that tendency toward self-service extends to sales and training, as well. Finding an Adaptive Platform: Operations Expect all providers to offer extensive training and documentation. All providers should offer a service level agreement and should assign an ongoing account manager to be your point of contact with them. Somewhat new, but increasingly standard, most providers that at least offer a hosted system also offer a trial period with their applications, allowing buyers the chance to kick the tires before final purchase.
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For more adaptive platforms, look for the following. Good Extensive on-demand learning resources are available, including e-learning, performance support and knowledge bases. A thriving online customer community exists and is a source of best practice. The provider can deliver a new environment within five business days of purchase. Better User communities exist at both the regional and national level, and meet regularly, sometimes in person. Best User communities exist globally.
Figure 58: Adaptive Talent and Learning Platforms Summary Operations Level 3: Adaptive System Regional / national user meetings.
Level 1: Hosted Extensive training and documentation available for all system roles; Provider offers service level aggreement standard; Client can purchase system on a trial basis.
Level 2: Configurable
Level 4: Adaptive Platform Global user meetings; Client can complete purchase on provider website without live sales intervention.
Extensive on-demand learning is available, including self-directed e-learning, performance support and knowledge bases; Well-cultivated user community to provide bestpractice support; New environment delivered in 5 business days or less (on average); First real use of system in 2 months (on average).
Operations
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Adaptive Maturity
Putting all of these adaptive pieces together, we have created the Bersin & Associates Adaptive Talent and Learning Platforms Maturity Model. This concept is still very new. So it is not surprising then that, based on our current criteria, very few providers (if any) are entirely at Level 4 in our Model. Several are there in one or more of the subcategories discussed earlier, however. Given that not all buyers are sold on the value of SaaS, a given system could also qualify in every other category except delivery model. Flexibility is the ultimate goal and, therefore, it makes sense that providers would want to be able to provide flexibility in delivery method, as well.
Figure 49: Bersin & Associates Adaptive Talent and Learning Platforms Maturity Model
Adaptive Platform
Adaptive System
Configurable
Hosted
As you have likely deduced already, our Good-Better-Best breakdowns in the previous section correspond to Levels 2 through 4 of the Maturity Model. As with any such model, the lines between levels are fluid. This market is always evolving, so what is considered Level 4 today might move down the list tomorrow.
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Level 1: Hosted
KEY POINT
Not all buyers are sold on the value of SaaS, so a given system could also qualify as adaptive in every other category except delivery model. Flexibility is the ultimate goal.
Still the most commonly supported alternative to traditional installed, licensed software across the talent and learning markets as a whole, the value offered by providers at this Level is simply the value of having someone else handle the IT needs related to your learning or talent system. Expect most systems to support simple configuration and, since each instance of the software is unique to the buyer, true customization, as well.
Level 2: Configurable
Based on the data we have collected, we would place the majority of providers interviewed for this report at this Level of Maturity overall. Providers in this Level can offer the benefits of placing clients on a shared architecture. Existing application functions in the system, as well as the applications interface, are substantially configurable. Clients have ready tools for moving data into and out of the system. The level corresponds to the Good set of criteria listed earlier in this report.
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In Level 2, the client has control over how the systems functions behave without altering them fundamentally. In Level 3, the client can adapt those functions to its own needs and create new workflows with those functions. In Level 4, the client can now add to the functionality of the system through plug-ins, customer web applications and custom database tables, among other things. At this Level, the application is truly a platform, one on which the client can build as well as adapt. The level corresponds to the Best set of criteria earlier in this report.
If finding an adaptive provider is important for your business needs, we suggest you consider adding some or all of the criteria we have introduced to your larger requirements gathering process. The good news is that many providers are already focused on evolving their systems into adaptive platforms. As is evidenced in the earlier sections, What Makes a System Adaptable and Adaptability in the Market, the truly differentiating criteria (how to separate an adaptive system from the rest) are reasonably easy to spot. In Figure 60, we have highlighted a few of them.
Figure 59: Tell-Tale Signs of Adaptability Form and workflow building tools Tiered application architecture Ability to control upgrades Willingness of provider to guarantee operability of configurations post upgrade Extensibility of the system through plug-ins and a third-party developer community A portal-style interface in which system functions are movable, configurable objects A visual interface editing tool RESTful APIs and web services with access to most of the system functions and data Services oriented architecture A visual report building tool Fully mature SaaS delivery model Extensive self-service system training and documentation
Source: Bersin & Associates, 2009.
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Keep in mind it is still critically important that you should develop detailed use-case scenarios to guide the evaluation process. There are many other evaluation criteria that you should consider before purchase. Please see our LMS97 and Talent Management Systems98 industry studies for more guidance on selecting a provider platform.
Next-Generation Technology
The need for adaptability in enterprise talent and learning systems is clear. We expect providers to continue to find innovative ways to build flexibility and extensibility into their platforms. In this section, we briefly introduce some of the innovations already beginning to take shape.
Cloud Computing99
Cloud computing is currently a very popular (although perhaps misunderstood) buzzword in the IT world. The term originates from the common practice of using a cloud symbol to stand for the often nebulous networks (especially the public Internet) in between an enduser computer and the various servers and services that user accesses. Cloud computing is a natural extension of the concepts of SaaS and services oriented architectures introduced earlier in this report. Imagine if every one of the systems that you use in your company was delivered to you on a fully SaaS basis and yet, because those systems were designed to be open, each of those systems was fully integrated with each other. The IT department within your company would not need to worry about questions of hardware (other than the PC on your desktop), data centers, system integrations, et al. That is the vision of cloud computing. All of the systems you access would be served to you from the cloud.
97
For more information, Learning Management Systems 2009: Facts, Practical Analysis,
Trends and Provider Profiles, Bersin & Associates / Josh Bersin, Chris Howard, Karen OLeonard and David Mallon, April 2009. 98 For more information, Talent Management Systems 2010: Market Realities, Implementation Experiences and Solution Provider Profiles, Bersin & Associates / Leighanne Levensaler and Madeline Laurano, September 2009. 99 For more information, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloud_computing.
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Just as with SaaS (a prerequisite for cloud computing), there are certain basic benefits to simply having your applications hosted elsewhere. But the value of hosting is not what makes cloud computing such a hot commodity right now. Fully realized, cloud computing is a method for making the potential IT resources of the worlds largest companies available to any company large or small. Capital expenditures would no longer be necessary to invest in enterprise software applications. Companies would rent as much IT power as they need, similar to how they might pay for electricity today. From the perspective of the buying company, deciding to grow usage from hundreds of employee users to hundreds of thousands of employee users is simply a matter of turning a knob upwards. The provider(s) use technologies (such as multitenancy, tiered architectures and virtualization) to make adding and subtracting capacity remarkably routine. IBM has devoted a major marketing campaign recently to touting the potential of cloud computing. Many other similar IT services providers are now helping organizations determine if moving their IT infrastructures to the cloud makes sense. Just as larger organizations have balked at hosting and SaaS, there are many obstacles to be overcome before cloud computing might become well-adopted by either the private or public
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sectors. In terms of adaptive learning or talent platforms, it remains to be seen if a provider will offer a complete HR infrastructure in the cloud. We believe several are at least contemplating such an offering. For instance, Sabas recently announced plans to migrate its SaaS talent management suite product family to Amazons cloud computer infrastructure. This move could be seen as the first step toward a human capital or HR cloud.
Platform as a Service
Similar to the concept of cloud computing, another growing innovation in enterprise software is what is being called platform-as-a-service100 (PaaS). As the name implies, this new idea is very related to softwareas-a-service. As we have used it in this report, the word platform (as opposed to words like system, application or software) implies an environment on which to build functions and processes needed, rather than taking delivery of a finished set of developed functionalities. Therein lies the difference between PaaS and SaaS. A PaaS provider is offering more of a free-range product, comprised of do-it-yourself (DIY) tools with which organizations can then construct business applications. The platform likely comes with some mostly finished applications on which to build or to use as examples to follow; but, on balance, it is the DIY tools that are the value proposition for these products. The most well-know PaaS examples today are probably Google Apps, Saleforce. coms Force.com platform and web-based database tools like Intuits QuickBase product. PaaS is not likely to direct affect the learning or HR application markets any time soon, but you will likely see its influence as providers innovate to bring additional flexibility and extensibility to their products. We are not there yet in these markets; but it is possible that PaaS could become a fifth layer in our adaptive maturity model.
Predictive Platforms
One other theme that deserves attention is more specific to the talent management systems market. In our most recent market study for
100 For more information, Talent Management Systems 2010: Market Realities, Implementation Experiences and Solution Provider Profiles, Bersin & Associates / Leighanne Levensaler and Madeline Laurano, September 2009.
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this industry, we called out the potential for these systems to become predictive platforms as the next frontier101. Most current talent management systems do an adequate job of reporting on past activity in talent management processes, but do very little to forecast workforce needs and spot key trends. From our research, we are beginning to see a new potential for these platforms to help HR spot future trends. Once an organization has implemented multiple talent processes on an integrated platform, they begin to amass volumes of data. Pair that data with sophisticated business intelligence tools, and a whole new world of potential predictive talent analytics becomes possible. This predictive platform is not a new application, per se. Rather, it is the next generation of a talent management suite that offers users intelligent and contextual information experiences to support strategic talent planning and to help HR answer complex questions. This information enables organizations to intervene early and respond quickly to workforce changes. It also provides the basis for scenario planning which gives HR the information to optimize resources in certain business conditions or a given set of business constraints.
101 For more information, Talent Management Systems 2010: Market Realities, Implementation Experiences, and Solution Provider Profiles, Bersin & Associates / Leighanne Levensaler and Madeline Laurano, September 2009.
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Global Support
Multilanguage Capabilities
Among companies surveyed for this study, 63 percent have global operations outside of strictly the U.S. market. Figure 62 shows where these companies operate. However, not all LMSs are deployed in a learners native language. A past study showed that 21 percent of U.S. large corporations have had their LMSs deployed in multiple languages. Besides English, Spanish and French are the most common languages with 15 percent of the LMS deployments in Spanish and 16 percent in French102.
U.S. Canada Mexico North America Total South America & Caribbean Western Europe Eastern Europe Africa / Middle East Europe / Middle East / Africa Total Asia-Pacific (including Australia / New Zealand)
0% 10% 20% 30% 40%
55% 43% 36% 57% 35% 52% 32% 32% 53% 50%
50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
102 For more information, The LMS Operating Guide for Global Enterprises, Bersin & Associates / Karen OLeonard, March 2008.
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KEY POINT
One company cited that it paid a $50,000 upfront fee for a pack with nine to 10 languages, with annual fees running $20,000.
Among the global enterprises, the average LMS implementation had deployments in 11 languages. The majority of these companies had purchased a language pack from the LMS vendor, at a cost of tens of thousands of dollars. One company cited that it paid a $50,000 upfront fee for a pack with nine to 10 languages, with annual fees running $20,000. A language pack typically translates the LMS interface, main menus and other standard messages. For user-defined data, however, a company needs to perform the translations themselves or hire outside translators. Besides the out-of-pocket costs, using multiple languages requires additional administrative overhead. If a change is made to one version of the LMS, it must then be translated and changed in all languages. One company said that it maintains a massive spreadsheet with metadata for the application in order to keep track of all of the translation elements. Some political issues may arise, as well. With learners located in dozens of countries around the world, in which languages do you choose to translate? This can be a tough decision, with strong views on all sides. In addition, one company said that the local learners did not always agree with the translations. Sometimes the translation in the language pack was incorrect, in which case the vendor would correct the error and send back a patch. But sometimes it was just a matter of personal preference, in which case the vendor is less willing to make the change.
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Global LMS buyers should ask their providers about their CDN relationships. Keep in mind most providers do charge to use these services.
Local Expertise
Lastly, as most global organizations with global learning operations know full well, provider expertise in other global regions can also be a very important factor in successful global LMS deployments. Each country and global region is different, with different perspectives on learning, learning technology and, in some cases, different laws and regulations governing how these systems and their data are stored and used. Ultimately, a global-ready provider should be able to provide expertise in all regions in which they sell or, at the very least, offer ready access to on-the-ground partners with that expertise.
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Enterprise LMS
Centralized IT and HR Management
Enterprise HRMS
Source: Bersin & Associates, 2006. Source: Bersin & Associates, 2006.
A N A LY S I S
Bersin & Associates has found that organizations, which spend the time and money implementing an enterprisewide LMS, are much more effective and efficient than those that do not.
Centralization is not without its drawbacks. In fact, this is probably the most difficult way to implement these systems. The biggest challenge to a central LMS is that the training function itself is usually not centralized. As a result, the LMS must enable each business unit enough autonomy to customize its learning plans, programs, reports and approval processes for its individual needs. For example, if a single plant wants to roll out an ISO9000 training program to its supervisors, the plant training administrator must coordinate with a central group to define this program in the course catalogue, set up the appropriate reports and possibly import custom content for the particular needs. The process of reaching agreement on requirements and processes, and then implementing the LMS, so as to meet the needs of all stakeholders, typically takes many months or even years. (One major semiconductor manufacturer has been researching its enterprisewide LMS needs for more than five years and still does not have concurrence for a centralized solution.)
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BEST
PRACTICE
For an enterprisewide LMS implementation, we recommend you focus on the governance and administrative processes needed to implement business-unit-level programs.
After the implementation, the central training group typically coordinates with local administrators to ensure that the processes and data in the LMS are consistent across the company. Some teams create standards for data and processes, and enforce these standards throughout the company. However, most organizations struggle with this issue. Our research has found that only 18 percent of companies say that nearly all of their standards, processes and data in the LMS are consistent.103 Despite these challenges, the effort to centralize does pay off in many cases. We find that organizations that spend the time and money implementing an enterprisewide LMS are much more effective and efficient than those that do not.104 Just the ability to view program spending and consumption often can enable savings of millions of dollars by facilitating the reduction in duplicate programs and content. These LMS investments may take two to three years to fully be realized, and must be supported with a set of shared services for content integration and administration. For this reason, more companies are turning to a centralized model as they begin to view the LMS as a corporatewide strategic system.
Figure Figure 63: Consistency of Standards in an LMS 25: Consistency of Standards in Centralized LMS
46%
18%
6%
Very little consistency
30%
Some consistency
Source: Bersin & Associates, 2009.
103 For more information, The High-Impact Learning Organization: WhatWorks in the Management, Governance and Operations of Modern Corporate Training, Bersin & Associates / Josh Bersin, May 2008. 104 For more information, The High-Impact Learning Organization: WhatWorks in the Management, Governance and Operations of Modern Corporate Training, Bersin & Associates / Josh Bersin, May 2008.
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If you are embarking on an enterprisewide LMS implementation, we recommend you focus on the governance and administrative processes needed to implement business-unit-level programs. These groups have individual needs and must be empowered to make decisions quickly. Domain level security and distributed administrative features make this much easier.
Some companies maintain a centralized, enterprisewide system for certain corporate training programs and also enable individual business entities to run separate systems for their own training needs. In these scenarios, central IT and provider management services may be provided, and often there is a governance committee that helps individual business units implement consistent processes. Also of note, customer training organizations often implement their own systems for external fee-based training. The needs for customer training can be very different from the needs for employee training.
Figure 64: Companywide Plus Departmental LMSs Figure 26: Companywide LMS and Departmental LMS Model
Divisional LMS
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KEY POINT
The needs for customer training are very different from the needs for employee training and we strongly recommend separating these groups.
In some companies, the learning management systems are distributed geographically. For example, the North American sales organization runs one system and the European sales organization may run a different system. In addition to separate learning management systems, these individual groups typically have their own training staffs, budgets and content. They rely on the central training group and its LMS for enterprisewide programs, and offer their own business-specific programs to their learners. This approach often is far easier to implement than the previous model. The selection and implementation processes are much simpler because the organization is not trying to meet the needs of all business units with one solution. The central training group can choose an LMS for enterprisewide training initiatives, while individual business units or regions can choose their own systems to meet their particular needs. This often is critical to success in companies in which great levels of autonomy are given to business units or geographies. In the automobile industry, for example, training of dealers and technicians often is linked to sales and dealer systems. There is no particular business benefit to having this LMS also run the training for IT programmers and database developers they do not share much content, processes or data. The downside to this LMS strategy is that: Costs usually are higher, due to duplicate administrative staff and hardware systems; and, Data often is inconsistent and redundant because HR systems cannot easily update and replicate each system well.
Departmental Only
Of course many companies still maintain one or more departmental systems, with no central or companywide LMS. This model is prevalent in companies new to e-learning. In addition, many large organizations implement this model by accident individual groups that need training find their own solutions independently and so a number of systems crop up within the company. Over time, this ad-hoc approach becomes problematic, as it becomes nearly impossible to roll out enterprisewide programs with any level of consistency in learning method, management
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and reporting. This approach also results in much higher costs due to the duplication of personnel, systems and provider contracts. However, this approach is not without its benefits. It enables departments or business units to buy precisely what they need, and to implement their systems much more quickly. It also empowers individual training entities to own and manage their own systems. One function that often has its own LMS is customer training; customer education has a complex set of requirements for e-commerce, training units, interfacing with the CRM system and public access. As an example, we talked with a large, well-known high-technology company that had been trying to buy an enterprisewide LMS for three years. The taskforce continually revisited the project, but could not obtain executive buyoff on the ROI. Through our discussions, we realized that the problem faced by the company is that each individual business unit is run independently. The business itself is naturally decentralized; hence, the companys LMS strategy should be, as well.
Figure 65: Departmental LMS Model Figure 27: Departmental LMS Model
Customer Training
Divisional LMS
Enterprise HRMS
Divisional LMS
Source: Bersin & Associates, 2006. Source: Bersin & Associates, 2009
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2009
2008 2007
11% 5% 7% 8% 5% 0%
6% 6%
66%
5% 10%
2006
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The centralized model is becoming more and more popular each year. As organizations understand the tremendous value of the data within the LMS (particularly for global talent management), there is more interest in centralization than ever. However, the choice will depend upon your organizations governance structure and culture. The centralized approach (a single, companywide LMS) typically works best in companies with hierarchical, centralized decision-making structures. The other two models work well when the company itself has a decentralized approach in that management, authority and accountability are distributed to the lines of business or geographic regions. For this type of company structure, it is often very difficult for a team to select and implement a single, global system; hence, it is better to allocate budget and let each business entity make its own decisions. For example, in most pharmaceutical and medical-device companies, the LMS used for manufacturing must be highly validated and tested (for FDA regulations). This validation process can create the need for customization, which makes it very difficult to upgrade the system regularly. The LMS used for sales training, by contrast, requires no such validation. It is common (in such companies) for the sales organization to use a completely separate system from the manufacturing or R&D groups. Large high-technology product organizations often have a separate system dedicated to customer and partner education. While this is not ideal from the standpoint of sharing content, it occurs because customer training may be run by a completely different group and requires a set of features (e.g., price models, training credits and integration with CRM systems) that is not directly related to the corporate L&Ds schedule and priorities. Even with such satellite or distributed LMS systems, in almost every organization there is still a need for some global programs that all employees must take (i.e., compliance programs). For this reason, we do not recommend the departmental-only model for most organizations. This approach does not enable the organization to deploy and measure enterprisewide learning initiatives and typically results in much higher costs and uncoordinated, inconsistent training efforts across the company.
A N A LY S I S
In almost every organization, there is still a need for some global programs that all employees must take. For this reason, we do not recommend the departmental-only model for most organizations.
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Going forward, we clearly see a trend toward greater centralization. Today, many large enterprises are struggling with the challenges of managing multiple LMSs and many are making an effort to standardize on a single platform. Although this can be a lengthy process, a single, enterprisewide system can reduce overall costs, provide a companywide view of training activity, and provide greater consistency and reach of learning programs. We believe that more businesses will choose to standardize on a single platform in the coming years.
Implementation Challenges
For many organizations, implementing an LMS can be a complex and lengthy process. Since the system is potentially managing every learning activity for every employee (or customer), there are a lot of decisions to be made. The first set of decisions revolves around how learners and learning programs will be grouped. Here, you must carefully work with your provider to understand the implications of creating domains or groups, and identify from where data about employees will come. Second, you must establish ground rules for how programs will be managed (i.e., what templates will be established for classroom courses, e-learning courses, books, materials and other learning content). If you are conducting customer training, how will billing be established and what approvals will be in place for enrollment? Third, you must establish rules for security, manager approval and workflow. Which learners should have access to which functions? Again, the LMS provider will have worksheets and guidelines. Fourth, you must establish default settings for reports, assessments and other peripheral parts of the system. There is much more, as well, including: IT infrastructure; Customization of the user interface; Establishment of standards for content; Integration of existing content; and, Integration and standardization of development tools.
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Ultimately, the biggest challenges of implementation are in the areas of customization and content integration.
Customizations
No LMS is 100 percent configurable, so the process of implementation will require some tradeoffs. Even today, with all the advances made in adaptive systems, many buyers are still forced into some customizations. The best strategy is to start with a simple implementation, and add features and customizations over time. One high-tech company we interviewed wanted an out-of-the-box solution that it could get up and running quickly. The company made t-shirts emblazoned with the slogan, Just SAY NO to customizations, to continually guard against the temptation to tweak the system. The strategy worked, and the system was up and running in just 16 weeks.105 The project team created a roadmap for how the system would evolve over time, but the team still had to be extremely diligent to keep its focus on the initial implementation phase.
Content Integration
KEY POINT
Despite the existence of e-learning standards, content integration is the second biggest challenge for learning management systems.
Despite the existence of e-learning standards, content integration is the second biggest challenge for learning management systems. The problem is that e-learning standards are not consistently implemented by providers, which results in errors in launching, and tracking courses and assessments. The head of training for a large telecommunications company told us that its LMS from a leading provider still does not adequately track completions from a major content providers IT courses. As a result, learners must fax completion forms to the training administrator to get certification credit. This is not the way e-learning is supposed to work. The challenge of integrating and supporting instructional content remains a burden on the IT resources of many training departments. Developers of training content (commercial and custom) spend most
105 For more information, An E-Learning Platform for External Training: A Case Study, Bersin & Associates / Karen OLeonard, July 2005. Available to research members at www. bersin.com/library.
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of their time and resources developing quality instruction, rather than making the content work with enterprise systems, networks and other Internet services. We estimate that up to 15 percent of training technology budgets can be absorbed by what should be a non-issue for buyers. There are developments, however, that are gradually changing this landscape thus, making content integration a less challenging issue for buyers. SCORM and AICC specifications (despite the challenges that providers have had in complying with them) are starting to deliver benefits; many learning technology sites are using them to move content between development and deployment platforms. Most providers are pursuing web services architectures that allow for much easier and tighter integration scenarios. Both LMS and content technology are becoming more mature and many of the kinks of five to seven years ago are gradually being worked out with provider cooperation. Along with the challenges described above, our research on the topic of e-learning integration also uncovered strategies that organizations are using to minimize their negative impacts. We present these ideas for your consideration as you make technology and purchase decisions for your organization. 1. Do not rely on support for industry standards when making provider choices. Providers are well-intentioned when they tout their claims regarding support for standards, but these standards are simply not enough to guarantee that products will work together. These standards are, in fact, currently specifications leaving too much room for interpretation by individual providers. Additionally, these standards do not address all the critical technology issues you will encounter. 2. Take steps to verify integration prior to purchasing. In todays market, the most effective way to verify product integration is to speak to customers that have used the products together. (Please Note: Make sure these references are using the same version of the products that you plan to buy.) Some providers already have established relationships that you can leverage; however, this is just a starting point.
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KEY POINT
Experienced buyers know that there is much more to the complexity of dealing with many different e-learning systems and technologies.
3. Establish a list of preferred providers that you know will integrate with your infrastructure. Such a list can encourage the various groups that procure content to work with providers that will provide some degree of interoperability and support (when things go wrong). Many providers have established certification programs that validate the interoperability of their products and, while these programs are not a guaranteed solution, they are a step in the right direction. The status of e-learning content integration remains a mystery to many training managers. Industry commentators and providers have encouraged buyers to seek support for industry standards (e.g., AICC and SCORM) as a stamp of approval. While standards support is important, experienced buyers know that there is much more to the complexity of dealing with many different e-learning systems and technologies. Buyers are encouraged to work with providers that have demonstrated integration capabilities (both products and services) and can adhere to predetermined specifications for what integration means.
Data Integration
Data integration is a very important step in the implementation of an LMS. You must consider that every employee, customer or partner is represented in the system and his / her organization, reporting structure, job role, language and even competencies are all used by the LMS. Much of this data is typically stored in the organizations HRMS system (or CRM for customer training), so the implementation plan must include a stage for the development of scripts for regular and consistent data transfer. Small organizations will replicate this data in batches on a periodic basis. Large organizations, however, must implement or develop an ongoing update process to manage reorganizations, new hires, people leaving the organization and other updates to HR data. This data is vitally important to the LMS because it often drives enrollment in mandatory certification programs and governs which programs an individual can access. Accurate data integration is also important because it impacts the quality and accuracy of reports. When creating a report of student completions by manager or certification results by organization, the report must accurately reflect all the employees in that organization. When a customer training manager runs a report on revenue or compliance training for customers, the data must be accurate and up to date.
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Most LMS providers have extensive experience in data integration with typical HRMS systems, such as Oracle, PeopleSoft and SAP. If you do not have an IT organization with the time and skills to implement this work, you will likely have to hire a consulting firm to build these integration scripts. One alternative to avoid such problems is to purchase your LMS from your ERP software provider. All other providers LMS systems will need to be integrated with the source data independently. Our customer satisfaction research finds that larger LMS providers have much more experience and tools to help customers develop such integrations.
Governance Challenges
With a centralized LMS, one of the challenges is setting up a structure that enables some activities to be standardized and performed by a central team, while delegating authority to local groups to perform other activities. Figure 67 shows which activities are best performed by the central team, and which activities are best left to individual departments or local groups. For example, a centralized group should maintain global system and security settings, manage the portal design, and upgrade the system to the next release. This group also should take on most of the system support activities, including maintaining a team of central administrators, supporting local administrators and supporting learners.
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Figure 67: Shared Services for LMS Administration / Managementent Figure 29: Shared Services for LMS Administration / Managem
System Operations Maintain Global Settings and Security Settings Manage Portal Design and Functionality Upgrade to New Releases Maintain Skills Database Monitor Enrollments Manage Rosters
Both
Content e-Learning Content Integration and Publishing Reporting Develop Standard Reports
User Support Maintain Administrators Process Chargebacks Support Local Administrators Support Learners
Centralized
Maintain Course Catalog Local Reporting Set up Curricula / Learning Paths Map to Skills
Departmental
KEY POINT
Many organizations maintain shared services teams for managing many of the local or departmental training activities.
Local groups or departments should be responsible for monitoring their enrollments and handling rosters. They also should set up their courses and individual learning paths, and perform skills-to-competency mapping for their learners. Some activities should be performed by both the central training group and local groups. These include maintaining the skills database, course catalogue and instructors. Both groups should participate in these activities. Many organizations maintain shared services teams for managing many of the local or departmental training activities. These individuals are part of a centralized training team, and provide a menu of well-defined services to line managers and local training groups. These individuals may report into the central training group, with dotted line responsibility to the local group or vice versa.
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LMS Costs
As the number and types of learning tools continue to grow, organizations find that maintaining, upgrading and supporting these learning technologies can be costly. Between 2006 and 2007, organizational spending on technologies rose significantly to 11 percent of total training spending.106 That was a period in which midmarket buyers were snapping up LMS systems, e-learning delivery was at an alltime high, and training spending and staffing were on the rise. In 2008, the amount of spending allocated to learning technologies dropped precipitously to six percent. That was the first year of budget cuts, and usage of online learning and some learning technologies (including application simulation and virtual classroom tools) was down. In 2009, the proportion of spending on learning technologies ticked up slightly to eight percent. As we saw earlier, online learning is back up and with it the use of several authoring, delivery and informal learning tools.
Figure 68: Learning Technology Spending as a Percent of Total L&D Spending 2006 to 2009 U.S. Total
2009
2008
2007
2006
106 The percentage of total spending allocated to learning technologies includes onetime and ongoing fees paid for technology licenses, hosting, support and upgrades. It does not include staff salaries for managing the technologies.
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Figure 69: Learning Technology Spending as a Percent of Total L&D Spending 2006 to 2009 by Company Size
Small
8% 7%
4%
11%
Midsize
9% 6%
7% 7%
Large
8% 7%
80%
100%
Figure 70: Learning Technology Spending as a Percent of Total L&D Spending 2009 by Industry
Healthcare / Medical Manufacturing Banking / Financial Services Technology Government Insurance Business Services / Consulting Retail 0%
13% 9%
8%
8% 7% 7% 6% 5% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
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50%
40% 30% 20% 10% 0%
52%
33% 21% 6%
Less than $50,000
27% 13%
$50,000 $149,000
29% 18% 0%
$900,000+
5%
$300,000 $599,000
Large / Global
Midmarket
Small
Source: Bersin & Associates, 2010.
KEY POINT
Recent data has shown a decrease in average LMS operating budgets, as compared with previous years most likely due to the widespread use of SaaS and hosted systems, which are less costly to implement.
Implementing and maintaining a learning management system, specifically, can require significant resources. Unfortunately, the work is not over once the system is up and running. Maintaining, upgrading and supporting these systems on an ongoing basis also require significant resources. These costs include: Provider support; Upgrade and maintenance costs; Software licensing fees; and, Other costs directly associated with operating the system.
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As one would expect, total operating costs increase substantially with the size of the company and, therefore, a greater number of learners. The majority of companies with fewer than 1,000 learners spent less than $50,000 annually, on average, while most companies with more than 10,000 learners reported spending at least $300,000 annually. (See Figure 72.)
50%
40% 30% 20% 10% 0% 0%
Less than $50,000
33%
0%
0%
5% 0%
0%
7% 0%
$75,000 $149,000
$150,000 $299,000
$600,000 $899,000
$900,000+
Large / Global
Midmarket
Small
Source: Bersin & Associates, 2010.
Aside from the number of learners, the costs and resources required for implementing and maintaining an LMS depend on many factors. Figure 73 shows various fees and issues to consider with an enterprisewide LMS.
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Figure 73: LMS Operating Cost Considerations Elements License Fees (paid to vendor) Support Fees (paid to vendor) Language Packs End-User Support / Help Desk Maintenance Considerations First one to three years Based on the number of users Based on the number of users and level of support Number of languages Internal staffing versus outsourcing IT / technical resources in-house Vendor support Complexity Vendor professional services and / or in-house technical staff Impact on future upgrades IT environment Number of servers needed Number of sources of HR data Quality of HR data Number of legacy systems Quality of data Amount and type of content Number of sources In-house versus outsourced Number of locations Support model Number of administrators Number of locations Support model Number of administrators Number of locations Type of users Support model
Source: Bersin & Associates, 2009.
Data Migration
Application Administration
Application Training
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For instance, every global enterprise we interviewed had performed some type of upgrade or enhancement during the course of the year. These ranged from small enhancements costing $15,000 to major upgrades costing $200,000 or more.
Staffing
In addition to the installation and operating costs, an LMS requires a significant number of staffing resources to manage and support the system. Resources are needed for LMS administration, learner support, reporting and project management. Technical or IT staff is needed for ongoing system maintenance, integrations and upgrades. Also, one or more persons are needed to manage the provider contract and relationship. To perform these activities, companies with more than 30,000 to 40,000 learners allocated an average of 40 FTEs (full-time equivalents). Those with more than 100,000 learners employed between 50 to 100 FTEs, depending on the size and complexity of the organization. The allocation of resources per role is illustrated in Figure 74, which shows that approximately one-half of all resources among the companies interviewed was devoted to LMS administration. End-user support personnel accounted for 17 percent of all resources and IT / technical personnel comprised 10 percent. Fewer resources were required for activities, such as reporting, contracts / provider relationship, project management and content management. Note that these figures do not include content developers, which can require significant resources.107
107 For more detailed salary and staffing requirements by role, please see, The Corporate Learning Factbook 2010: Benchmarks, Trends and Analysis of the U.S. Corporate Training Market, Bersin & Associates / Karen OLeonard, January 2010.
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Figure 74: Total LMS Staffing by Company Size Number of Learners 30,000 to 40,000 100,000 or More *FTEs full-time equivalents. Number of FTEs* per 1,000 Learners 1.2-1.3 FTEs .1 -.3 FTEs
Source: Bersin & Associates, 2008.
Figure 75: Allocation of of LMS Resources (by role) Figure 17: Allocation LMS Resources by Role
Other, 5% Content Management, 3% Project Management, 3% Contracts / Vendor Relationship, 3% Measurement / Reporting End-User Support
17% 8% 10%
IT / Technical
Administration
51%
Source: Bersin & Associates, 2008. Source: Bersin & Associates, 2009.
One final and very significant factor in the cost of an LMS is whether the system is implemented internally on the corporate infrastructure, or hosted externally by the LMS provider or third party. This is discussed in the following section.
Delivery Models
As covered in detail in the earlier section on Adaptability, today there has been a revolution in the deployment of enterprise software. There are now three vastly different options available to buyers (see Figure
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76). Because of the resources required to implement and maintain an LMS internally (behind the firewall), more and more organizations are choosing to purchase the application as a service from an external provider.
Figure 76: Three Models for Deployment Model Description You purchase the software and own it for perpetuity, paying 18 percent to 22 percent per year for ongoing support and maintenance. You purchase the software and a third party operates it for you. Hosted Implications You own and must operate the software additional costs include database, hardware, operations and staff to apply updates and patches. You own the software; another company operates it, and generally charges you a monthly or annual charge for operations, upgrade and support. Most LMS vendors offer this, as well. A good solution if you lack IT resources. You do not purchase or install the software and, while your monthly costs may appear higher, you have no cost of operations, no cost of upgrades, and no cost of maintenance or hardware.
Source: Bersin & Associates, 2009.
Licensed
The LMS vendor does not license the software but only rents it to you, configured for your needs.
KEY POINT
One of the big benefits of the hosted or on-demand model is the more predictable operating costs.
Among companies using an LMS, two thirds are using systems that are hosted externally and one-third are using systems installed internally behind the firewall. The significant penetration of hosted systems is striking it underscores the need for systems that are easy and less costly to install and maintain. Hosted systems are more prevalent among small companies, among which 65 percent are using hosted solutions. Smaller companies have fewer IT resources and, therefore, require an easy-to-use, easy-to maintain system. Midsize and large organizations also have greater numbers with externally hosted systems, although the split is closer to equal.
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1% 3% 3% 100%
60%
80%
Among industries, healthcare companies, high tech and manufacturers have the highest usage of hosted systems, while retail companies have a high penetration of installed systems.
Banking / Financial Services Business Services / Consulting Government Healthcare / Medical Insurance Manufacturing Retail Technology 0%
Installed internally
33% 50% 53% 20% 43% 38% 57% 37% 20% 40%
63% 45% 50% 80% 58% 60% 43% 62% 60% 80%
3% 4% 4% 1% 0% 2% 0% 1% 100%
Hosted externally
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KEY POINT
SaaS or on-demand systems are not just for small or midsize organizations any more. Global enterprise providers, such as SumTotal and Plateau, are increasingly providing SaaS deployments to very large global enterprises, which tend to find the reduced IT costs very compelling.
As most organizations now have broadband Internet access, the ondemand or SaaS model has become very popular. It is by far the fastestgrowing model for LMS implementations, particularly for small and midsize organizations, and increasingly for larger organizations, as well. One of the big benefits of the hosted or on-demand model is the more predictable operating costs. In a licensed software model, you must compute your five-year costs, including a major upgrade after three to four years. In the on-demand model, your operating costs are slightly higher throughout, but you avoid the major upgrade headaches. If you do have an internal IT organization, you can easily create a costof-ownership model comparing the options. You should compare the operating costs for managing your LMS with the on-demand prices quoted from your provider.
Figure 79: Key Requirements for LMS Outsourcing Requirements Content integration services (you will have to send them content to integrate), with off-the-shelf integration. Support services in catalog management and customizations. Easy to use, configurable reporting systems. Interface and tool set to let you import HR data and export learning data.
Source: Bersin & Associates, 2009.
Even given these benefits, an on-demand or hosted solution is not for everyone. Many organizations will not permit sensitive HR data to leave the internal network. For those that do, integration between hosted LMSs, and internal HR and ERP systems is far more complex. Moreover, many hosted solutions do not provide the degree of customization that an organization requires. Buyers must make sure that their providers
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KEY POINT
Buyers must make sure that their providers have the level of features and customization needed to meet the needs of each of their constituencies.
have the level of features and customization needed to meet the needs of each of their constituencies (see Figure 79). Something as simple as creating a custom report may become a major headache if the outsourced provider cannot flexibly arrange the data to view by business unit, department or geography. All that said, many of the larger LMS providers that offer SaaS solutions are becoming more experienced with very large SaaS implementations; they are, therefore, experienced at mitigating some of the problems that might have prevented larger organizations from choosing this model. The bottom line is this if your configuration needs are simple, and you do not have the IT support or resources to implement and manage an LMS, a hosted or on-demand solution is a good option. In most cases, these LMSs will be simpler and less expensive to operate, but may provide less flexibility to customize business processes and integrate with other systems. If you are looking at hosted solutions, we strongly recommend that you select a company that primarily or exclusively provides an outsourced model. Today, almost every LMS provider offers hosted or on-demand solutions.
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In the midsize business segment, outsourcing of LMS operations jumped considerably in 2007, as LMS vendors targeted this lucrative and underserved market. Usage dropped slightly in this segment in 2008 with the onset of the recession and has since leveled off at 35 percent. Outsourcing among large businesses also remained fairly steady from 2008 to 2009, with nearly one-half of these companies using external providers for their LMS operations.108
Figure 80: Use of External Providers for LMS Operations 2006 to 2009
Figure 81: Percent of U.S. Companies Outsourcing LMS Operations 2006 to 2009 by Company Size
46%
33% 32%
60%
80%
100%
108 For more information, The Corporate Learning Factbook 2009: Statistics, Benchmarks and Analysis of the U.S. Corporate Training Market, Bersin & Associates / Karen OLeonard, January 2009.
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Figure 82: Percent of U.S. Companies Outsourcing LMS Operations 2009 by Industry
26%
Small 26% 29%
35%
Midsize
35% 36%
33%
43%
Large
48% 47%
80%
100%
Many midsize and large companies delegate these tasks to their central help desk, with a few specialists assigned for level two support. The growth in outsourcing within these businesses may be a response Copyright to headcount cuts or a general movement toward outsourcing2009 Bersin & Associ support activities.
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Figure 84: Percent of U.S. Companies Outsourcing Learner Support 2006 to 2009 by Company Size
Small
26% 28% 21% 23% 31% 26% 21% 23% 23% 25% 39%
Midsize
Large
0%
20%
80%
100%
2009
2008
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Figure 85: Percent of U.S. Companies Outsourcing Learner Support 2009 by Industry
Business Services / Consulting Healthcare / Medical Manufacturing Insurance Banking / Financial Services Technology Government
28%
23% 21% 7%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Retail
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Figure 87: Percent of U.S. Companies Outsourcing LMS Administration 2006 to 2009 by Company Size
27% 26%
Midsize 11%
21% 22% 21% 31% 28% 27% 40% 2009 2008 60% 2007 2006 80% 100%
Large
14% 0% 20%
Figure 88: Percent of U.S. Companies Outsourcing LMS Administration 2009 by Industry
Technology Banking / Financial Services Insurance Manufacturing Business Services / Consulting Government Healthcare / Medical Retail 0% 6% 10% 20% 16% 16% 15% 21% 20% 19%
25%
30%
40%
50%
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Reporting Customization Integration Ease of Use Adoption Administration Provider Service and Support IT Implementation and Security Issues
Making Content Work Correctly 20%
39%
45%
38% 27%
32%
39%
31%
32%
25% 20%
23%
28%
19%
11%
14%
14% 8%
0% 10%
18% 17%
20% 30% 40% 50%
2011
2009
Source: Bersin & Associates, 2010.
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Time -Savings Access to Consolidated Data Cost-Savings User Experience Improvement End-User Adoption / Compliance Higher-Quality Data Process Step Reduction Error Reduction Headcount Reduction Time to Fill Roles / Skills Reduction None of the Above
0%
We also asked about what advertised benefits current LMS owners have actually achieved with their systems. Figure 90 outlines the overall results. In general, companies are fairly satisfied with the business value of their learning management systems. Many companies are satisfied that the LMS increases their learning department productivity, and that the Copyright 2006 Bersin & Associates. All rights reserved. solutions provide some cost-savings and additional access to consolidated data. However, there is still a lot of room for improvement. Who is more likely to be dissatisfied? Here is a quick summary of our findings. Over the next few pages, we will go into some of these factors in greater detail. Those likely to be dissatisfied include: First-time buyers; Customers of vary large providers; Customers of very small providers; Users of internally development systems;
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Companies with two or more departmental LMSs; Companies that are not running the most current software release; Midsize and large companies (those with more than 1,000 employees); and, Those that have to spend more to get what they want out of the system (of course!). First-time buyers are dissatisfied because they experience for first time the difficulties with the systems (e.g., ease of use, reporting, administration), whereas replacement buyers know what to expect. Satisfaction depends on vendor. Some of the large leading vendors have low satisfaction rates, as do users of the many other systems not covered in this study. These others represent a hodgepodge of different systems some from large service providers, like IBM or Accenture, for which the LMS is not their main business, and some from other small niche companies. Users of internally developed systems were also very dissatisfied. Industry is also a factor in satisfaction. Industries with little IT experience seem more likely to be unhappy with their systems. Finally, the less the company spends, the happier it is. Companies spending less than $75,000 per year on their LMSs are happier than those spending more. Granted, the complexity of these systems makes it difficult to satisfy customers the LMS is no longer just an application for the training department. Today, the LMS touches every employee in the company, and ties directly into HR and other third-party business applications. These systems can be just as complex as ERP systems. But vendors need to do more than just improve their products; they need to significantly improve their customer service and support, as well.
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Most vendors received inferior scores on customer service, product / technical support and being a business partner to customers. These are areas that can, and should, be addressed immediately in order to improve satisfaction.
Figure 91: Feature Needs by Degree to Which They Are Met by Provider Overall External customer training support Catalogs Learning content integration and delivery Course and resource management Enrollment and registration administration Usability Curricula, learning plans and certification management Learning reporting Provider support
eCommerce Mobile learning Areas for Improvement Knowledge-base or performance support functionality
System configurability Ease of integration with other systems Skills and competency management Surveys and assessments Social / collaborative learning
Less Important
Very Important
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Figure 92: Feature Needs by Degree to Which They Are Met by Provider Global and Large Segments109 Catalogs External customer training support Course and resource management Enrollment and registration administration Learning content integration and delivery System scalability Usability Curricula, learning plans and certification management Learning reporting Provider support Ease of integration with other systems
System configurability Skills and competency management Surveys and assessments Social / collaborative learning
Less Important
Very Important
Figure 93: Feature Needs by Degree to Which They Are Met by Provider Small and Midmarket Segments110 External customer training support Ease of integration with other systems Skills and competency management Surveys and assessments Social / collaborative learning System configurability Course and resource management Catalogs Enrollment and registration administration Curricula, learning plans and certification management Learning content integration and delivery System scalability Provider support Usability Learning reporting Very Important
eCommerce
Less Important
109 Global in this case means companies with 10000 or more employees spread across multiple geographic regions. 110 In this case, midmarket means companies with between 1000 and 10000 employees in one location only.
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Features were placed into each category based on the percentage of customers in each segment giving each of the following responses to our question. Very Important Ninety percent or more indicated importance (either very or somewhat) Moderately Important Less than 90 percent or more indicated importance (either very or somewhat), and less than 25 percent indicated unimportance (either very or somewhat) Not Important Twenty-five percent indicated unimportance (either very or somewhat) Provider Generally Meets Needs Fifty percent or more said LMS completely meets needs. Areas for Improvement Less than 50 percent said LMS completely meets needs. Both LMS providers and LMS shoppers can take valuable information away from these charts. As you will see, many customers feel that their systems are lacking in immediate out-of-box value. Remarkably few items are in the end meets my need row of the table, regardless of customer size. These ratings may, in part, be driven by the amount of customizations needed in many systems (discussed next). In addition, although most LMSs today include a multitude of tools and capabilities (such as tools for content development, content management, testing / assessment, and even e-learning content), many customers find these tools to be lacking. It is difficult for LMS vendors to develop the breadth of topnotch tools that customers demand, in addition to the learning management capabilities. Vendors must either improve their tools or partner with third parties to deliver an integrated solution. Social Learning and Talent Management-Driven Learning Social learning and talent management functionalities are still very new, and customers needs in these areas tend to be very complex. So it is not surprising that customers are not yet satisfied in these areas. What is interesting is that this item grew in importance from our last study, now rated as moderately important.
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Reporting and Analytics Vendors must improve their systems reporting capabilities. Reporting is a notoriously difficult area for LMS products because of the range of data and varied needs of users. With the increased emphasis on enterprisewide reporting and demonstrating business results, customers are becoming more demanding of reporting capabilities and are even less satisfied with their systems performance. Content and System Integration Despite the creation of e-learning standards, content integration is still a challenge. The problem is that e-learning standards are not consistently implemented by vendors, resulting in errors in launching and tracking courses and assessments. The challenge of integrating and supporting instructional content remains a burden on the IT resources of many training departments. Developers of training content (commercial and custom) spend most of their time and resources developing quality instruction, rather than making the content work with enterprise systems, networks and other Internet services. However, there are developments that are gradually changing this landscape, thus, making content integration a less challenging issue for buyers. o Despite the challenges that vendors have had in complying with them, the SCORM and AICC specifications are starting to reap benefits. Many learning technology sites are using them to move content between development and deployment platforms. Most vendors are pursing web services architectures that allow for much easier and tighter integration scenarios. Both LMS and content technology are becoming more mature, and many of the kinks of five years ago are gradually being worked out with vendor cooperation.
Integration with Internal Systems In most large enterprises, LMSs must be integrated with HR and ERP systems, eCommerce systems, enterprise portals, and a variety of other applications.111 Customers frequent find faults with these setups. This may be due to the increasing demands customers are placing upon their systems. For
111 Enterprise resource planning is a category of enterprise software that typically integrates financials, HR, manufacturing, order processing and customer relationship management in an integrated solution.
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example, the growing interest in talent / performance management has placed more demands on integrating the learning system with the HR / performance management system. Ease of Use Another area of improvement for learning management systems is in the areas of ease of use for learners and administrators. Ease of use will always be a challenge for LMSs, as these systems are taking a large amount of functionality and trying to shield the user from complexity in an easy-to-use package. Administrators need different functionality from learners, but also with an intuitive interface. This makes UI development a double challenge. Some vendors find that, while they can provide administrators with powerful capabilities, the system becomes too hard for learners to use. Customizations As we have covered in great detail, buyers want adaptive systems. Many companies find that a plain vanilla LMS will not meet their needs and they require customizations and enhancements to their systems, such as adding custom fields, modifying screens, and building utilities that move data to and from other systems. These customizations can greatly impact costs and implementation schedules. Once customizations are in place, they create a set of customer-owned modifications, which must be continuously retrofitted as new releases of the LMS are installed. Companies that develop such customizations end up with highly customized LMS systems that are very difficult (and expensive) to upgrade.
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In addition, several product-related issues directly impact overall satisfaction. One is the ease with which the system can be customized to meet the customers needs customizations can cost customers a great deal of time and money. One key area is the systems reporting capabilities. Again this year, reporting capabilities received the lowest satisfaction ratings of any area. This is a marketwide problem, as this was one of the lowest-rated areas for nearly every vendor in the study. A vendors ability to provide a complete, out-of-the-box solution also greatly impacts customer satisfaction. Indeed, the number of features offered by learning management systems today is almost staggering (to list a few): Content management; Content development tools; Testing / assessment tools; Talent management functionality; and, Social software functionality. Small and midsize organizations, in particular, want a complete package, rather than having to purchase and integrate third-party tools themselves. As previously discussed, LMSs must also provide easy integration with e-learning content, which is another key determinant of satisfaction. Buyers should make sure to include testing and integration of their content with the implementation contract. Finally, ease of use plays a key role in customer satisfaction; customers demand systems that are easy to use for both learners and administrators. This is no easy feat for LMS vendors, given the complexity of these systems but some vendors do better than others.
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Not sure 6%
Somewhat unlikely; we recognize a need, but do not have the budget or resources 14%
Source: Bersin & Associates, 2010.
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In some cases, a high likelihood to switch may result from a buyer simply purchasing the wrong product. Although this may seem to be a buyerdriven issue, vendors that push their products into the wrong customer segment or application area often find themselves in this situation. It is very important for vendors to be honest and practical during the selection cycle, and to make sure that they truly believe their solutions are a good fit for the buyers needs.
Size Matters
Another factor influencing customer satisfaction is the size of the implementation (in terms of number of learners served) and cost of the system. In general, smaller organizations (with fewer learners and simpler implementations) are more satisfied. As more learners are added, the system becomes more complex and more costly. This complexity is not driven simply by the number of learners, but by the number of different domains or groups of learners, which typically have different reports, administrators, security issues and course catalogues. These complexities make the implementation much more difficult. In addition, large global enterprises generally require a high degree of flexibility and scalability, and a sophisticated software architecture in their learning management systems. These customers require far more than features; they expect their LMSs to function as part of their corporate IT architectures and, thus, have extensive integration needs. Hence, vendors with a large number of these global enterprise customers have lower satisfaction ratings than vendors with a few, smaller-scale implementations. Looking at this question from the other direction, we do see a difference in satisfaction and loyalty based on the size of the LMS provider. In Figure 95, we breakout interest in switching based on the size of the provider (in revenue and customers).
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8% Small 0% Midmarket
15%
23%
54%
7%
20%
37%
0%
0%
0% 20%
67%
33%
40% 60% 80% 100%
Extremely likely; we already have a plan in place Somewhat likely; we are strongly considering switching Somewhat unlikely; we recognize a need, but do not have the budget or resources Not likely; we see no compelling need to switch Not sure
Source: Bersin & Associates, 2010.
The reasoning here is partially the same as for size of implementation. While not always true, buyers do tend to look for providers like themselves; so larger providers will attract those larger, more complex implementations. That said, there are smaller providers that focus on large company needs, and the data in Figure 95 above suggests that choosing such a provider may have benefits.
An Opportunity
Most companies derive a great deal of business value from their LMSs but not without a significant number of customer satisfaction issues. The results show that most vendors in this market do a mediocre job of
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servicing their customers and understanding their clients true business needs. For vendors, this is another clear signal to invest more in their services organizations. This also presents a real opportunity for vendors to differentiate themselves in the marketplace. With so many dissatisfied or barely satisfied customers, an exceptional vendor can quickly rise to the top and become the gold standard of LMS vendors. We will continue to monitor customer satisfaction with learning management systems and will report on the progress going forward.
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Selecting an LMS
Given the wide variety in providers and feature sets, how do you go about selecting the right system? Our research has illustrated many best practices to help pick the right system and the right partner provider.
8. Check References.
7. Evaluate Providers.
The first question an organization must answer before purchasing (or replacing) a learning management system is, what business problems are we trying to solve? Why is this project important? What strategic goals will it address? When will it provide a return on investment (ROI)?
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These are all questions that need to be answered early in the process. The answer is not automating our training delivery process but, rather, statements like: We want to save time in the training delivery process; We want to capture higher-quality information on development needs to improve workforce skills; We want to implement a sound career management and development process to improve our leadership pipeline; or, We want to implement on-demand or social learning to improve worker performance. At an even higher level than this, you need to ask, are these goals designed to increase sales, drive expansion into new markets or reduce costs? You should have these business goals clearly defined before you set out to select a system. When you have the answers to these questions, you are able to evangelize the LMS to others in the company in order to secure their support throughout the procurement and deployment process. The business case should identify the strategic corporate objectives being addressed and provide specifics on how this project will contribute to the objectives. If improving customer satisfaction is a strategic objective, for example, then providing better training to customer service staff will help achieve that objective. The LMS is a means to this end; it is required to administer and track staff compliance with training standards. Project teams that have not gone through the rigor of the previous steps in this methodology tend to struggle with clearly articulating and quantifying the value that the organization will receive as a result of the requested investment. One of the most common problems we encounter is an organization that tries to justify the cost to implement systems outside of addressing an overarching learning strategy and the measurable outcomes of the specific learning program initiatives the system will ultimately support. Not surprisingly, these same organizations lack a senior leader outside of L&D to champion the initiative and the funding request. In the competitive landscape of business today, most executives are truly committed to improving workforce productivity and ensuring that the organization has the best talent to deliver on the business strategy. L&Ds role is to be the enabler of organizational performance and to support these goals.
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A best-practice approach is to create a story that illustrates how the requested investment will add value and pay off over time, allowing executives and stakeholders to envision the direct connection to the business. This type of high-impact business case should include both direct benefits (identified through the outcomes aligned to specific measures) and indirect benefits (described as other business measures and descriptions of the user experience). Once the business goals are identified, an ROI analysis should be conducted to justify the purchase to the organization. All the costs and potential savings for the project need to be identified. Companies have many different standards for what can be considered cost-savings and what type of financial model should be used to calculate ROI. Once you have documented the goals and ROI for the project you will need to present your findings to the executives who can help fund and support your project.
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Any process design effort should begin with the end in mind. The business goals identified should determine the process and data outcomes, as well as the overall user experience. Due to the complexity of each individual process, truly integrated processes typically evolve over time as foundational data is established. L&D leaders charged with organizing and facilitating these sessions should try to involve representatives from key stakeholder groups (such as employees, managers and business leaders) to provide additional perspectives thus beginning your change management efforts. The team should include representatives from all affected groups. The IT group should be at the top of your list since you need their help to implement the system. If you are training customer service agents then the director of customer service may be on your list of stakeholders. By including all affected groups, you will not only get a better list of requirements, but you will get better support when the time comes to implement the system.
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2. Global Capabilities Multiple languages, multiple currencies, localized user experience and flexible business rules; 3. Delivery Model Software-as-a-Service; and, 4. Architecture J2EE and SOA.
Step 4: Make Initial Contacts and Create a Request for Information (RFI)
Developing and submitting an RFI to this select group of vendors is your next step. The purpose of the RFI is to get enough information from the vendors to determine if you should spend any more time with them. Include the big rocks and / or other vendor characteristics that you cannot live without, and ask the vendors to respond as to how they would fulfill each one of your needs. You may need to qualify the vendors on things other than product features. For example, perhaps your budget is very limited and you suspect that only a few vendors will be able to meet your price (although remember that vendors are very flexible on price these days). In the RFI, you should ask for some approximate pricing. Or there may be a specific product feature that automatically removes a vendor from further consideration if they can not provide that capability. For example, some
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industries must comply with very strict federal laws on how training records must be maintained and how quickly they can be accessed. If this applies to you, then not having this feature is a show-stopper in proceeding further with that vendor. The RFI will help minimize the time you spend with vendors that will not meet your needs. You should not submit the RFI to any more than 10 vendors. By the way, if you skip this step, your RFP process could become a nightmare. The RFI process will give you the information to narrow down the list to a few (ideally two or three) vendors for the RFP. Sending out an RFP to a dozen vendors is a frustrating and very time-consuming process for you, as well as for the vendors themselves. We also recommend conducting discovery briefings with three to four providers and your core project team before issuing a request for proposal (RFP). The goal of the briefings is to familiarize your project team with the providers capabilities and to explore potential solution options based on your critical requirements (all before your procurement team puts a moratorium on communications with the providers). Advances in software development and delivery models have created an environment in which innovative features are released with great frequency. Providers that have adopted open standards and Web 2.0 technologies are now offering highly interactive user experiences, including capabilities that were not previously possible with earlier generations of learning management systems. During the briefing, your team should see what is possible in terms of data and process integration, and enhanced user experiences which will ultimately help shape your detailed requirements documents (including the use-case scenarios). The briefings can be conducted using a webconferencing tool and should last about an hour or two. Additionally, the rationale for determining your high-level requirements and conducting the provider briefings before the development of the business case is to determine the most accurate solution definition, and to establish some baselines for pricing and level of effort.
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to evaluate the providers. The process documentation is the best starting place. Each process step, with the inputs and outputs, should represent one (or many) features that you would like to have in a system. We recommend organizing these features by functional or process area. For each feature, your project team and stakeholders should identify the level of criticality. We recommend identifying the features you need to have for the initial deployment separately from the features you will need in subsequent phases. Most providers are feature-rich in some areas, and lighter in newly developed or acquired applications. Developing a clear understanding of your immediate needs and long-term needs will aid in the evaluation of how a providers product roadmap aligns with your roadmap. While feature lists are helpful for general analysis of providers, they will not do you much good in the final selection and, in our experience, developing use-case scenarios is the most effective approach in determining which providers truly understand and have resolved the problems you want to solve. A use case is a complete scenario that describes how your organization handles (or expects to handle) a specific business process. Use cases deliberately focus on the nittygritty, real-world details (not the sexy features that often get attention in standard provider demonstrations). Additionally, use cases let your organization set the playing field based on your actual needs not the providers strengths. Since each provider under evaluation gets the same use cases, you also have a strong apples-to-apples comparison of systems. For the most realistic use cases, we recommend involving managers and employees in the design or review phase of the use-case development effort. Figure 97 is an example of the structure for a comprehensive use case. Some organizations also supply the providers with sample data and content to streamline the evaluation process.
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Figure 97: An Example of the Structure of a Use Case Use Case Title Scenario Objective(s) Actor(s) Preconditions / Setup Step-by-Step Actions Success Case Results Success Case Expectations / Notes
Source: Bersin & Associates, 2009.
We recommend that you select five to six scenarios to be supported by a use case. These scenarios should come from your big rocks (the non-negotiables), as well as any process that is particularly complex in its management. We advise organizations to develop use-case scenarios for each user role. Use cases are a fantastic way to evaluate the user experience. Providers may not be able to support your processes exactly as they are defined in the use-case description but providers may be able to offer you a more effective and efficient approach, based on the flexibility of their products and customer experience. The best course of action is to truly understand and document what your needs are, as well as the desired results / outcomes. Your technical requirements are another set of needs that should be documented before you formally engage the providers. We recommend engaging your IT business partners as early as possible and including them on the core project team (if they were not involved in the development of the business case). One of the biggest decisions your team will make will be on the delivery model. Unfortunately, this decision is made difficult because of the inconsistent use of terminology and associated definitions among providers on the three models. (See section, Delivery Models.) Regardless of the type of delivery model you select, IT is a major contributor and partner in the selection, implementation and operations of your solution.
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Intangibles; Use-case scenarios; IT briefing; Customer reference checks; Financials / provider analysis; Pricing; and, Service-level agreement. We strongly recommend establishing a specific protocol addressing which members of your project team will be evaluating and scoring each aspect. Criteria, weightings and evaluation scales should be established to ensure consistency and to focus on the most important requirements.
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involves the communication of the score totals, as well as a plus / delta analysis of each provider and its solution.
Figure 98: Sample Customer Reference Questions Does the functionality of the system meet or exceed your business needs? Did the vendor deliver the solution on time, on budget and at an acceptable quality level? How would you describe the customer service and the post-implementation support (i.e., poor / good / excellent / exceptional)? Was the training provided on the use of the system thorough and appropriate? Were promised upgrades, enhancements, patches and service packs delivered as scheduled / promised? Would you buy this product again, and choose this vendor and solution?
Source: Bersin & Associates, 2009.
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With a myriad of providers serving the market, LMS buyers have a wealth of available choices. Recent mergers, however, are an indication that the market at the top end is consolidating. Yet many new providers are still entering the space at the bottom. Distinguishing between providers continues to get harder and harder. Today, we believe the market has started to segment itself into several broad categories of LMS companies: 1. Integrated Talent Management Suites, such as Plateau, Saba, SumTotal and Taleo / Learn.com; 2. Social Learning Platforms, such as Jambok, Bloomfire, Q2 Learning and Expertus One; and, 3. Specialists, for verticals such as healthcare, extended enterprise, compliance and content. The one group that you might notice is not there is traditional employee training management systems. Yes, most providers in this report do
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KEY POINT
Our recent research shows that more than 70 percent of organizations with more than 10,000 employees have one or more LMSs installed.
support that need but, oddly enough, there are few providers which would now say that is their one and only focus. Across these categories, there are two slices to keep in focus: Market Leaders Which have three percent or more market share globally; and, Emerging Providers Which are smaller companies that are rising in status and size. The market leaders tend to have a large enough installed base and revenue stream to invest in acquisitions and new technologies (e.g., webcasting, collaboration, content management and talent management features); they offer features and capabilities needed in a wide range of industries. The smaller providers may actually have similar or greater capabilities in many areas but have fewer customers, and less R&D dollars for growth and investment. They tend to focus on specific market segments (e.g., industries, geographies or customer types), and often have unique system, content or services capabilities. This is not to say that buyers should only consider market leaders. The market leaders indicated in Figure 100 tend to have large numbers of customers and may, in fact, not serve your particular market or needs as well as one of the smaller providers. Our research on customer satisfaction also showed that the smaller, fast-growing providers have equal or higher customer satisfaction in many cases.
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Figure 100: Global Top 30 Market Leaders (3% market share or greater) Plateau Oracle PeopleSoft (Oracle) Saba SAP SumTotal Emerging Providers (<3%) Ancile Solutions (RWD) ACS Business Training Library Cegos Group Certpoint Cornerstone OnDemand ElementK Healthstream Intuition imc Learnshare Meridian KSI MC Strategies Mzinga NetDimensions NetLearning REDTRAY RISC SilkRoad Technomedia TEDS WBT Systems
Source: Bersin & Associates, 2010.
Global
Figure 101: Fastest Growing of the Rest Allen Communications Learning Services Blatant Media Cyberwisdom OZ Time E2Train Emtrain Epath Learning Expertus Halogen On Point Digital Operitel Reliant Strategia StepStone
Source: Bersin & Associates, 2010.
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Figure 102: Overall Purchase Drivers Change in Importance from Previous Years
Percent
Purchase Driver
To better manage training administration (greater efficiency). To deploy e-learning courses. To consolidate information into a companywide view of training. Meet compliance or regulatory requirements. To gain additional capabilities not found in previous LMS. For integrated learning and performance / talent management capabilities. To facilitate skills and competency management. To manage external or revenue-based training. For social networking / collaborative capabilities.
Source: Bersin & Associates, 2010.
= No change in importance and a consistent top pick. = Of increased importance to recent LMS buyers versus past buyers. Of equal importance to recent and past LMS buyers. = = Of decreased importance to recent LMS buyers versus past buyers.
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We compared responses from this study with those from our last report. We were able to discern not simply which drivers were most important, but also changes in relative importance for recent versus past buyers. The following few key points stand out. With the condition of the economy, we knew 2010 would be a backto-basics year and this data reinforces that view. Buyers continue to purchase LMSs to better manage their training administration and to deploy e-learning. In fact, training administration actually jumped significantly in relative importance year over year. These two issues have been, and continue to be, the primary reasons driving companies to purchase these systems. These items top the list for all market segments (sizes of companies), as well. The need to deploy e-learning courses as a driver is especially prevalent among first-time LMS buyers. Replacement buyers (companies replacing their current LMS with a new one) are also seeking to gain additional capabilities they have either outgrown their systems or need new features. Stated reasons included such items as better reporting capabilities, better SCORMcompliance, better system performance and better usability. These reasons match up with the major customer satisfaction issues already identified in this research. That said, this drive is falling in importance overall. Todays systems are extraordinarily feature-rich almost too rich. Many buyers expressed a desire to see the basics done better. The biggest increase in importance, just more than one-half of buyers say they purchased the LMS to consolidate information into a companywide view of training. This once was one of the core reasons why organizations sought enterprise systems, but it had fallen off some in the past few years. Now it is back. Integrating learning with performance / talent management was cited by about 13 percent of companies, down from one-quarter of companies last year. We know that interest in integrated talent management continues to rise but, at this point, fewer of those buyers are starting with an LMS. This speaks to the maturity of the talent management systems market.
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The need to meet compliance / regulatory requirements was cited by about one-quarter of respondents. This item has become less of a driver over the years, as companies recognize the value of the benefits of an LMS. Very few companies bought their LMSs specifically to manage external or revenue-based training, or for social networking / collaborative features.
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75%
72%
Small
Midsize
Large
Source: Bersin & Associates, 2009.
LMS usage among small businesses had been holding steady, in the 35 percent to 37 percent range, but usage declined in 2009 to 31 percent. The drop-off is likely due to small companies that were using hosted or SaaS solutions, an expense that was dropped when business conditions worsened. Finally, the large business segment is primarily a replacement market. Approximately three-quarters of large companies reported using an LMS, a figure that has not change significantly over the past four years. The main issue within this segment has been the proliferation of multiple departmental and divisional systems, prompting a move toward consolidation to an enterprisewide platform.
Figure 104 illustrates the combined percentage breakdown of customers for all providers participating in this study, as compared with data from our last report. Figure 7 (repeated inCopyright 2009 Bersin & Associates. All righ this section) shows a similar comparison of revenue share derived from each segment. In the past, the large and global segments lead the way, both in terms of customers and in the relative share of revenue that they generated. By the time of our last report, the midmarket had overtaken the upper tier in numbers of customers, but large companies still generated most of the providers revenues.
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Figure 104: Breakdown of Customers by Segment for Providers in This Study 2009 to 2010
28%
28%
20% 40%
44%
49%
60%
29%
23%
80% 100%
Small
Midwarket
Large / Global
Source: Bersin & Associates, 2010.
Note that the relative weight of the small and midmarket categories in terms of customers is growing at the expense of the large and global segments112. As noted, there is little room for LMS growth at the top end of the market and what growth potential exists in that segment is now largely superseded by the overall talent management suites market.
112 We did not have enough government participation in this study in order to include them in these segment analyses.
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When talking about learning systems alone, growth will continue to come from the midmarket and smaller organizations, both in North America and globally.
Midmarket $432
Midmarket $495
Small
20% 4%
Mid 3% 1%
0% 5%
15%
6%
Large / Global
10%
15%
20%
25%
Segment Growth
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Figure 105 shows our estimates of the current global LMS market for 2009 to 2011. To derive these estimates, we used information provided by LMS providers, customers, census information, market research and financial reports from public companies in the LMS market. Figure 9 (repeated in this section) shows our projected growth rate by segment for 2011. Because of the enormous revenue opportunity in the market, we believe there will continue to be a wide variety of providers. Although consolidation has been underway, there are still dozens of providers serving the U.S. market today and we expect this to continue. One could compare the LMS market to accounting software although QuickBooks and Peachtree are the largest providers (by volume), there are dozens of providers of specialized accounting software. Likewise, we expect there to be dozens of providers of different types of learning management software. Our next section will describe the four market segments and how they differ in requirements. It is important for you to think about which segment your organization is in, because the solution providers and LMS strategy varies widely by segment.
Global Enterprise
We define the global enterprise segment as organizations with more than 10,000 employees and which maintain operations in more than one global region. They use LMSs to manage corporate training and workforce development initiatives around the globe. These organizations typically have many training applications, such as sales training, IT and technical training, management training, and compliance training. The LMS serves as a single source of information (or one of a few) for corporate learning and supports a distributed network of learners in different languages. Global enterprise systems demand: Worldwide support; Multilanguage capabilities; Scalability to handle tens of thousands of learners; Domain management and security; and, A rich set of features for enterprise:
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o o o
A N A LY S I S
In the global enterprise market, the LMS must operate like an ERP application and organizations are often willing to spend millions of dollars on the implementation.
These organizations must also have the ability for a centralized group to establish global settings, as well as having local groups administer their own course catalogues, programs, reports and e-learning initiatives. In this market, the LMS must operate like an ERP application and organizations are often willing to spend millions of dollars on the implementation. The benefits of such a global enterprise solution are many, including: A single view of learning for compliance, budgetary control and standards; The ability to rapidly deploy enterprisewide compliance programs; The ability to use enterprise data for talent management applications; and, The ability for organizations throughout the world to share valuable content, programs, processes, tools and reports generated by the central organization. The major players in this segment are Accenture Learning, Oracle (both EBS and PeopleSoft platforms), Plateau, Saba, SAP and SumTotal.
Figure 106: Key Drivers for Global Enterprise Buyers A centralized database with tight integration to global HRMS. Consolidation of LMSs into one platform, enabling different business functions and geographies to administer their learning programs independently within the global system. Multilanguage, multicurrency, global support and service from a vendor, often with requirements for 10 or more languages and currencies. Vendor must provide global support through regional offices, distributors and / or a network of global partners. System must adopt a variety of regulatory rules, particularly those that limit management access to certain information in countries, like Germany. System must typically comply with global IT requirements for architecture, scalability, availability and concurrent user performance.
Source: Bersin & Associates, 2007.
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Large
We define the large segment as organizations (corporate and government) that have 10,000 or more learners, and may support more than one language but do not expect to have globally distributed administration of the system. These organizations often do use the system as a corporatewide application, so they tend to use the system for many training applications (e.g., sales training, technical training, soft skills and compliance training). In addition to the global enterprise providers mentioned above, providers that focus on this segment include Ancile Solutions (formerly RWD), ACS, Blackboard, Cegos Group, Certpoint, Cornerstone OnDemand, eXact Learning Solutions (formerly Giunti Labs), GeoLearning, GeoMetrix, Halogen, imc, Intuition, LearnShare, Mzinga, Meridian KSI, NetDimensions, OutStart, Operitel, RISC, SilkRoad, SkillSoft, Taleo (Learn.com), Technomedia, TEDS and WBT Systems.
Figure 107: Key Drivers for Enterprise Buyers A centralized system that can support the needs of many organizations, many types of learning programs and some distributed administration (typically within a single country). Integration with the HRMS for employee data. Need for the system to integrate with other talent management systems over time (i.e., performance management, compliance).
Support by IT to maintain and support the system (if licensed for internal use).
Scalability to support large workloads as the system is rolled out to field offices, sales reps, retail locations and other distributed employee locations. Ability to implement central management and local control for enterprise learning initiatives, and excellent central support tools for reporting and configuration.
Source: Bersin & Associates, 2007.
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Midmarket / Departmental
We define the midmarket (or departmental) segment as organizations with 1,000 to 10,000 learners. These groups may be small to medium-size companies, nonprofit or community organizations, departments of larger companies, or state or local governments. Midmarket buyers generally take a more tactical approach to their training needs than larger organizations. These organizations may buy the LMS with a focus on a single program or set of programs. Thus, their application needs are less demanding than the two enterprise customer segments. For example, midmarket customers may purchase an LMS to: Provide training for customers or external partners; Enable rollout of a new sales training program; Facilitate retraining of IT staff; and, Provide a portal for management skills and professional development. These organizations select LMSs as applications, not systems. They are looking for a solution to an immediate business problem and usually are less interested in IT architecture, data and system integration, workflow flexibility, and advanced configurability.
A N A LY S I S
We think the midmarket / departmental segment is where the greatest revenue growth lies in the LMS market today and over the next few years.
These customers typically need basic learning management and e-learning features. They require ease of installation, ease of use, and may require integrated development tools to help build and publish content. Their budgets and IT staffs are smaller than those of large organizations and, therefore, require lower total cost of ownership. For these reasons, many of these customers choose hosted solutions. This is the fastest-growing segment of the market. We think this segment is where the greatest revenue growth lies in the LMS market today and over the next few years.
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Automate training processes within a few key training needs (i.e., customer training, sales training, channel training, IT training).
Affordable implementation and operational costs. Ability to operate and support the system with little or no IT skills.
Easy to configure and set up, self-service software, and easy to build custom portals for user groups.
Flexible system to grow and implement additional training programs and applications over time.
Source: Bersin & Associates, 2009.
In addition to all the providers in the global enterprise and enterprise segments, the major players in this segment are Business Training Library, ElementK and REDTRAY. Since this market has grown so rapidly, most of the global enterprise and enterprise providers have created special business units and on-demand versions of their systems to address this market. Saba, SumTotal and Plateau have seen significant growth in their SaaS offerings.
Figure 109: Key Drivers for Government Buyers Proven scalability and experience with government programs and talent management initiatives. Need to work under government contracts and established relationships with large government integrators. SCORM-compliance. Integration with a wide variety of off-the-shelf content and ability to support disconnected users in many applications. Flexibility to work with large systems integrators as a subcontractor.
Source: Bersin & Associates, 2007.
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These customer segments map well into the LMS roles described earlier. Each customer type tends to approach the LMS selection and implementation process with different goals. For the sake of simplicity, the federal government segment is included with global enterprise customers, since the needs for these segments are somewhat similar. As described earlier in this section, midmarket buyers purchase LMSs to solve a particular business problem. For example, the system may be deployed for a customer training initiative or to help reduce the cost of training administration. Suites are popular with this segment because they offer a simpler, integrated solution. On-demand solutions are another popular alternative because of their less-complicated and lesscostly implementation and maintenance. While most midmarket and departmental buyers are not looking for talent management features (yet!), over time we believe they will. As LMS providers demonstrate low-cost, easy-to-use prehire to retire tools for performance management, succession planning and other HR functions, we believe that some of these midmarket organizations will gladly purchase an integrated solution from their LMS providers. Enterprise customers look for best-of-breed solutions, and typically have IT involved to look at system architecture and scalability. Providers
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that focus here must have highly scalable systems, professional services capabilities and modern, open IT architectures. Global enterprises, in particular, select and implement LMSs like a piece of corporate IT infrastructure. For these customers, the LMS is not just an application it is a piece of corporate plumbing. It must use the right IT architecture; it must fit well with other systems; and, it must be manageable and supportable by IT. Providers that focus here must have robust multilanguage / multicurrency support, strong IT architectures, and experience integrating their systems with a wide variety of HR and other applications. Federal government customers have a few other unique requirements; they often demand a deep level of functionality in skills and competencies because of the federal governments push into critical skills analysis. State and local governments are starting to see the need for LMSs, as well and their requirements are typically similar to those in the midmarket and enterprise segments, albeit, often with lower budgets.
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Figure 110: LMS Solution Providers Providers Profiled in This Report ACS (Xerox) Ancile Solutions (formerly RWD) Blackboard Cegos Group Certpoint Cornerstone OnDemand Element K GeoLearning imc Intuition LearnShare Meridian KSI Mzinga NetDimensions Oracle EBS Oracle PeopleSoft Plateau REDTRAY RISC RWD Saba SAP SilkRoad SkillSoft Softscape (SumTotal) SumTotal Taleo (Learn.com) Technomedia TEDS WBT Systems
Source: Bersin & Associates, 2010.
In this report, we focus on companies that offer a clearly defined learning systems solution offering an easy-to-understand, focused application that will likely be a good investment for many years to come.
Provider Revenues
To help buyers understand where different players fit in the market, we have analyzed providers by a variety of measures. One useful metric of corporate viability is annual revenue. The revenue estimates shown in Figure 111 are for LMS licenses, support and services. To derive these estimates, we used information provided by providers, customers and financial reports from public companies in the LMS market. Providers are listed alphabetically within each column.
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Figure 111: Estimated 2010 Provider LMS Revenues Less than 10M Allen Communications Learning Services American Research Institute Avilar Blatant Media Business Training Library Cezanne Software E2Train eLogic Learning EMTrain ePath Learning Gen21 GeoMetrix Gyrus Systems HRsmart LearnShare MediaDefined NetDimensions NetLearning (Cengage) On Point Digital Operitel Orchestrata (Beeline)
Source: Bersin & Associates, 2010.
20M to >40M ACS (Xerox) Blackboard Cornerstone OnDemand GeoLearning Healthstream Learn.com (Taleo) MC Strategies (Elsevier) Meridian KSI SkillSoft
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Figure 111: Estimated 2010 Provider LMS Revenues (cont'd) Less than 10M OutStart Reliant SilkRoad Softscape (SumTotal) StepStone Strategia Talent2 Tata Interactive Systems Technomedia TEDS Thinking Cap Time4You Trivantis Ultimate Software WBT Systems Upside Learning Solutions
Source: Bersin & Associates, 2010.
10 to >20M
20M to >40M
40M to >80M
80M +
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Provider Revenues
Saba and SumTotal remain the two largest players in this market, each with more than $80 million in LMS revenues and substantial market share. Each of these companies plays in the global enterprise, enterprise and midmarket segments. Oracle, SAP, Saba, SumTotal and Plateau have the largest and most complex customer bases. While larger providers often have more sophisticated products and offerings, bigger is not necessarily better. Many of the smaller providers are strong, fast-growing companies and have unique, well-differentiated product lines. Survey data collected as part of our recent talent management customer satisfaction study reconfirmed that smaller companies tend to have more satisfied customers.113 With fewer customers, these providers are able to give each client a great deal of personalized service. In addition, their implementations tend to be simpler, with fewer learners located in one or two regions. We found that the more complex the implementation, the more problems that can arise and, thus, the less satisfied the customer. Figures 112 through 116 show each providers share of total LMS revenues first overall globally, then for North America and then by customer segment (also globally). Considering that our study includes a much larger representation of global providers this time, comparisons to numbers in our past reports are difficult at best.
113 For more information, Talent Management Systems Customer Satisfaction 2011: A Comprehensive Study of Customer Experience with Talent Management Systems, Bersin & Associates / Barb Arth, December 2010. Available to research members at www.bersin. com/library or for purchase at www.bersin.com/tmscustsat.
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NetDimensions 1%
WBT Systems 1%
Other 24%
SilkRoad 1%
Business Training Library 1%
Softscape 1%
Technomedia 1%
Plateau 6% SAP 5%
ElementK 1%
Mzinga 1%
REDTRAY 1%
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Figure 113: 2010 Provider Shares of Total LMS Revenue North American Focused Companies
Technomedia GeoMetrix 1% 0% Intuition 1% Operitel 1% TEDS Softscape 1% 1% LearnShare 1% SilkRoad 1% NetLearning 1% RWD Business 1% Training Library 1% RISC 1% Mzinga 1% Certpoint 1% ACS (Xerox) ElementK 2% 2% Cornerstone OnDemand 3% Meridian KSI 3% 0%
Other 15%
SumTotal 10%
Plateau 9%
Blackboard 5%
SAP 3%
GeoLearning 5%
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Figure 114: 2010 Provider Shares of Global LMS Revenue from Customers with 10,000 or More Employees
Saba 15%
SAP 11%
Oracle EBS 8%
Intuition 1%
Cornerstone OnDemand 3%
Source: Bersin & Associates, 2010.
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Figure 115: 2010 Provider Shares of Global LMS Revenue from Customers with 1,000 to 10,000 Employees
Plateau 10% Other 25% Technomedia 1% TEDS E2Train 1% 1% Softscape 1% LearnShare 1% SilkRoad 1% RISC Intuition 1% 1% Certpoint RWD 1% 1% SAP NetLearning imc 1% 2% 2% ACS (Xerox) 1% HealthStream 2% Cornerstone OnDemand 2% SumTotal 9%
Blackboard 3%
Oracle PeopleSoft 3%
REDTRAY 3%
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Figure 116: 2010 Provider Shares of Global LMS Revenue from Customers with Less Than 1,000 Employees
Reliant 0%
SumTotal 15%
Operitel 1% Latitude Learning ElementK 1% 1% Softscape 1% StepStone Intuition 1% 1% Halogen 1% Talent2 1% RWD 1% RISC 1%
As you can see, the approximately 70 providers worth of data directly analyzed for this report account for about three-quarters of the worldwide market. Most of the other providers comprise the other 40 or so providers that we invited to participate, but for which no data was submitted. That said, most of them are known to us and we are confident in the estimates we had to make to account for them. The other category also includes the use of open-source options, such as Moodle or Sakai, either directly or through integrators such as Kineo and Moodlerooms.
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(We provide a complete listing of providers invited and included in Appendices VI and VII of this report.) For some time now in the LMS market, size has started to matter. The larger providers have the salesforces and product breadth to address many segments of the market. The more focused providers are also growing, but on top of a smaller base. We believe many of these smaller providers will continue to grow in 2011, but will face the issue of having to work around the market leadership of the top providers.
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On Point Digital REDTRAY Reliant SilkRoad StepStone Strategia Upside Learning Solutions Of note in this group are the following. Allen Communications Learning Services is a customer e-learning development company with a lightweight, highly configurable LMS platform. Instead of a per-seat license or subscription, the company charges a flat fee for the platform, making it very attractive to organizations with highly variable usage rates, such as is common with customer or partner training. Blatant Media is a small but rapidly growing provider. Its Absorb Learning Management System is completely Flash-based LMS. The company has had tremendous success licensing its system to other providers. Cornerstone OnDemand, a veteran SaaS-native provider, is enjoying great success, especially in the midmarket, with its tightly integrated talent management suite and social collaboration offering. Cornerstone recently announced plans for an Initial Public Offering (IPO). E2Train is a U.K.-based SaaS provider of LMS and performance management modules.
Learn.com, another veteran SaaS-native, was just purchased by talent management leader, Taleo. MediaDefined is a fast-growing company that is focused on channel training for high-tech companies. Last year, the company launched a separate enterprise social software product, called Ensemba, to support knowledge-sharing also with channels and partners. Meridian KSI is a veteran provider that grew up focusing on process- and compliance-heavy verticals, such as manufacturing and
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government, and which is now experiencing a renaissance with several recent significant global client wins. On Point Digital is quickly becoming one of the established market leaders in the emerging field of mobile learning. REDTRAY is a U.K.-based learning content provider with a inexpensive, highly flexible learning platform. Reliant is a small LMS that grew originally out of an assessment and survey company. The company specializes in meeting the needs of small and midmarket companies with complex skill and competency management needs. SilkRoad is one of the most well-funded and fastest-growing providers of talent management solutions in the market today. The companys Life Suite of on-demand talent management solutions helps organizations recruit, manage and retain the best employees. Late in 2008, SilkRoad purchased VTN Technologies, Inc., a softwarebased training firm known for its Ole online learning environment. The Ole LMS is being integrated into SilkRoads family of products and has been rebranded as GreenLight. StepStone is a major U.K.-based provider in the talent management space. Strategia is a rapidly growing provider based in Canada that specializes in supporting organizations with complex process- and compliance-driven training needs. Upside Learning Solutions is an Indian-based learning services provider that counts an LMS as part of its portfolio of product offerings. Of note in the moderate-growth category are the following. Blackboard is the clear market leader in learning platforms for education. The company has seen ongoing success in bringing its collaborative approach to learning management to the business and government worlds. Certpoint was originally known as VuePoint until a 2007 strategic partnership with the Center of Excellence for Applied Research and Training (CERT), the commercial arm of the Higher Colleges of Technology in the United Arab Emirates and the largest private
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education provider in the Middle East. Certpoint started with a focus on supporting extended enterprise training. One of Certpointss primary buyers was marketing managers, since it was used as a platform to train users on product features and benefits, but the company is now growing its business with employee training, as well. EPath Learning is a small, SaaS-native provider of an integrated LMS and LCMS platform that specializes in providing e-learning expertise to the midmarket. imc, based in Germany, is one of continental Europes largest native LMS providers. Originally built to support the needs of higher education, its CLIC LMS is now a highly competitive option for the enterprise, as well. Healthstream, MC Strategies (Elsevier), and NetLearning (Cengage) are all learning content providers specializing in the healthcare vertical. Operitel is a small but fast-growing IT services company that offers both an LMS, and also implements and hosts Microsoft SharePoint. The company specializes in supporting training e-commerce applications. It uses its own platform to sell Microsoft application training content. TEDS, while known to the market originally as an LMS provider, has been offering what we now call an integrated talent management suite since its inception more than a decade ago.
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Figure 117: Solution Provider Growth in 2010 Low Growth (Less than 10%) ACS (Xerox) American Research Institute Avilar Business Training Library Cezanne Software ElementK eLogic Learning Gen21 GeoLearning Gyrus Systems HRsmart Mzinga NetDimensions Oracle (EBS) Oracle (PeopleSoft) Orchestrata (Beeline) OutStart RISC RWD Saba SAP SkillSoft SumTotal Tata Interactive Technomedia Thinking Cap Time4You Training Partner (GeoMetrix) WBT Systems
Source: Bersin & Associates, 2010.
Moderate Growth (10% - 20%) Blackboard Certpoint EMTrain Epath Learning HealthStream imc Intuition LearnShare MC Strategies (Elsevier) NetLearning (Cengage) Operitel Plateau Talent2 TEDS Trivantis Ultimate Software
High Growth (20%+) Allen Communications Learning Services Blatant Media Cornerstone OnDemand E2Train Learn.com (Taleo) MediaDefined Meridian KSI On Point Digital REDTRAY Reliant SilkRoad StepStone Strategia Upside Learning Solutions
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Figure 118: Number of LMS Customers by Provider Less than 100 ACS (Xerox) Allen Communications Learning Services American Research Institute Cezanne Software eLogic Learning Gyrus Systems HRsmart LearnShare MediaDefined On Point Digital Operitel Orchestrata (Beeline) Reliant Strategia Talent2 Tata Interactive Systems Technomedia TEDS Thinking Cap Time4You Ultimate Software Upside Learning Solutions WBT Systems
Source: Bersin & Associates, 2010.
100 to <200 Ancile Solutions Avilar Blatant Media Business Training Library E2Train Epath Learning Gen21 GeoMetrix OutStart RISC
200 to <500 Blackboard Cornerstone OnDemand imc Intuition Meridian KSI Mzinga Oracle (PeopleSoft) Plateau SilkRoad StepStone
500 to <1,000 GeoLearning Learn.com (Taleo) NetDimensions NetLearning (Cengage) Saba SAP
1,000+ Certpoint ElementK EMTrain HealthStream MC Strategies (Elsevier) Oracle (EBS) REDTRAY SkillSoft SumTotal Trivantis
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We believe this is a useful metric because it indicates each providers experience in serving the market. Providers with more customers often have more experience with the issues involving LMS implementations and support. We again must emphasize that size alone should not determine the choice of provider. Our research clearly shows that customers have the best success when they find an LMS provider that provides excellent service and support, and has experience in their industry, with their organization size and with their particular training challenges.
Banking / Financial Services Business Services / Consulting Retail Healthcare / Medical 53% 52% 47% 45% 35% 34% 26% 0% 20% 40% 60%
70%
80%
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A N A LY S I S
Customers have the best success when they find an LMS provider that offers excellent service and support, and has experience in their industry, with their organization size and with their particular training challenges.
We asked providers to specify their top five industry segments. This information is helpful for buyers to identify which providers serve their industries. Providers with particular domain expertise may be better able to understand your business issues, as well as your learning problems, workflow and specific vertical content issues. Providers that focus on your industry also are more likely to have an ecosystem of partners (e.g., content providers, service providers and consultants) that serve your industry. Also, their solutions may include special features for compliance, special reporting capabilities and a users group (which enables new customers to quickly learn from existing customers how best to customize and optimize the system for their industry needs). Many of the providers covered in this years study are, in fact, specialists in particular industry verticals and / or are catering to the particular learning needs of unique audiences. Appendix II: Solution Provider Overview Charts shows the top five industries specified by each provider. If you are interested in a provider because of its vertical expertise, we urge you to ask to talk with the companys other customers in your industry, so that you can see what level of expertise the provider brings to your particular problems.
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weeks or months of configuration, customization (hopefully not for long), change management and implementation.
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Local Chinese Providers Cyberwisdom Oztime Ambow (resell Plateau and SkillSoft) Neusoft Emeneo
International Providers
The SMB market tends to be served by one of an estimated 100 to 300 local vendors in the space. The large companies in China, both mainland native and part of global organizations, tend to be served by one of a short list of major native providers and western companies. Of these providers, anecdotal evidence indicates five clear leaders. Cyberwisdom Has been in business since 1999, in mainland China since early 2003. Works only with big business, mostly local. Reports currently serving 40 percent of the companies listed on Hong Kong stock market. Largest clients include Amway, Bank of China and China Mobile. Oztime Education & Network Technology Co., Ltd. Based in Beijing, the company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Archer Education Group. It is the first and only foreign-invested company licensed by the Ministry of Education to provide network education and training services, and has clients throughout China, including national and international companies, universities, governments, and training institutions. Initial focus was the energy vertical.
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Oracle Especially its iLearning product. Saba Plateau A Few Notes Non-Chinese providers nearly always use a reseller or some kind of local partner. Most find it very difficult to sell direct, as well as to provide local support resources. IBM was a major player here and still is in some fashion. When the company stopped marketing its own LMS, it started giving away the application, helping to further destabilize an already fragmented market. Providers from within mainland China have a clear edge. Even Hong Kong-based NetDimensions struggled to break into the mainland market. Chinese companies generally look for a provider with an integrated offering, including off-the-shelf content, content translation services, custom content development and ILT facilitation. They expect a great deal of customizations and, again because of low labor costs, at a low cost. Talent management has not taken hold in China yet. The Chinese market is almost entirely on-premise. SaaS has not taken hold just yet. Costs for LMS in China are much lower than in the West, driven by low development and upkeep costs, lack of regulation, and competition. There are, in fact, many systems that are blatant knockoffs of more wellknown systems. Companies will not justify spending more than a certain percent of the average worker salary on the LMS per head cost. When it comes to choosing a provider, national and local governments exert tremendous influence. National laws affecting data storage, web access and freedom of speech control how learning can be delivered and by whom. Local territories and governments have long-term partnerships in place with local providers of various services. Local buyers are often swayed by what they have previously experienced at Chinese organizations.
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Enterprise Learning Management), Plateau, SAP and SumTotal. Each of these companies has the product architecture, experience, and support and service teams to implement a true global enterprise LMS. The enterprise marketplace demands support for tens of thousands of users, but does not have the global domain management and multilanguage / multicurrency needs of global enterprises. Providers serving this market are illustrated in the middle area of the Market Map. In the corporate and midmarket segment (organizations with fewer than 10,000 learners and often fewer than 5,000), there are a wide variety of lower-cost, highly capable LMS providers. In addition, every provider that we position in the enterprise segment is also a good fit in the midmarket.
Figure 121: LMS 2011 Provider Market Map Market Leaders Only
ORACLE EBS
SUMTOTAL
A x i s T i t l e
SKILLSOFT GEOLEARNING LEARN.COM (TALEO)
0 to 100 Customers
100 to 250
250 to 500
500 to 1000
Axis Title
1000 to 2000
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Figure 122: LMS 2011 Provider Market Map Other Profiled Providers
ACS (Xerox)
MERIDIAN KSI
IMC
INTUITION
A x i s T i t l e
TEDS LEARNSHARE
MZINGA
CORNERSTONE ONDEMAND
OPERITEL
SILKROAD
NETDIMENSIONS
0 to 100 Customers
100 to 250
250 to 500
500 to 1000
Axis Title
1000 to 2000
These companies tend to provide systems that are easier to implement, lower cost to own and specialize in certain application areas. This is the fastest-growing segment of the LMS market. Since 2006, every major LMS provider now offers an on-demand (hosted) solution targeted at these customers. Plateau, Saba and SumTotal now have low-cost, easy-todeploy, on-demand solutions for midmarket customers. The horizontal axis, market presence, is a representation of the size of the provider and its growth rate. Providers farther along this dimension (the horizontal axis) have a large number of customers. Here again, Oracle, SAP, Saba and SumTotal all have sizable numbers of customers and, thus, are located well along this axis (to the right side of the graph). In addition, Cornerstone OnDemand, GeoLearning, Learn.com (now part of Taleo), Plateau, SAP, Intuition and imc all have large customer bases,
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BEST
PRACTICE
The important factor in selecting an LMS is to find a provider with at least three or more clients in your organization size range and industry, and with product capabilities that match your requirements.
and have shown significant growth over the past year making these providers among the highest in terms of market presence. Certpoint (specializing in the extended enterprise training market) and Blackboard (now a market leader based in its steadily growing corporate customers base) also score high in market presence. The three healthcare specialists, Healthstream, MC Strategies and Netlearning, have all parlayed their vertical expertise into substantial shares of the learning systems market. The two learning content providers, SkillSoft and ElementK, have turned their content library businesses into major LMS market presences with all market segments. Providers to the left of the chart, or those with lower market presence, have fewer customers or slower growth rates. Many of these providers are considered up and comers, which are expected soon to be farther along this dimension as they quickly build their customer bases. Other providers are stable performers with solid customer bases that will continue to grow at a consistent pace. When reviewing this chart, buyers should not look exclusively at providers in the upper-right quadrant. Most buyers in the market today are not global enterprises requiring service and support in several countries, along with a complex features set. Even global enterprise buyers should not look exclusively at the top right quadrant many of the other providers on the chart have global enterprise customers and are satisfying their needs quite nicely. The important factor in selecting an LMS is to find a provider with at least three or more clients in your organizations size range and industry, and with product capabilities that match your requirements. A provider with hundreds of customers but no experience with customers in your industry, with your company size or learning problem may not be a good fit. We also strongly urge buyers to check references. Call three or more of the providers customers that are the same size and industry as your company to understand what version of the product they are using, the quality of the providers service and support, and what strengths and weaknesses they find with their chosen solution. These reference calls can be as valuable as a review of features sets and an onsite demonstration.
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Product Leadership
As a further way to assist you with distinguishing one provider from another, we have created one additional Market Map designed to illustrate a providers relative strength with regard to product development. The vertical axis in this case is a simple aggregate index of the robustness of the providers product as determined by the capability data they provided to us and verified in our interactions with them. We use the average, rolled-up ratings from the solution providers profile. Figure 123 illustrates how we weigh these capability ratings to give more importance to basic LMS features over more advanced ones.
It is worth restating that the data behind the vertical axis on Figure 125 gives preference to the nuts-and-bolts of learning management. As stated earlier in this report, the number one and two purchase drivers for LMSs were better administration of training and e-learning delivery respectively. We have weighted this chart accordingly.
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The horizontal axis, on the other hand, is designed to capture the demonstrated capacity of the provider to be an innovator in the LMS space. It is also a computed index, this time called Product Innovation. Product innovation is comprised of: Advanced Application Support Another set of rolled-up ratings from the solution providers profile; Percent of employees in research and product development; Growth rate; and, Product vision. To ensure objectivity, each of the first three elements is figured automatically, based on information provided by the companies. Only the last element, product vision, is subjective. We place the providers into three pools, based on our own experiences with their products, and with the providers and our interactions with their customers: 1. Those who are innovators (driving the market forward); 2. The middle of the pack (neither leading nor following); and, 3. Those that are just now adding features already common in the first two groups. Figure 124 shows the relative weight that we have given each element.
% Est LMS Rev Growth 09-10 5% % of Employees in Research & Product Development 15%
Source: Bersin & Associates, 2010.
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Figure 125: Product Leadership Comprehensiveness of Product Feature Set by Product Innovation
INTUITION BLACKBOARD
Product Innovation
SILKROAD
ELEMENT K PEOPLESOFT
OPERITEL
LEARN.COM (TALEO)
CERTPOINT REDTRAY
ANCILE SOLUTIONS (RWD) SKILLSOFT WBT Systems SAP ACS (Xerox) MC STRATEGIES INC. NETLEARNING HEALTHSTREAM LEARNSHARE
RISC
= Market Leader
Axis Title Product Feature Set (80% Core Functionality / 20% Advanced Functionality)
With regard to features and functions, the LMS market is mature. As illustrated by Figure 125, most of the providers in this study are clustered fairly close together with little differentiation in product feature sets. That said, buyers can generally expect to find deeper overall feature sets moving up and to the right of this chart. Feature-wise, providers in the top-right are likely to be further along with implementing what is considered advance functionality today, such as mobile learning and integrated social learning.
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As discussed in the section, Selecting an LMS, a critical part of your decision is drafting detailed functional requirements, with input from all stakeholder audiences and including clearly defined big rock features. This chart should not be used as a substitute for this process. Innovation in any software tools is a hard thing to measure and to value. New features are wonderful, as long as they do not come at the expense of the basics. Getting a true idea as to the pace of innovation is a difficult proposition and our attempt here is certainly not perfect. We do think this chart provides a useful snapshot and conversation starter, however.
114 For more information, Enterprise Social Software 2009: Facts, Practical Analysis, Trends and Vendor Profiles, Bersin & Associates / David Mallon, September 2008.
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Figure 37: Social Software Features and the Four Cs Conversations Blogs Forums Micro-blogs / Life-Streaming Chat / IM VOIP Content Content-Sharing Content Management Tagging / Rating Social-Bookmarking Syndication Connections User Profiles Social Graphs Friends / Contacts People-Matching Wikis Workspaces Project / Process Support Innovation / Idea Generation Calendars and Events
Source: Bersin & Associates, 2009.
Collaboration
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Conversations Three-quarters or more, including a core platform that supports easy user-driven web publishing, such as a blog or wiki; Content Three-quarters or more, including the ability for users to upload files, folksonomy116 support (tagging and rating) and some lightweight content management support; and (optionally), Connections One-half or more, including basic social networking functionality.
Platform Options
Your first major decision will be deciding on what foundation the platform is built.
Figure 126: Platform Strategies for Social Learning Scenario 1: Build onto the Current Company Intranet / Portal (e.g., SharePoint, Oracle, WebSphere, Liferay). The most naturally embedded option and the least turnkey in this scenario, social learning use cases are enabled within the environment of an existing corporate portal or intranet. Most often, this scenario will require the purchase of add-on technology to fully support the enterprise social software needs. This option allows for all corporate uses of community to comingle making it easier to cultivate overall cultural norms and creating mashup possibilities. Governance, IT, integrations and the need to build custom social learning cases will likely be the major issues with this option. 2: Use a General Purpose Enterprise Social Software Platform117. In this scenario, social learning use cases are supported within a non-learning-specific social software platform. This option is most likely to offer best-of-breed social software functionality and allows for all corporate uses of community to comingle making it easier to cultivate overall cultural norms and creating mashup possibilities. Governance, IT, integrations and the need to build custom social learning cases will also likely be the major issues with this option.
Source: Bersin & Associates, 2010.
115 The ratings here correspond to the moon rating that can be found in the appendices of this study. 116 Refers to allowing the community to self-organize and categorize content through tagging, rating, and comments; a combination of the words folk and taxonomy. 117 For more information, Enterprise Social Software 2009: Facts, Practical Analysis, Trends and Provider Profiles, Bersin & Associates / David Mallon, September 2008. Available to research members at www.bersin.com/library or for purchase at www.bersin. com/socialsoftware.
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Figure 126: Platform Strategies for Social Learning (contd) Scenario 3: Use a Standalone, Purpose-Built Social Learning Platform. In this scenario, social learning use cases are built into a social software platform designed for social learning. This option is the most targeted and turnkey, and is likely to require the least amount of setup and configuration time. Integration with the LMS may still be an issue. Also of concern, this option is single-purpose; there is the potential of creating a walled garden, separating social learning activities from both other corporate communities and from other learning activities. 4: Use a Purpose-Built Social Learning Platform Module Provided by Your LMS / Talent Management Provider. In this scenario, social learning use cases are supported by a module specifically designed for this purpose by the provider of the LMS or talent management suite. This option has the benefits of providing turnkey social learning and implicit integration with current formal learning activity. This option would also involve less setup time and means only having to work with one provider. The downsides to this option are its tendencies toward destination and its separation of the learning community from other communities unless the provider offers strong support for open architectures (see the earlier section, Adaptability, for more information on this subject). This option also relies on a single provider. While getting better, some LMS social software functionality may not be at quite the same standards as general-purpose offerings. 5: Use the LMS / Talent Management Environment Itself as the Social Learning Platform. In this scenario, social learning happens in the primary LMSs environment. This option has the obvious benefit of not having to introduce any new systems or interfaces. All learning activities, formal and informal, are in the same place. The possible downsides include likely having to do some building of explicit social learning cases, accepting less than best-of-breed social software functionality and a decidedly destination environment.
Source: Bersin & Associates, 2010.
As the concept of social learning environments has matured and as the technologies themselves have progressed, provider support of the various scenarios presented in Figure 126 has also evolved. Today, several providers are noteworthy for actually supporting more than one of these paths, including: Expertus and Expertus One; Plateau and Plateau Talent Gateway; and, Saba and Saba Live. Social learning use cases are, to varying degrees, integrated with formal learning functionality. Continued integration of such is on just about everyones roadmap. To make a social learning environment decision, each organization should choose a strategy based on its own unique needs and requirements. When weighing your decision, keep these questions in mind.
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User Experience
Embedded Versus Destination Will users encounter the system as part of regular work and via familiar, commonly undertaken activities? In the environment integrated into a common enterprise software application experience? Services-Oriented Architecture Is there ready support for web services? Can the functionality be pulled into other systems? Overall Experience and Usability Is the system different in form or function (e.g., visual language, navigation, et al) from other commonly used enterprise systems, especially other learning systems like the LMS?
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Customizations What changes to out-of-the-box functionality are required to meet the organizations unique requirements? Integrations What other systems must be connected to the platform to provide desired content and / or user data? Future Proofing How easy will it be to upgrade functionality over time? What are the associated costs in time and money? Based on our research, many organizations are finding it easier to begin with either scenarios one, four or five. All of these options have in common the ability to work with an existing system, rather than implementing a new one. We think starting with a known platform makes sense. This path allows for experimentation in a familiar environment without committing to a substantial new investment. Once adoption increases and activity matures, the organization can then decide if a dedicated platform is needed. Above all else, we offer this guidance choose flexibility. Look for a platform that will provide the technology capacity to support whatever social learning cases organically evolve within the organization.
BEST
PRACTICE
When choosing a platform to support social learning, it is important to find a system with the flexibility to support an evolving strategy.
118 For more information, Learning Solution Providers: Selecting and Benchmarking an Outsourced Learning Solution, Bersin & Associates/ Josh Bersin, May 5, 2008. Available to research members at www.bersin.com/library.
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mLMS: e-Learning, Nuggets, Media, Performance Support Assessment Location- & Situation-Based / Aug. Reality
Given the immaturity of this space and still low adoption industrywide, it is difficult to capture a true sense of market leadership for any of the m-learning sectors. That said, anecdotally, two providers stand out, based on the relative sizes of their current m-learning client bases and the degree to which they are frequently mentioned in conversations about m-learning: Intuition; and On Point Digital. Intuition is a 24-year-old, Ireland-based veteran of the e-learning industry. The company got its start focusing on custom content for the financial services sector, eventually growing into a leader in both offthe-shelf and custom e-learning for several verticals. In 2006, Intuition entered the m-learning world, first focusing on developing content for the Blackberry at the request of one of its clients. The company found immediate success, and quickly realized that its technology and approach could be replicated with other companies and in other verticals. Today, m-learning represents the fastest-growing part of its business. Some of
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Intutions clients include Merrill Lynch (now part of Bank of America), Citi and Accenture. The company is the m-learning technology partner for solutions providers SumTotal and Accenture Learning. Formed in 2001, On Point Digital is a Savannah, Georgia-based learning management and learning content management provider. Also a veteran of the e-learning industry, it was an early entrant into m-learning and evolved into a product offering from initial work for its LMS / LCMS clients. m-Learning is now also the fastest-growing portion of its business. On Point Digitals clients include major names in the pharmaceuticals, healthcare and business services verticals. The company havs proven especially popular with the telecommunications industry, attracting projects and partnerships with the likes of AT&T, Vodaphone, Verizon, Alltel and US Cellular. In addition to these two companies, there are several other providers worth highlighting (alphabetical order). Chalk Media Chalk was an early entrant into the m-learning content development space, focusing on developing a tool for creating and distributing learning content to Blackberry devices. The company proved to be so successful at it that RIM, the maker of Blackberry, bought them in 2009. It continues to be a successful tools provider for Blackberry-focused buyers. Blackboard By far the market leader in learning management for the higher education vertical, Blackboard is also a player in corporate learning management. As part of its offerings for both education and enterprise, the company now offers Blackberry Mobile, including an application for the Apple iPhone and iPad. Blackberry Mobile offers more than just m-learning content distribution; it offers the learner access to a complete mobile LMS experience, including seeing all assignments, and providing access to additional resources and collaboration activities.
eXact Learning Solutions Formerly known as Guinti Labs, eXact is a well-known, global provider of learning content management and digital repository technology. The LCMS provider (as we noted in our 2007 m-Learning report119) has been an early player in m-learning,
119 For more information, m-Learning: The Latest Trends, Developments and RealWorld Applications, Bersin & Associates / Chris Howard, June, 2007. Available to research members at www.bersin.com/library.
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because its technologies are naturally adept at converting existing content into new formats and form factors. eXact was no exception. Its eXact Mobile product has been in the market for a number of years, is in its fourth version and has several successful clients. Certpoint This Dubai-based learning management system company specializes in supporting clients with extended enterprise and customer training needs. For a few years now, the company has devoted resources to growing its m-learning capabilities of its platform and now supports delivering content to a wide array of devices. OutStart The market leader in the learning content management space, OutStart has also had a history of supporting m-learning content, as well. Its recent acquisition of one of the most popular m-learning content development tools providers, HotLava, has cemented m-learning as a key product strategy for the company going forward. It now offers a compelling enterprise-grade, end-toend m-learning development and distribution platform. Questionmark The most well-known specialist provider of enterprise assessment technology, Questionmark realized early on that companies would want to be able to test and evaluate learners remotely, not just deliver content to them. Questionmarks mobile assessment applications are innovative and intuitive examples of what is possible in m-learning. Saba Enterprise talent management provider and long-time veteran of the LMS space, Sabas entry into m-learning is actually focused toward live, virtual instructor-led training and collaboration. Saba recently released an early version of a mobile application for accessing its Centra virtual classroom platform. The company intends to expand into other social media and collaboration activities supported by its new product, Saba Live. Also of note, Saba now offers a lightweight, remote-accessible version of its core talent management platform, called Saba Anywhere. This lightweight version expands on the idea of an e-learning offline player but now remote, disconnected employees can access more of the systems functionality, syncing up later when possible. SpacedEd SpacedEd in an intriguing new startup that leverages technology developed and patented at Harvard. The concept is to encourage rapid mastery by delivery learning as a series of questions
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and answers that are sent to the learner wherever he / she is. The content of the questions adapt automatically, based on the success of the learner, until the desired level of mastery is achieved. SumTotal SumTotal, the market leader for learning management systems in our last LMS study120, is also well-known for its Toolbook desktop e-learning development tool. Toolbook has successfully supported creating content for mobile platforms for a number of years, currently supporting almost all of the major platforms. The recent version of Toolbook added support for location-based content, as well.
120 For more information, Learning Management Systems 2009: Facts, Practical Analysis, Trends and Provider Profiles, Bersin & Associates / Josh Bersin, Chris Howard, Karen O Leonard, David Mallon, April 2009.
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Also of note, one of Sabas latest new features in its enterprise talent management suite, Saba Impressions, allows employees to submit tracked and recorded feedback about other employees via a microblogging-style status update121. These impressions can be submitted from a variety of communications methods, including several available on mobile devices.
What Is SharePoint?
Microsoft SharePoint is not really one thing; it is a family of products and services designed to support content management and contentsharing. Common to all variations is a content management server, search technology and a web-based user interface. In most cases, employees will know SharePoint as the companys portal or intranet. Both Microsoft and third-party developers offer additional functionalities, including document management modules, workflow and process management modules, and collaboration and social software tools. Helping to drive the interest and adoption of SharePoint by L&D is the wide adoption of SharePoint across all organizations. SharePoint has proven remarkably successful, especially since the 2007 update. The fact that WSS is free makes it easy for organizations to experiment with the
121 For more information, Enterprise Social Software 2009: Facts, Practical Analysis, Trends and Provider Profiles, Bersin & Associates / David Mallon, September 2008. 122 For more information, Microsoft SharePoint: Do You Already Have a Social Learning Platform in Your Organization?, Bersin & Associates / David Mallon, May 21, 2010. Available to research members at www.bersin.com/library.
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technology before making a significant investment. As of 2008, Microsoft already reported 100 million licenses sold to 17,000 businesses and sales of more than $1 billion.123 In fact, according to one recent survey, 55 percent of organizations either have or are seriously considering implementing Microsoft SharePoint124.
Figure 128: SharePoint and Social Learning Social Learning Case Blending Social Activities into Formal Learning Programs Expertise Finding How SharePoint Can Be Used Use SharePoints social software (blogs or wikis) and communications functions (chat) as the setting for learning program-related discussions and / or actionlearning activities. Leverage SharePoints MySite (user profile page) and people search capabilities as an expertise directory. Create community-specific SharePoint sites. Leverage functionality for document collaboration, conversations, group scheduling, email integration and group-focused content management. Combine all of SharePoints social, collaboration and document-sharing functions in support of both formal and informal learning. Case in Point HP uses a SharePoint site as platform for group discussions and other social learning activities taking place in support of a series of training events designed to improve the Web 2.0125 skills of its marketing team. Approximately 1,500 students have completed the programs as of 2009. Chemical company Monsanto uses SharePoint as its enterprise search technology, connecting people to information and to each other126. Computer maker Dell uses SharePoint as the home of its communities of practice for learning professionals worldwide. The SharePoint site archives community activities and related documents. British Telecom uses SharePoint as the platform for its Dare2Share environment (see section, Case in Point: BT and Dare2Share). Employees have the opportunity to share, discuss and rate best practices in the form of short videos.
Source: Bersin & Associates, 2010.
Communities of Practice127
123 Source: http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/08/07/microsofts-sharepoint-thrives-inthe-recession/. 124 Source: Global Intranet Trends for 2009, http://www.netjmc.net/intranet-trends/. 125 Web 2.0 refers to a perceived second generation of web-based communities and hosted services (such as social-networking sites, wikis, folksonomies, weblogs / blogs, social bookmarking, podcasts, RSS feeds, social software, web application programming interfaces / APIs, and online web services), which aim to facilitate creativity, collaboration and sharing between users. Although the term suggests a new version of the World Wide Web, it does not refer to an update to any technical specifications, but to changes in the ways software developers and end-users use the web. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_2.0 \l Defining_.22Web_2.0.22http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_2.0#Defining_.22Web_2.0.22. 126 Source: http://www.microsoft.com/casestudies/Case_Study_Detail.aspx?CaseStudyID=201093. 127 A community of practice (or CoP) is often defined as a group of people who share an interest or concern about a common topic, and who deepen their knowledge in this area through ongoing interaction and relationship-building within their group. While communities often come into being spontaneously, they nonetheless require nurturing if they are to become valuable to the members and remain viable over the course of their evolution.
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On-Demand and Embedded Learning o o Performance support or reference site Collaboration as part of work
SharePoint as LMS Learning Organization Community Of these uses, the one that might raise attention in the context of this report is using SharePoint as your LMS. Suffice it to say, on its own, SharePoint does not have the basic functionality (such as the ability to deliver and play e-learning) that would potentially qualify it as an LMS. These gaps can be addressed by plug-ins (or web-parts in SharePoint parlance) that build functionality on top of SharePoint, taking full advantage of SharePoints strengths as a content management and collaboration platform, and add the LMS functionality that most companies desire. Microsoft offers one such set of additional functionality, called SharePoint Learning Kit129 or SLK. SLK is a SCORM 2004 certified e-learning delivery and tracking application that builds onto Windows SharePoint Services 3.0. Currently SLK is targeted primarily at higher education.
128 For more information, Defining Informal Learning: A Taxonomy for Describing How Most Learning Happens in Todays Organizations, Bersin & Associates / David Mallon, December 18, 2009. Available to research members at www.bersin.com/library. 129 Source: http://www.microsoft.com/education/slk.mspx.
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Other examples, addressing corporate needs, are: E-Learning Force International and SharePoint LMS; and, Competentum and ShareKnowledge. Aside from its wide adoption rates, it is increasingly likely that your organization already has SharePoint installed. If that is true, and your learning function is looking for a platform to support social learning and collaboration, you should at least consider whether SharePoint (either alone or with help) could be that platform.
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130 For more information, http://www.bersin.com/News/Events.aspx. 131 For more information, http://www.bersin.com/Services/Content.aspx?id=144. 132 For more information, http://www.bersin.com/IMPACT.
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Appendix I
Survey Demographics
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50,000 - 74,999 6%
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U.S.
Canada
Mexico
Eastern Europe
Africa / Middle East
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Telecommunications 5%
Transportation 1%
Utilities 3% Aerospace 2%
Automotive 1% Banking / Finance 14% Biotechnology 1% Chemicals 1% Construction 1% Consulting / Professional Services 9% Education 1% Electronics Energy 1% 3%
Hospitality 1% Healthcare 8%
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Appendix II
Provider Overview Charts
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Avilar
E2Train
Expertus Cezanne Software Certpoint Accenture Blackboard Orchestrata (Beeline) Cornerstone OnDemand Blatant Media Allen Communications Learning Services Background Checking Benefits Administration Community Management Community Moderation Competency Development Content Localization Employer Branding Event Services HR Outsourcing HR Technology Consulting Learning Administration Learning Content Development Learning Delivery Learning Measurement Learning Process Outsource Payroll Compliance Training Payroll Processing Pre-Hire Assessment Recruitment Advertising Recruitment Process Outsourcing Strategic HR Consulting Strategic L&D Consulting Technology Hosting Technology Implementation Technology Selection Figure 133: Services Provided
ElementK
ePath Learning
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Tuition Assistance
imc Gen21
Mzinga Halogen Intuition Expertus LearnShare GeoLearning Taleo (Learn. com) Gyrus Systems Exact Learning Solutions Background Checking Benefits Administration Community Management Community Moderation Competency Development Content Localization Employer Branding Event Services HR Outsourcing HR Technology Consulting Learning Administration Learning Content Development Learning Delivery Learning Measurement Learning Process Outsource Payroll Compliance Training Payroll Processing Pre-Hire Assessment Recruitment Advertising Recruitment Process Outsourcing Strategic HR Consulting Strategic L&D Consulting Technology Hosting Technology Implementation Technology Selection Figure 133: Services Provided (contd)
Bloomfire
Meridian KSI
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Tuition Assistance
RISC
SkillSoft REDTRAY Oracle PeopleSoft Oracle EBS NetDimensions On Point Digital Background Checking Benefits Administration Community Management Community Moderation Competency Development Content Localization Employer Branding Event Services HR Outsourcing HR Technology Consulting Learning Administration Learning Content Development Learning Delivery Learning Measurement Learning Process Outsource Payroll Compliance Training Payroll Processing Pre-Hire Assessment Recruitment Advertising Recruitment Process Outsourcing Strategic HR Consulting Strategic L&D Consulting Technology Hosting Technology Implementation Technology Selection Figure 133: Services Provided (contd)
SilkRoad
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Tuition Assistance
TEDS Talent2
WBT Systems Tata Interactive Systems Background Checking Benefits Administration Community Management Community Moderation Competency Development Content Localization Employer Branding Event Services HR Outsourcing HR Technology Consulting Learning Administration Learning Content Development Learning Delivery Learning Measurement Learning Process Outsource Payroll Compliance Training Payroll Processing Pre-Hire Assessment Recruitment Advertising Recruitment Process Outsourcing Strategic HR Consulting Strategic L&D Consulting Technology Hosting Technology Implementation Technology Selection Figure 133: Services Provided (contd)
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Tuition Assistance
268
"Between 1 and 2/3 from licences or subscriptions // Between 1 and 2/3 from services or content" American Research Institute Cegos Group Cezanne Software Exact Learning Solutions Gen21 HRsmart Intuition Meridian KSI NetDimenions On Point Digital Oracle (EBS) Oracle (PeopleSoft) Plateau Reliant Saba SAP StepStone SumTotal Talent2 Technomedia Time4You Training Partner (GeoMetrix)
"1/3 or less from licences or subscriptions // 2/3+ from services or content" Allen Communications Learning Services Business Training Library Competentum ElementK EMTrain HealthStream MC Strategies (Elsevier) NetLearning (Cengage) REDTRAY SkillSoft Tata Interactive Upside Learning Solutions
REDTRAY
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Service revenues also include fees from professional services (e.g., implementation services, customization, education and consulting); most global enterprise LMS companies gain 30 percent to 60 percent of their total revenues from these services. This is common and healthy in the enterprise software market it indicates that these companies are striving to provide more of a total solution to their clients.
Figure 135: Services Provided Extended Enterprise (Channels, Partners, et al) Extended Employees (Interns, Alumni, Retirees, Contractors) Customers / Clients Internal Employees
ACS (Xerox) Allen Communications Learning Services American Research Institute Avilar Orchestrata (Beeline) Blackboard Blatant Media Business Training Library Certpoint Cezanne Software Cornerstone OnDemand E2Train ElementK eLogic Learning EMTrain ePath Learning Expertus Gen21 GeoLearning GeoMetrix Gyrus Systems Halogen
Source: Bersin & Associates, 2010.
= Up to 1/3 of customers use the system to serve this audience. = Between 1/3 and 2/3 of customers use the system to serve this audience. = 2/3 or more of customers use the system to serve this audience.
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General Public
Students
270
Figure 135: Services Provided (contd) Extended Employees (Interns, Alumni, Retirees, Contractors) Extended Enterprise (Channels, Partners, et al)
Customers / Clients
Internal Employees
HealthStream HRsmart imc Intuition Latitude Learning Taleo (Learn.com) LearnShare Bloomfire MC Strategies Inc. MediaDefined Meridian KSI Mzinga NetDimensions NetLearning On Point Digital Operitel Oracle EBS Oracle PeopleSoft OutStart Plateau REDTRAY Reliant
= Up to 1/3 of customers use the system to serve this audience. = Between 1/3 and 2/3 of customers use the system to serve this audience. = 2/3 or more of customers use the system to serve this audience.
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General Public
Students
271
Figure 135: Services Provided (contd) Extended Employees (Interns, Alumni, Retirees, Contractors) Extended Enterprise (Channels, Partners, et al)
Customers / Clients
Internal Employees
RISC RWD Saba SAP SilkRoad SkillSoft Softscape StepStone Strategia SumTotal Talent2 Tata Interactive Systems Technomedia TEDS Thinking Cap Time4You Trivantis Ultimate Software Upside Learning Solutions Pvt. Ltd. WBT Systems
= Up to 1/3 of customers use the system to serve this audience. = Between 1/3 and 2/3 of customers use the system to serve this audience. = 2/3 or more of customers use the system to serve this audience.
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General Public
Students
272
Figure 136: Current Status of Software Versions by Customer Base Customers on CURRENT GA Version of Software
ACS (Xerox) Allen Communications Learning Services American Research Institute Avilar Orchestrata (Beeline) Blackboard Blatant Media Business Training Library Certpoint Cezanne Software Cornerstone OnDemand E2Train ElementK eLogic Learning EMTrain ePath Learning Expertus Gen21 GeoLearning GeoMetrix Gyrus Systems Halogen HealthStream HRsmart
Source: Bersin & Associates, 2010.
2/3 or More
1/3 or Less
1/3 or Less
2/3 or More Between 1/3 & 2/3 1/3 or less 2/3 or More 2/3 or More 1/3 or Less 2/3 or More 1/3 or Less 2/3 or More 2/3 or More
1/3 or Less Between 1/3 & 2/3 Between 1/3 & 2/3 1/3 or Less 1/3 or Less Between 1/3 & 2/3 1/3 or Less 2/3 or More 1/3 or Less 2/3 or More
1/3 or Less Between 1/3 & 2/3 1/3 or Less 1/3 or Less 1/3 or Less 1/3 or Less 1/3 or Less 1/3 or Less 1/3 or Less 1/3 or Less
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Figure 136: Current Status of Software Versions by Customer Base (contd) Customers on CURRENT GA Version of Software
imc Intuition Latitude Learning Taleo (Learn.com) LearnShare Bloomfire MC Strategies Inc. MediaDefined Meridian KSI Mzinga NetDimensions NetLearning On Point Digital Operitel Oracle EBS Oracle PeopleSoft OutStart Plateau REDTRAY Reliant RISC RWD Saba SAP
Between 1/3 & 2/3 Between 1/3 & 2/3 2/3 or More 2/3 or More 2/3 or More 2/3 or More 2/3 or More Between 1/3 & 2/3 1/3 or Less
2/3 or More
2/3 or More
1/3 or Less
Between 1/3 & 2/3 2/3 or More 2/3 or More 2/3 or More 1/3 or Less Between 1/3 & 2/3
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Figure 136: Current Status of Software Versions by Customer Base (contd) Customers on CURRENT GA Version of Software
SilkRoad SkillSoft Softscape StepStone Strategia SumTotal Talent2 Tata Interactive Systems Technomedia TEDS Thinking Cap Time4You Trivantis Ultimate Software Upside Learning Solutions Pvt. Ltd. WBT Systems
2/3 or More Between 1/3 & 2/3 2/3 or More 2/3 or More 2/3 or More
1/3 or Less 2/3 or More 1/3 or Less 2/3 or More 1/3 or Less
2/3 or More 1/3 or Less 2/3 or More 2/3 or More 1/3 or Less
1/3 or Less 2/3 or More Between 1/3 & 2/3 1/3 or Less Between 1/3 & 2/3
1/3 or Less
1/3 or Less
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Appendix III
Provider Capability Charts
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Figure 137: Capability Chart Legend Symbol Meaning No functionality in this area or not applicable. Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. Advanced functionality in this area. Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at publish date.
Source: Bersin & Associates, 2009.
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ACS (Xerox) Allen Communications Learning Services American Research Institute Avilar Orchestrata (Beeline) Blackboard Blatant Media Business Training Library Certpoint Cezanne Software Cornerstone OnDemand E2Train ElementK eLogic Learning EMTrain ePath Learning Expertus Gen21 GeoLearning GeoMetrix Gyrus Systems Halogen HealthStream HRsmart
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Workforce Planning
Compensation Management
Performance Management
HRMS / HRIS
Learning
278
Figure 138: Talent Management Modules Offered (contd) Collaboration / Social Software
imc Intuition Taleo (Learn.com) LearnShare MC Strategies Inc. MediaDefined Meridian KSI Mzinga NetDimensions NetLearning On Point Digital Operitel Oracle EBS Oracle PeopleSoft OutStart Plateau REDTRAY Reliant RISC RWD Saba SAP SilkRoad SkillSoft
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Workforce Planning
Compensation Management
Performance Management
HRMS / HRIS
Learning
279
Figure 138: Talent Management Modules Offered (contd) Collaboration / Social Software
Softscape StepStone Strategia SumTotal Talent2 Tata Interactive Systems Technomedia TEDS Thinking Cap Time4You Trivantis Ultimate Software Upside Learning Solutions Pvt. Ltd. WBT Systems
Source: Bersin & Associates, 2010.
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Workforce Planning
Compensation Management
Performance Management
HRMS / HRIS
Learning
280
Figure 139: Other Learning Related Modules Available Separate LCMS and / or Learning Content Development Platform ACS (Xerox) Allen Communications Learning Services American Research Institute Avilar Orchestrata (Beeline) Blackboard Blatant Media Business Training Library Certpoint Cezanne Software Cornerstone OnDemand E2Train ElementK eLogic Learning EMTrain ePath Learning Expertus Gen21 GeoLearning GeoMetrix Gyrus Systems Halogen HealthStream HRsmart
Source: Bersin & Associates, 2010.
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Figure 139: Other Learning Related Modules Available (contd) Separate LCMS and / or Learning Content Development Platform imc Intuition Taleo (Learn.com) LearnShare MC Strategies Inc. MediaDefined Meridian KSI Mzinga NetDimensions NetLearning On Point Digital Operitel Oracle EBS Oracle PeopleSoft OutStart Plateau REDTRAY Reliant RISC RWD Saba SAP SilkRoad SkillSoft
Source: Bersin & Associates, 2010.
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Figure 139: Other Learning Related Modules Available (contd) Separate LCMS and / or Learning Content Development Platform Softscape EPSS and / or Knowledge Management System
StepStone
Strategia
SumTotal
Talent2
Technomedia
TEDS
Thinking Cap
Time4You
Trivantis
Ultimate Software
WBT Systems
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Figure 140: General Functionality System Administration User Management Security & Permissions User Experience Content Content Management Global Global System Support and Infrastructure
Integrated Content
Accenture Allen Communications Learning Services Avilar Orchestrata (Beeline) Blackboard Blatant Media Certpoint Cezanne Software Competentum CP Cornerstone OnDemand E2Train Element K eLogic Learning ePath Learning Expertus Gen21 GeoLearning
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
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Provider Expertise
Decision Support
284
Figure 140: General Functionality (contd) System Administration User Management Security & Permissions
User Experience
Integrated Content
GeoMetrix Giunti Labs Gyrus Systems Halogen imc Intuition Learn.com LearnShare Maestro eLearning MediaDefined Meridian KSI Mzinga NetDimensions On Point Digital Operitel Oracle EBS Oracle PeopleSoft Plateau REDTRAY
/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
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Provider Expertise
Decision Support
285
Figure 140: General Functionality (contd) System Administration User Management Security & Permissions
User Experience
Integrated Content
Reliant RISC RWD Saba SAP SilkRoad SkillSoft Softscape StepStone Strategia SumTotal Tata Interactive Systems Technomedia TEDS Thinking Cap Time4You Trivantis Upside Learning Solutions Pvt. Ltd. WBT Systems
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
Source: Bersin & Associates, 2010. / 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
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Provider Expertise NR
Decision Support
286
Figure 141: Learning Management Learning Management Enrollment and Registration Administration
E-Commerce
Accenture Allen Communications Learning Services Avilar Orchestrata (Beeline) Blackboard Blatant Media Certpoint Cezanne Software Competentum CP Cornerstone OnDemand E2Train Element K eLogic Learning ePath Learning Expertus Gen21 GeoLearning GeoMetrix
/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
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Learning Reporting
Catalogs
Learning Content
287
Figure 141: Learning Management (contd) Learning Management Enrollment and Registration Administration
E-Commerce
Giunti Labs Gyrus Systems Halogen imc Intuition Learn.com LearnShare Maestro eLearning MediaDefined Meridian KSI Mzinga NetDimensions On Point Digital Operitel Oracle EBS Oracle PeopleSoft Plateau REDTRAY Reliant
/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
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Catalogs
Learning Content
288
Figure 141: Learning Management (contd) Learning Management Enrollment and Registration Administration
E-Commerce
RISC RWD Saba SAP SilkRoad SkillSoft Softscape StepStone Strategia SumTotal Tata Interactive Systems Technomedia TEDS Thinking Cap Time4You Trivantis Upside Learning Solutions Pvt. Ltd. WBT Systems
/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
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Learning Reporting
Catalogs
Learning Content
289
Figure 142: Special Topics Special Topics in Learning Mobile Learning Accenture Allen Communications Learning Services Avilar Orchestrata (Beeline) Blackboard Blatant Media Certpoint Cezanne Software Competentum CP Cornerstone OnDemand E2Train Element K eLogic Learning ePath Learning Expertus Gen21 GeoLearning GeoMetrix Giunti Labs Gyrus Systems Halogen imc
/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
Source: Bersin & Associates, 2010.
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Figure 142: Special Topics (contd) Special Topics in Learning Mobile Learning Intuition Learn.com LearnShare Maestro eLearning MediaDefined Meridian KSI Mzinga NetDimensions On Point Digital Operitel Oracle EBS Oracle PeopleSoft Plateau REDTRAY Reliant RISC RWD Saba SAP SilkRoad SkillSoft Softscape
/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
Source: Bersin & Associates, 2010.
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Figure 142: Special Topics (contd) Special Topics in Learning Mobile Learning StepStone Strategia SumTotal Tata Interactive Systems Technomedia TEDS Thinking Cap Time4You Trivantis Upside Learning Solutions Pvt. Ltd. WBT Systems
Source: Bersin & Associates, 2010.
/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
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Figure 143: Integration with Talent Management Integration with Talent Management Competency Maintenance Competency Management Employee Profile Management Talent Profile Review & Analytics NR NR NR
Competency Reporting
Talent Integration
Competency Assessment
Accenture Allen Communications Learning Services Avilar Orchestrata (Beeline) Blackboard Blatant Media Certpoint Cezanne Software Competentum CP Cornerstone OnDemand E2Train Element K eLogic Learning ePath Learning Expertus Gen21 GeoLearning GeoMetrix
NR NR NR
NR NR NR
NR NR NR
NR NR NR
NR NR NR
NR NR NR
/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
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Job Profile
293
Figure 143: Integration with Talent Management (contd) Integration with Talent Management Competency Maintenance
Competency Management
Giunti Labs Gyrus Systems Halogen imc Intuition Learn.com LearnShare Maestro eLearning MediaDefined Meridian KSI Mzinga NetDimensions On Point Digital Operitel Oracle EBS Oracle PeopleSoft Plateau REDTRAY Reliant
/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
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Competency Reporting
Talent Integration
Competency Assessment
Job Profile
294
Figure 143: Integration with Talent Management (contd) Integration with Talent Management Competency Maintenance
Competency Management
RISC RWD Saba SAP SilkRoad SkillSoft Softscape StepStone Strategia SumTotal Tata Interactive Systems Technomedia TEDS Thinking Cap Time4You Trivantis Upside Learning Solutions Pvt. Ltd. WBT Systems
NR NR
NR NR
NR NR
NR NR
/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
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Competency Reporting
Talent Integration
Competency Assessment
Job Profile
295
Figure 144: Adaptability Adaptability Application Configurability Application Communications & Notifications
Data Architecture
Accenture Allen Communications Learning Services Avilar Orchestrata (Beeline) Blackboard Blatant Media Certpoint Cezanne Software Competentum CP Cornerstone OnDemand E2Train Element K eLogic Learning ePath Learning Expertus Gen21 GeoLearning GeoMetrix
NR
NR
NR
NR
/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
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Interface
296
Figure 144: Adaptability (contd) Adaptability Application Configurability Application Communications & Notifications
Data Architecture
Giunti Labs Gyrus Systems Halogen imc Intuition Learn.com LearnShare Maestro eLearning MediaDefined Meridian KSI Mzinga NetDimensions On Point Digital Operitel Oracle EBS Oracle PeopleSoft Plateau REDTRAY Reliant
/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
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Interface
297
Figure 144: Adaptability (contd) Adaptability Application Configurability Application Communications & Notifications
Data Architecture
RISC RWD Saba SAP SilkRoad SkillSoft Softscape StepStone Strategia SumTotal Tata Interactive Systems Technomedia TEDS Thinking Cap Time4You Trivantis Upside Learning Solutions Pvt. Ltd. WBT Systems
NR
NR
NR
NR
/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
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Interface
298
Figure 145: Social Software and Collaboration Social Software & Collaboration Integrated Communication Tools NR Social Analytics NR
Conversations
Connections
Collaboration
Accenture Allen Communications Learning Services Avilar Orchestrata (Beeline) Blackboard Blatant Media Certpoint Cezanne Software Competentum CP Cornerstone OnDemand E2Train Element K eLogic Learning ePath Learning Expertus Gen21 GeoLearning GeoMetrix
NR
NR
NR
NR
/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
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Moderation Tools NR
Content
299
Figure 145: Social Software and Collaboration (contd) Social Software & Collaboration Integrated Communication Tools NR Social Analytics NR
Conversations
Connections
Collaboration
Giunti Labs Gyrus Systems Halogen imc Intuition Learn.com LearnShare Maestro eLearning MediaDefined Meridian KSI Mzinga NetDimensions On Point Digital Operitel Oracle EBS Oracle PeopleSoft Plateau REDTRAY Reliant
NR
NR
NR
NR
/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
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Moderation Tools NR
Content
300
Figure 145: Social Software and Collaboration (contd) Social Software & Collaboration Integrated Communication Tools Social Analytics
Conversations
Connections
Collaboration
RISC RWD Saba SAP SilkRoad SkillSoft Softscape StepStone Strategia SumTotal Tata Interactive Systems Technomedia TEDS Thinking Cap Time4You Trivantis Upside Learning Solutions Pvt. Ltd. WBT Systems
/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
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Moderation Tools
Content
301
Appendix IV
Adaptability
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Figure 49: Bersin & Associates Adaptive Talent and Learning Platforms Maturity Model
Adaptive Platform
Adaptive System
Configurable
Hosted
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Figure 146: Bersin & Associates Adaptive Talent and Learning Platform Shopping Guide Adaptive Criteria Application functions are grouped into logical modules which can be turned on or off BY THE CLIENT. Application functions are highly client-configurable. Application is updated regularly, and client has the ability to accept or decline most changes. Application includes a custom form builder for collecting user information and initiating application functions. Client custom database fields can be used wherever native fields are used. System permissions are granular, and are groupable by customizable role or user group. Clients have access to a system registry for granular control over application behaviors. Application Better Application includes a custom workflow builder for creating custom application behaviors. All system communications and triggers are configurable with the application (no customization needed). Client can create custom database tables and views. The provider offers guarantees that client configurations will not break after application software updates. Most / all application behaviors can be automated. Best Application is extensible using custom web-applications or plug-ins. A third-party community of developers exists for this platform. Application uses open source technology in transparent (documented) ways.
Good
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Figure 146: Bersin & Associates Adaptive Talent and Learning Platform Shopping Guide (contd) Adaptive Criteria
Client can make cosmetic adjustments to the interface without provider help. The application supports multiple, independent user domains / sub-domains within the same implementation - each with unique interface designs. The application has a portal-style interface in which functions are deployed as configurable, movable objects. The interface can be defined using customizable templates or skins.
Good
The interface appearance can be automatically determined by user domain or group. Presentation All user of the written word (strings) in the interface (titles, menus, pages, et al) can be changed via a client customizable table (often called a localization table). All aspects of the interface appearance are defined via one or more client customizable CSS files. Better The interface appearance can be automatically determined by client customizable business rule. The interface allows end-user personalization. The application includes a visual interface editor supporting dynamic changes to the interface without need for web programming. Best
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Figure 146: Bersin & Associates Adaptive Talent and Learning Platform Shopping Guide (contd) Adaptive Criteria The application includes a comprehensive set of client-customizable stock reports. Good The application includes a tool for client initiated import of data, including user accounts and related fields. The application has one or more client accessible APIs or addressible web services. The application includes an embedded visual custom report building tool or comes with a turn-key integration to an external tool. The applications reporting functions are based on separate hardware resources from the core application. Available APIs and web services offer access to most / all of the applications functions and data. The provider offers clients clear, up-to-date documentation of the database model and schema. The application adheres to services oriented architecture principles (SOA). Available APIs are RESTful. Best The provider offers a library of pre-built portlets for extending application data / functionality outside of the system. The application supports common portal standards and guidelines, including JSR 168, JSR 264 and WSRP.
Data
Better
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Figure 146: Bersin & Associates Adaptive Talent and Learning Platform Shopping Guide (contd) Adaptive Criteria Good
The provider has prearranged relationships with one or more global content distribution partners (e.g., Akamai).
Delivery
The application is broken into multiple tiers to better balance hardware usage and allow for changes in one program component to not affect others.
One or more of the following technologies are used to improve efficiency and scalability: Hardware virtualization; Globally distributed infrastructure; and / or, Cloud computing.
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Figure 146: Bersin & Associates Adaptive Talent and Learning Platform Shopping Guide (contd) Adaptive Criteria
Extensive training and documentation are available for all application functions and roles.
The client can purchase use of the application on a trial basis. Good
Extensive on-demand learning is available, including self-directed e-learning, performance support and knowledge bases.
A thriving user community exists and meets regularly. Operations A new application environment can be delivered in 5 business days or less (on average).
The client can complete application purchase via the provider website without live sales intervention.
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Appendix V
Virtual Classroom Providers
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Stand Alone
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There are three general categories of commercial virtual classroom providers, as follows. Standalone Virtual Classroom Applications With few exceptions, these providers tend to offer both general-purpose and learningspecific versions of their platforms. Integrated Virtual Classroom Module within an Enterprise Learning Management (or talent management) System Most major LMS / talent management system providers support pre-integration with one or more of the major standalone platform providers. Some, however, also offer their own technology. Integrated Virtual Classroom Module within a Larger Enterprise Communications / Collaboration Solution Web-conferencing, for learning or otherwise, is a natural complement to a single solution for email, calendar scheduling, instant messaging and, increasingly, enterprise social media. Figure 148 lists most of the common platforms available in each category today. You will notice that some are listed in more than one category because they can be purchased by more than one path.
Figure 148: Virtual Classroom Providers Virtual Class Standalone VC Adobe Connect Pro Eluminate133 Live iLinc For Learning Cisco WebEx Training Center Citrix GoToTraining Microsoft Live Meeting Professional Saba Centra SkillSoft Dialogue Wimba Classroom134 WiZiq Virtual Classroom Module in LMS / TMS Learn.com Webroom (Taleo) Saba Centra SkillSoft Dialogue WiZiq for Moodle Integrated with Communications AT&T Unified Communications Cisco Unified Communications IBM LotusLive Microsoft Office Communications Server Oracle Beehive Saba Enterprise Collaboration Suite Wimba Collaboration Suite Other Web Conferencing General Purpose Adobe Connect Pro AT&T Connect135 Cisco WebEx Meeting Center Citrix GoToMeeting IBM LotusLive iLinc For Meetings Oracle Beehive Saba Centra Microsoft Live Meeting Standard or Professional Large Events Adobe Connect Pro Cisco WebEx Event Center Citrix GoToWebinar IBM LotusLive Events iLinc For Webinars Microsoft Live Meeting Professional Unisfair Virtual Event Centers
133 Recently purchased by Blackboard. 134 Known as much for social software as virtual classrooms. Recently purchased by Blackboard. 135 Formerly Interwise.
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As for the leaders in the virtual classroom market today, the list is actually small and has not changed much in the last few years. Figure 149 lists both the current market leaders and a couple of rising stars.
Figure 149: Market Leaders and Growth136 Market Leaders (in alphabetical order) Current Market Leaders Adobe AT&T Cisco WebEx Citrix Microsoft Saba Emerging Players Eluminate (Blackboard) Wimba (Blackboard)
Source: Bersin & Associates, 2010. *The arrows illustrate whether or not buyer feedback indicates that the provider is likely increasing or decreasing in real market share and / or perceived mind share.
The arrows illustrate whether or not buyer feedback indicates that the provider is likely increasing or decreasing in real market share and / or perceived mind share. A Few Comments In the corporate market, we find that Adobe, Citrix and Saba are where most of the energy in the space is being generated today both in terms of customer conversation and product innovation. For several years, Cisco WebEx Training Center was the class of the virtual classroom market and its share of the market reflects that fact. That said, we find that the purchase of WebEx by Cisco has resulted in
136 A note on methodology: we did not collect detailed customer or revenue numbers for this study as we typically do for industry reports. Our analysis in this section is based on qualitative interviews with both providers and buyers, in-depth analysis of buyer data collected as part of the 2010 Corporate Learning Factbook, and past provider financial data collected for our Solution Provider Library. While we are confident in our analysis as presented here, since we did not specifically collect market data, we are not publishing market size nor market share.
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some loss of mind share. WebEx is now just one part of a much larger company, a company with several other initiatives (e.g., Telepresense, Quad) that could be either complementary or conflicting, depending on perspective and implementation. Talking to WebEx, it was obvious that, as a product, it was not getting the same level of attention as in the past. While TrainingCenter is still, feature for feature, one of the best virtual classroom platforms in the market today, it is not innovating as fast as some others. Of course, that fact could change instantly, depending on where and how Cisco chooses to integrate WebEx into its other collaboration products. Somewhat similar to the Cisco situation, Microsoft Live Meeting should be considered as part of the larger family of Microsoft collaboration products, including potentially Office Collaboration Server, Exchange and even SharePoint 2010. Live Meeting itself has not changed much recently, but taking advantage of the various integration possibilities for SharePoint, for instance, makes it a very compelling option. Eluminate and Wimba are primarily focused on the education markets, although both have had some success with enterprise buyers, as well. Interestingly, they were both just purchased by Blackboard. These acquisitions further cement Blackboards domination of the higher-education learning technology market, but it might also have implications for corporate buyers, as well. These products both have corporate fans and Blackboard has been making steady inroads into the corporate LMS market. We will have to wait and see if (and how) Blackboard leverages these new additions to its portfolio with enterprise buyers.
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use cases that take advantage of the possibilities of converging social media, instant messaging, expertise matching and virtual learning. We expect we will continue to see further convergence with other providers, as well. On that note, we are curious to see where and how WebEx will relate to Ciscos new enterprise collaboration and social software platform, Quad.
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Appendix VI
Provider Profiles
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137 For more information, please visit the Bersin & Associates Solution Provider Library at http://www.bersin.com/Lib/Sp/.
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Company Overview
ACS (purchased by Xerox in February 2010) provides learning outsourcing services that are integral to supporting a comprehensive talent management strategy, learning process outsourcing (LPO) engagement and learning management system implementation. ACS also provides a wide range of HR outsourcing, including employee data management, HRMS and recruitment process outsourcing.
Contact Information: 925 Euclid Avenue Cleveland, Ohio 44115 http://www.acs-inc.com Year Founded: 2000 Number of Employees: 301-500 Primary Target Market: Enterprise (10,000+ employees) Secondary Target Market: Midmarket (1,00010,000 employees) Top Industries Served: Banking / Finance Business Services / Consulting Government (federal, including military) Manufacturing Durable Technology (computers, software, ISP) Geographic Presence: North America Europe / Middle East / Africa Public or Private: Public Current Fiscal Year: 2010 Current Fiscal Revenue: $100 million to $500 million Growth Rate Over Previous Fiscal Year Revenue: Not Disclosed Profitable: Yes 3 Largest Customers: 1. Ernst & Young Global (155,000 users) 2. Hertz (90,000 users) 3. ACS (66,000 users)
Offerings
Services Recruiting Procurement Outsourcing Payroll Processing Strategic L&D Consulting Technology Implementation Learning Content Development Benefits Administration Strategic HR Consulting HR Technology Consulting Competency Development Learning Delivery
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Learning Services Learning Administration Services o o o o o Strategic Sourcing Services Learning Strategy and Assessment Services Content and Curriculum Services Learning Technology Services Learning for Finance Professionals
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Market Differentiators138
1. Full-Service Solutions Management ACS provides a designated managed support services team that focuses on the operation of its hosted learning solution through the length of the contract. Design, configuration, integration, implementation and account management services are all part of the standard managed services package. 2. Trusted Partner Each learning engagement begins by working with the customer to create a mutual definition of success, gathering business requirements documents and strategy before defining service-level agreements. 3. Scalable and Global One-hundred percent SaaS, based on a servicesoriented architecture (SOA), and offering a Tier 1 hosted environment and central distribution network to allow global delivery.
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Product Overview
ACS did not provide detailed feature and function information for this report.
Modules Available Career and Succession Collaboration / Social Software Compensation Management HRMS / HRIS Learning Performance Management Recruiting / Talent Acquisition Workforce Planning
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Company Overview
In 2010, RWD Technologies announced that it would be spinning off its learning technology products as a separate company by selling these products to Court Square Capital. This new company is now named, ANCILE Solutions. ANCILE Solutions, Inc. is a global software solutions company specializing in the development and support of learning and performance products. The companys customers include 43 of the companies in the FORTUNE 100. Our products support mission-critical business applications by providing solutions that increase employee productivity and proficiency. ANCILE Solutionss products are used in thousands of organizations globally and in industries, such as manufacturing, energy, automotive, aerospace, healthcare, life sciences, consumer products, financial, telecommunications, services, higher education and the public sector. ANCILE Solutions is headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland. For additional information, please visit www.ancile.com.
Contact Information: 5521 Research Park Drive Baltimore, Maryland 21228 http://www.ancile.com Year Founded: 1988 Number of Employees: 501-1,000 Primary Target Market: Midmarket (1,00010,000 employees) Secondary Target Market: Enterprise (10,000+ employees) Top Industries Served: Automotive Energy Healthcare Manufacturing Durable Technology (computers, software, ISP) Geographic Presence: North America South America Europe / Middle East / Africa Asia-Pacific Public or Private: Private Current Fiscal Year: Not Disclosed Current Fiscal Revenue: Not Disclosed Growth Rate Over Previous Fiscal Year Revenue: Not Disclosed Profitable: Not Disclosed 3 Largest Customers: 1. Manufacturing Company (LMS customer 127,000 users) 2. Technology Company (LMS customer 56,000 users) 3. Business Consulting (LMS customer 7,500 users)
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Offerings
Services Community Management Learning Process Outsource Learning Delivery Competency Development Learning Content Development Technology Implementation
Software Platforms Assessment System Learning Content Management System Performance Management System Workforce Analytics Social Software Competency Management System Onboarding System
Tools Advanced e-Learning Development Survey and Assessment Simulations and Games
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Services
Human and Operational Performance Improvement Workforce Competency Change Management Learning and Training Services LEAN Transformation Strategic Consulting Services CRM / ECM Solutions
Market Differentiators139
1. Domain Expertise ANCILE Solutions uses its global resources to offer domain expertise as part of its solution. The company can leverage extensive knowledge from direct experience working with the manufacturing industry for 18 years, high tech for 20 years, pharmaceutical / healthcare for 10 years and energy for almost five years. These assets, combined with stellar
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project management and its human performance approach, allows ANCILE Solutions to offer a complete suite of learning solutions, including strategic assessment for evaluation and planning, implementation and integration with existing systems, and ongoing sustainment services to ensure that what was implemented continues to be optimized and adjusts to organizational and industry changes. 2. Added Value While ANCILE Solutions offering is broader than that of the traditional LMS provider, the company offers learning solutions with comparable feature, functions and performance. Because of its size, ANCILE can provide a higher value to its clients through its flexibility to be creative and more competitive. Also contributing to the value for its clients is the companys use of project management and methodologies that ensure ANCILE meet deadlines and budgets every time.
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Delivery Models Supported (SaaS / Multitenant, Hosted and / or On-Premise) Hosted, On-Premise Hosted, On-Premise On-Premise All On-Premise
Product Capabilities
Modules Available Career and Succession Collaboration / Social Software Compensation Management HRMS / HRIS Learning Performance Management Recruiting / Talent Acquisition Workforce Planning
/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
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Learning Management Course and Resource Management Curriculum, Learning Plans and Certification Management Skills and Competency Management Enrollment and Registration Administration
Catalogs
Learning Content
eCommerce
Learning Reporting
/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
Competency Management Competency Maintenance Competency Assessment Talent Integration Competency Reporting
Employee Profile Management Employee Education and Experience Job Profile Talent Profile Review and Analytics
/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
Adaptability Application Configurability Application Communications and Notifications Interface Data Architecture Data Core Reporting and Analytics
/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
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Social Software and Collaboration Conversations Collaboration Connections Content Moderation Tools Social Analytics Integrated Communication Tools
/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
Overall Analysis of the Talent Management Suite Integrated focus on learning, performance support and collaboration Extensive experience supporting the talent needs of organizations in highly regulated and compliance-driven industries Improve adaptability of product suite, including configurability, interface and data architecture Enhance social tools in support of social learning and knowledge-sharing Technology o SQL Server 2008 o User Management o IBM DB2 User Interface Update Training Requests Languages o East Asian, Pan European o Arabic Federal Compliance o EHRI o SCORM 2004 o Federal Desktop Social Media o User-Generated Content o Tagging and Rating o Expert Awareness Cost Accounting Approval Workflow Inline and Ad-Hoc Reporting Performance Enhancements Multicurrency Support Large organizations with heavy compliance and / or process training needs
Strengths
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Blackboard, Inc.
COMPANY SNAPSHOT
Company Overview
Blackboard Inc. is a global leader in enterprise technology and innovative solutions that improve the experience of millions of students and learners around the world every day. The companys solutions allow thousands of higher education, K-12, professional, corporate and government organizations to extend teaching and learning online, facilitate campus commerce and security, and communicate more effectively with their communities.
Contact Information: 650 Massachusetts Avenue, 6th Floor Washington, D.C. 20001 http://www.BlackboardProEd.com Year Founded: 1997 Number of Employees: 1,001-2,500 Primary Target Market: Midmarket (1,00010,000 employees) Secondary Target Market: Enterprise (10,000+ employees) Top Industries Served: Education Government (federal, including military) Healthcare Nonprofit Geographic Presence: North America South America Europe / Middle East / Africa Asia-Pacific Public or Private: Public Current Fiscal Year: 2010 Current Fiscal Revenue: 100 million to $500 million Growth Rate Over Previous Fiscal Year Revenue: 21% Profitable: Yes 3 Largest Customers: 1. Pearson (1,100,000 users) 2. SENA 3. U.S. Department of Defense (1,000,000+ users)
Offerings
Services Community Management Employer Branding Learning Delivery Competency Development Learning Content Development Strategic L&D Consulting
Software Platforms Assessment System Learning Content Management System Learning Analytics Social Software
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Market Differentiators140
1. Ease of Use Designed from the end-users perspective, rather than from the administrators perspective. In developing the software, the companys goal is that a training manual not be required to operate the system. 2. Wealth of Experience and Exposure with Educational Audiences (15 million users worldwide) Because Blackboard has such an expansive user community in high school, technical school, college or graduate school, Blackboards interface and features will be familiar to many people who have already used Blackboard technology. 3. Speed to Market Blackboard Learn is designed to be very easy and fast to implement, and requires minimal services to get up and running.
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Modules Available Career and Succession Collaboration / Social Software Compensation Management HRMS / HRIS Learning Performance Management Recruiting / Talent Acquisition Workforce Planning
Product Capabilities
/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
Learning Management Course and Resource Management Curriculum, Learning Plans and Certification Management Skills and Competency Management Enrollment and Registration Administration
Catalogs
Learning Content
eCommerce
Learning Reporting
/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
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Competency Management Competency Maintenance Competency Assessment Talent Integration Competency Reporting
Employee Profile Management Employee Education and Experience Job Profile Talent Profile Review and Analytics
/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
Adaptability Application Configurability Application Communications and Notifications Interface Data Architecture Data Core Reporting and Analytics
/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
Social Software and Collaboration Conversations Collaboration Connections Content Moderation Tools Social Analytics Integrated Communication Tools
/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
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Overall Analysis of the Talent Management Suite Great learner-centric experience Strong integration of social tools into learning Impressive mobile offering Continue to expand traditional LMS functionality Enhanced instructor / facilitator efficiency Additional performance learning More powerful personalized learning New / enhanced content standards support Course relationship mgmt New auth support Simplified HRIS integration Organization directory and delegated administration Improved module management Increase personalization Portal interoperability Enhanced personal information management Simplified social learning Learning object repository Improve course integration User experience refinement HTML editing in browser New desktop access capabilities New evidence collection capabilities Workflow management Enhanced assessment e-portfolio Improved reporting
Strengths
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Cegos Group
COMPANY SNAPSHOT
Company Overview
Cegos is an international leader in professional development, training and coaching and has been helping the individual employee be successful on the job since 1926. The company offers multiple learning solutions, including 200 off-the-shelf e-learning courses that have been translated into 11 languages. Cegos also provides a package of blended-learning solutions, face-to-face training, public courses and HR consultation. In 2008, the company provided training to more than 200,000 people worldwide. It operates from 28 countries and employs a staff of 1,400.
Contact Information: U.S. Headquarters: 46 Brainard Road West Hartford, Connecticut 06117 1-866-234-6706 European Headquarters: 19 Rue Rene Jacques Issy les Moulineaux Cedex 9, Paris, France http://www.cegos.com Year Founded: 1926 Number of Employees: 1,001-2,500 Primary Target Market: Midmarket (1,00010,000 employees) Secondary Target Market: Enterprise (10,000+ employees) Top Industries Served: Automotive Banking / Finance Government (federal, including military) Oil and Gas / Mining Telecommunications Geographic Presence: North America South America Europe / Middle East / Africa Asia-Pacific Public or Private: Not Disclosed Current Fiscal Year: Not Disclosed Current Fiscal Revenue: $100 million to $500 million Growth Rate Over Previous Fiscal Year Revenue: 11%-20% Profitable: Yes
Offerings
Services Competency Development Event Services Learning Administration Learning Delivery Learning Process Outsource Recruitment Advertising Strategic L&D Consulting Content Localization HR Technology Consulting Learning Content Development Learning Measurement Pre-Hire Assessment Strategic HR Consulting Technology Implementation
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Software Platforms Assessment System Learning Content Management System Mobile Learning
(contd) 3 Largest Customers: 1. France Telecom / Orange telcomms (7,000 users) 2. European Commission (European central government) 3. LOreal (6,500 users)
Content Accredited Degree Programs Compensation Data Customer Service Executive Education General Personal Development HR Benchmark Data Leadership Development Sales Assessments Competency Libraries Digital Resource Library Financial Management General Professional Development IT Desktop Project Management
Tools Advanced e-Learning Development Media Development Survey and Assessment Classroom or Meeting Technology Rapid Content Development Web-Based Content Development
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Negotiation Account management Purchasing Project management A portfolio of intra- and interpersonal soft skills A comprehensive offer within a range of HR services
Delivery mechanisms include: Blended learning Standalone e-learning Customized e-learning Web collaboration (as a learning delivery tool) Face-to-face training 1-2-1 coaching Outdoor Conferencing
Market Differentiators141
1. Truly Global Coverage Enabling multilingual, simultaneous rollout of major international projects for clients. 2. The Development of Blended and e-Learning Solutions Solutions that are learning goal-based and learner-focused. Technology enables the learning solution, but should not consume it. The companys learning credentials ensure that it champions the learner, as much as the learning department. 3. Permanent Team of Local and Global Consultants Experts in its clients industries and challenges ensures that the companys learning solutions are always grounded in the clients reality, and their teams / managers are making ROI a priority from day one, not just at the end of the project.
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Company Overview
Certpoint offers a flexible integrated learning management suite to maximize critical knowledge assets across the extended enterprise and throughout global partner channels.
Contact Information: Four Expressway Plaza Roslyn Heights, New York 11577 http://www.certpointsystems.com Year Founded: 1998 Number of Employees: 51-100 Primary Target Market: Enterprise (10,000+ employees) Secondary Target Market: Midmarket (1,00010,000 employees) Top Industries Served: Banking / Finance Energy Healthcare Manufacturing Durable Technology (computers, software, ISP) Geographic Presence: North America South America Europe / Middle East / Africa Asia-Pacific Public or Private: Private Current Fiscal Year: Not Disclosed Current Fiscal Revenue: Not Disclosed Growth Rate Over Previous Fiscal Year Revenue: 21%-30% Profitable: Yes 3 Largest Customers: 1. Toyota (300,000+ users) 2. Honda (100,000+ users) 3. Sonic Restaurants (60,000+ users)
Offerings
Services Community Management Learning Content Development Learning Process Outsource Competency Development Learning Delivery Strategic L&D Consulting
Software Platforms Assessment System Learning Analytics Competency Management System Learning Content Management System Onboarding System Social Software Performance Management System Workforce Analytics
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Services
Consulting Learning Management Content Learning Management Authoring Competency Management Performance Management
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Market Differentiators142
1. Extended Enterprise Ready Certpoint specializes in working with providers to support extended enterprise audiences, including partners and channel participants, and offers the most flexible architecture, implementation and pricing in the market for these use cases. 2. Globalization Certpoint VLS is multilingual and fully internationalized, including LMS, LCMS, content management and authoring. Certpoint competitors must partner to offer the same international capabilities. 3. Certpoint is quicker to deploy than any other enterprise-level system.
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Application/Module Name
Delivery Models Supported (SaaS / Multitenant, Hosted and / or On-Premise) Hosted, On-Premise SaaS
Product Capabilities
Modules Available Career and Succession Collaboration / Social Software Compensation Management HRMS / HRIS Learning Performance Management Recruiting / Talent Acquisition Workforce Planning
/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
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Learning Management Course and Resource Management Curriculum, Learning Plans and Certification Management Skills and Competency Management Enrollment and Registration Administration
Catalogs
Learning Content
eCommerce
Learning Reporting
/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
Competency Management Competency Maintenance Competency Assessment Talent Integration Competency Reporting
Employee Profile Management Employee Education and Experience Job Profile Talent Profile Review and Analytics
/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
Adaptability Application Configurability Application Communications and Notifications Interface Data Architecture Data Core Reporting and Analytics
/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
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Social Software and Collaboration Conversations Collaboration Connections Content Moderation Tools Social Analytics Integrated Communication Tools
/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
Overall Analysis of the Talent Management Suite History of expertise with extended enterprise needs Tight integration of social learning, performance support and mobile learning Strong support for automated, prescriptive learning to meet complex requirements of organizations in highly regulated industries Enhanced user profile Enhance adaptability, especially related to application configurability, the interface and open data architecture Improved intelligent search Enhanced interface and streamlined user experience Improved integration with SharePoint Mobile e-learning K- Tango Version 1.0
Strengths
Organizations of any size with extended enterprise learning needs and / or looking for integrated mobile and performance support
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Cornerstone OnDemand
COMPANY SNAPSHOT
Company Overview
Cornerstone OnDemand empowers people around the world with ondemand, integrated learning and talent management software and services for connecting, developing and performing in the workplace. The companys Software-as-a-Service (SaaS)-based solutions span the workforce lifecycle, including onboarding, learning, social networking, compliance, performance, compensation and succession planning. Cornerstone also provides extended enterprise solutions to help companies better train and collaborate with customers, vendors and resellers. Available in 17 languages and supported by global, 24x7 customer care, Cornerstone is used by more than four million active subscribers in 141 countries. The company is headquartered in Santa Monica, California, and has international offices in London, Paris, Munich and Tel Aviv. On September 29, 2010, Cornerstone filed for an Initial Public Offering, saying it wants to raise up to $115 million. The companys private equity backers include Bay Partners, Bessemer Venture Partners, and Meritech Capital. The IPO will be underwritten by Goldman, Sachs & Co., Barclays Capital, William Blair & Co., Piper Jaffray, Pacific Crest Securities, and JMP Securities.
Contact Information: 1601 Cloverfield Boulevard, Suite 620S Santa Monica, California 90404 http://www.cornerstoneondemand.com Year Founded: 1999 Number of Employees: 300-500 Primary Target Market: Enterprise (10,000+ employees) Secondary Target Market: Midmarket (1,00010,000 employees) Top Industries Served: Banking / Finance Business Services / Consulting Healthcare Manufacturing Durable Retail Geographic Presence: North America South America Europe / Middle East / Africa Asia-Pacific Public or Private: Private Current Fiscal Year: 2010 Current Fiscal Revenue: Not Disclosed Growth Rate Over Previous Fiscal Year Revenue: >50% Profitable: Yes 3 Largest Customers: 1. Global Staffing Firm (850,000+ users) 2. Retail Pharmacy Chain (250,000+ users) 3. Manufacturing Company (250,000+ users)
Offerings
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Tools Advanced e-Learning Development Survey and Assessment Rapid Content Development Web-Based Content Development
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Cornerstone Performance full EPM suite for appraisal, competencies, goal management, and development planning
o o
Cornerstone Compensation pay-for-performance platform Cornerstone Career & Succession complete succession management tools along with a Career Center to empower employees to manage career paths, resumes, and career preferences
Cornerstone Extended Enterprise deliver training, certification programs, and social communities to support training-for-profit and partner enablement initiatives
Services
Consulting Services deployment, implementation, and technical processes Client Success Services real talent management practitioners help clients maximize investments in Cornerstone Customer Care global 24x7 customer care based in Los Angeles and Tel Aviv Educational Services full onsite training services
Market Differentiators143
1. Organically Developed and Highly Flexible Learning and Talent Management Cornerstones talent management has been built entirely in-house on a single codebase, with a consistent user interface, a single reporting environment, one data model and a single customer-care suite goes beyond performance, succession and compensation to further integrate both comprehensive learning / development and social networking, both differentiators in this marketplace. Assessing performance in isolation is not enough. In addition, Cornerstones organizational unit approach provides unmatched flexibility, configurability and adaptability (versus the more traditional form-based approach, usually requiring customization).
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2. Laser Focus on Client Success Cornerstone has a dedicated team of former talent management practitioners on staff (client success services) and a stated mission of being a trusted, long-term partner. The companys Client Success Framework details the relationship clients should expect throughout their lifecycle with the company. Cornerstones laser focus on the success of its clients has earned near 100 percent client retention and loyalty. 3. Extensive Global Experience and Service Capabilities Localized for 16 languages and deployed in 141 countries (including more than a dozen clients with 100,000-plus users), Cornerstones extensive global experience and capabilities for worldwide client care, account management and consulting services ensure the best resources for enterprise implementations.
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Current GA Version # Versionless for clients Versionless for clients Versionless for clients Versionless for clients Versionless for clients
Delivery Models Supported (SaaS / Multitenant, Hosted and / or On-Premise) SaaS SaaS SaaS SaaS SaaS
1. Cornerstone Learning - LMS 2. Cornerstone Connect - social collaboration 3. Cornerstone Performance - EPM 4. Cornerstone Succession succession / career 5. Cornerstone Extended Enterprise
Product Capabilities
Modules Available Career and Succession Collaboration / Social Software Compensation Management HRMS / HRIS Learning Performance Management Recruiting / Talent Acquisition Workforce Planning
/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
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Learning Management Course and Resource Management Curriculum, Learning Plans and Certification Management Skills and Competency Management Enrollment and Registration Administration
Catalogs
Learning Content
eCommerce
Learning Reporting
/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
Competency Management Competency Maintenance Competency Assessment Talent Integration Competency Reporting
Employee Profile Management Employee Education and Experience Job Profile Talent Profile Review and Analytics
/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
Adaptability Application Configurability Application Communications and Notifications Interface Data Architecture Data Core Reporting and Analytics
/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
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Social Software and Collaboration Conversations Collaboration Connections Content Moderation Tools Social Analytics Integrated Communication Tools
/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
Overall Analysis of the Talent Management Suite High configurable, on-demand platform Strong history of SaaS expertise Integrated performance and development planning Career management with a self-service approach (Career Center) User friendly and intuitive experience for managers and employees Social networking / collaboration tools
Strengths
While the overall user experience is still a plus, the interface is becoming text-heavy Social tools offered as a separate module; not as refined or as deeply integrated as some competitors Performance o PeopleFinder o Mobile support Succession o Career Center, v2 o Workforce planning o Expanded charting Connect/Social o Expanded social analytics and reporting o Integrations with external networks o Polls and surveys o Expanded document management / versioning o Video handling Learning o Course-as-a-Portal o Demand forecasting Extended Enterprise o Expanded audience segmentation o Expanded eCommerce capability Analytics and Reporting o Expanded workforce analytics o More embedded / inline analytics across system o More embedded dashboards
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Midmarket to large organizations anywhere in the world looking for a highly usable, on-demand integrated talent management solution
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Element K
COMPANY SNAPSHOT
Company Overview
Element K is a wholly owned subsidiary of the global learning services firm NIIT. Element K delivers learning solutions for customers and partners through a tailored combination of catalog learning products, technology and services supporting the learning needs of the corporate, government, education and training center markets. Element K brings extensive experience in learning program, and curriculum design and development; learning-technology integration; and, learning program delivery. Element Ks turnkey products include 2,800 e-learning courses and 1,300 print courseware titles in topics, such as business skills, compliance, desktop productivity, web design and IT content, as well as a robust on-demand learning management system, KnowledgeHub.
Contact Information: 500 Canal View Boulevard Rochester, New York 14623 http://www.elementk.com Year Founded: 1982 Number of Employees: 501-1,000 Primary Target Market: Enterprise (10,000+ employees) Secondary Target Market: Midmarket (1,00010,000 employees) Top Industries Served: Banking / Finance Business Services / Consulting Hospitality Manufacturing Durable Telecommunications Geographic Presence: North America South America Europe / Middle East / Africa Asia-Pacific Public or Private: Private Current Fiscal Year: Not Disclosed Current Fiscal Revenue: Not Disclosed Growth Rate Over Previous Fiscal Year Revenue: Not Disclosed Profitable: Not Disclosed 3 Largest Customers: 1. Not Disclosed (1,500,000 users) 2. New Horizons (300,000 users) 3. Not Disclosed (80,000 users)
Offerings
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Market Differentiators144
1. Global Reach Multitenant / multilevel SaaS model available worldwide and in 17 languages. 2. Out-of-the-Box Blended-Learning Content comes with inclusive support for multiple content modalities, including e-learning, proprietary content, ILT management, virtual classrooms, e-reference, vLabs and collaboration in a consistent and complete integrated way. 3. Integrated Social Learning Access to integrated instance of enterprise social software leader Jive Clearspace.
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Current GA Version #
Delivery Models Supported (SaaS / Multitenant, Hosted and / or On-Premise) SaaS SaaS
NA NA
NA NA
Product Capabilities
Modules Available Career and Succession Collaboration / Social Software Compensation Management HRMS / HRIS Learning Performance Management Recruiting / Talent Acquisition Workforce Planning
/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
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Learning Management Course and Resource Management Curriculum, Learning Plans and Certification Management Skills and Competency Management Enrollment and Registration Administration
Catalogs
Learning Content
eCommerce
Learning Reporting
/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
Competency Management Competency Maintenance NR Competency Assessment NR Talent Integration NR Competency Reporting NR
Employee Profile Management Employee Education and Experience NR Job Profile NR Talent Profile Review and Analytics NR
/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
Adaptability Application Configurability Application Communications and Notifications Interface Data Architecture Data Core Reporting and Analytics
/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
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Social Software and Collaboration Conversations Collaboration Connections Content Moderation Tools Social Analytics Integrated Communication Tools
/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
Overall Analysis of the Talent Management Suite Deep library of learning content Blended-learning offerings integrated with content managed by the platform Integrated best-of-breed social software provider, Jive Software Enhance adaptability, especially related to application configurability, the interface and open data architecture Improve competency management Improve basic functionality in the areas of curriculum management and enrollment management Refinement of home page My pages consolidation Easy access to all content and learning plans Online books upgrade Improved layout of landing page and book reader Framework supports other content types like audio, video, et al. Mobile Support for WebEx Virtual Classroom Continued build out of collaboration Enhanced classroom training Development of new reports
Strengths
Midsize to large organizations looking for one-stop-shop provider of an SaaS LMS, e-learning content and a social software collaboration
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GeoLearning
COMPANY SNAPSHOT
Company Overview
GeoLearning is an exclusively Software-as-a-Service provider of on-demand learning and performance management technology platforms. The companys products and services are used by more than 500 corporations, government agencies and nonprofit organizations to manage human capital development, accelerate business processes and drive organizational performance. The company provides a breadth of services, ranging from traditional implementations to content development, training effectiveness consulting and change management. GeoLearning also provides comprehensive training out-tasking and outsourcing services. This total solution approach helps GeoLearning understand its clients learning requirements, and provide products and services to meet a wide variety of training requirements.
Contact Information: 4600 Westown Parkway, Suite 301 West Des Moines, Iowa 50266 http://www.geolearning.com Year Founded: 1997 Number of Employees: 201-300 Primary Target Market: Midmarket (1,00010,000 employees) Secondary Target Market: Enterprise (10,000+ employees) Top Industries Served: Banking / Finance Education Retail Healthcare Manufacturing Durable Geographic Presence: North America South America Europe / Middle East / Africa Asia-Pacific Public or Private: Private Current Fiscal Year: 2010 Current Fiscal Revenue: Not Disclosed Growth Rate Over Previous Fiscal Year Revenue: Not Disclosed Profitable: Yes 3 Largest Customers: 1. U.S. Government Office of Personnel Management (500,000+ users) 2. State of New Jersey (70,000 users) 3. Dell (60,000 users)
Offerings
Services Community Management Competency Development Employer Branding Learning Administration Community Moderation Content Localization Event Services Learning Content Development
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Software Platforms Assessment System Competency Management System Learning Content Management Systems Career Management System Learning Analytics Web Conference and Virtual Classroom
Content Assessments Compliance Executive Education General Personal Development Healthcare IT Systems and Programming Project Management Sales Competency Libraries Custom Service Financial Management General Professional Development IT Desktop Leadership Development Quality / Manufacturing
Tools Advanced e-Learning Development Survey and Assessment Raid Content Development
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Market Differentiators145
1. Content Aggregation and Integration The solution includes more than 25,000 pre-integrated content titles, hosted and serviced by GeoLearning. Content contracts are with GeoLearning. 2. On-Demand Expertise and U.S.-Based Customer Service Full version and functional SaaS / on-demand model with U.S.-based customer service facility. Hosts and maintains its own software and hardware. 3. Extended Enterprise Ready Combination of domain functionality, eCommerce and customer support model enable GeoLearning to support large-scale extended enterprise training / eCommerce initiatives (including Dell, Google, PayPal, Palm and Sales Performance International).
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Delivery Models Supported (SaaS / Multitenant, Hosted and / or On-Premise) SaaS SaaS SaaS SaaS
12.00
5/17/2010
SaaS
Product Capabilities
Modules Available Career and Succession Collaboration / Social Software Compensation Management HRMS / HRIS Learning Performance Management Recruiting / Talent Acquisition Workforce Planning
/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
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Learning Management Course and Resource Management Curriculum, Learning Plans and Certification Management Skills and Competency Management Enrollment and Registration Administration
Catalogs
Learning Content
eCommerce
Learning Reporting
/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
Competency Management Competency Maintenance Competency Assessment Talent Integration Competency Reporting
Employee Profile Management Employee Education and Experience Job Profile Talent Profile Review and Analytics
/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
Adaptability Application Configurability Application Communications and Notifications Interface Data Architecture Data Core Reporting and Analytics
/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
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Social Software and Collaboration Conversations Collaboration Connections Content Moderation Tools Social Analytics Integrated Communication Tools
/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
Overall Analysis of the Talent Management Suite Rapid implementation, high-touch customer service Remaining fully targeted on LMS market, offering partnerships to address other talent management needs 100% SaaS, history of SaaS expertise Continue to enhance integration of social tools in support of social learning and knowledge-sharing Continue to enhance adaptability, especially related to the interface, and open data architecture Please see the provider for more details
Strengths
Any midmarket, enterprise or government customer that would like a fully featured LMS platform
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Company Overview
IMC offers a range of first-class learning technologies to private- and publicsector organizations to support their learning and development strategies. IMCs products and services, which encompass the learning management system CLIX, the electronic performance support system LIVECONTEXT and the authoring tools LECTURNITY and POWERTRAINER, are an equal match for the diverse and often individual needs of a large number of international clients. In addition to these products, IMC offers bespoke e-learning content development, and a wide range of consultancy services in the field of learning and training management.
Contact Information: Altenkesselerstrasse 17/D3 66115 Saarbruecken / Germany Phone: +49 681 9476 0 Fax: +49 681 9476 530 http://www.im-c.com Year Founded: 1997 Number of Employees: 101-200 Primary Target Market: Midmarket (1,00010,000 employees) Secondary Target Market: Enterprise (10,000+ employees) Top Industries Served: Automotive Banking / Finance Chemicals Education Healthcare Geographic Presence: North America Europe / Middle East / Africa Asia-Pacific Public or Private: Private Current Fiscal Year: 2010 Current Fiscal Revenue: Not Disclosed Growth Rate Over Previous Fiscal Year Revenue: 11%-20% Profitable: Yes 3 Largest Customers: 1. Department of Health UK (3,000,000 users) 2. Volkswagen (100,000 users) 3. UBS (68,000 users)
Offerings
Services Benefits Administration Community Moderation Content Localization Event Services Learning Process Outsource Community Management Competency Development Employer Branding HR Technology Consulting Learning Administration
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Software Platforms Assessment System Competency Management System Enterprise Content Management Job Search Engine Learning Content Management Systems Performance Management System Social Learning Platform Succession Management System Talent Management Suite Workforce Planning Career Management System Competency Management System Event Capture Learning Analytics Mobile Learning Performance Support System Social Software Talent Acquisition System Workforce Analytics
Content Accredited Degree Programs Compliance Executive Education Healthcare IT Systems and Programming Assessments Customer Service Financial Management IT Desktop Sales
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Services
Consulting o o o o o o o Skill and competency management Leadership development Learning design Learning process engineering Training management reengineering Blended-learning strategy Regulatory compliance management
Technology implementation and integration Content o Development of bespoke e-learning content and serious games
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Market Differentiators146
1. Process Orientation IMC products support all business processes in modern training organizations, such as individual learning processes, as well as learning communities, training management, testing and resource management. 2. Integration Seamless integration into the customers IT infrastructure based on a powerful integration framework (ERP, HR, Netweaver, Microsoft SharePoint Services, LDAP, et al). 3. Customer-Focused IMC products and services are business-driven and developed in close cooperation with an excellent user group of more than 300 customers with four million users worldwide.
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Date Current Version Released Feb 1, 2010 Feb 1, 2010 Feb 1, 2010 Feb 1, 2010
Delivery Models Supported (SaaS / Multitenant, Hosted and / or On-Premise) All On-Premise All On-Premise
1. CLIX Learning and Development 2. CLIX Analytics 3. CLIX Skill and Competency Management 4. CLIX Learnbase
Product Capabilities
Modules Available Career and Succession Collaboration / Social Software Compensation Management HRMS / HRIS Learning Performance Management Recruiting / Talent Acquisition Workforce Planning
/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
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Learning Management Course and Resource Management Curriculum, Learning Plans and Certification Management Skills and Competency Management Enrollment and Registration Administration
Catalogs
Learning Content
eCommerce
Learning Reporting
/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
Competency Management Competency Maintenance Competency Assessment Talent Integration Competency Reporting
Employee Profile Management Employee Education and Experience Job Profile Talent Profile Review and Analytics
/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
Adaptability Application Configurability Application Communications and Notifications Interface Data Architecture Data Core Reporting and Analytics
/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
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Social Software and Collaboration Conversations Collaboration Connections Content Moderation Tools Social Analytics Integrated Communication Tools
/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
Overall Analysis of the Talent Management Suite Highly configurable Strong support for automated, prescriptive learning to meet complex requirements of organizations in highly regulated industries Very easy to use Deeper integration of social tools to support social learning, knowledge-sharing and network building Enhanced employee profile Continue to enhance adaptability in the interface and the data architecture Near-Term Enhancements Planned CLIX openSocial CLIX widget store and learning widgets CLIX2Go Beta (iPhone, iPad, Android) CLIX Talent Management o Expert matching o Succession o PM o Open Talent Community Beta CLIX + EPSS Integration (LiveContext) CLIX Talent Relationship Management Midmarket to large organizations, especially in Europe
Strengths
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Intuition
COMPANY SNAPSHOT
Company Overview
Established in 1985, Intuition is a leading professional learning services provider to the financial markets, life sciences and government sector communities. The company provides a full spectrum of value-added products, services and technologies to support its client learning requirements, including e-learning and instructor-led courses, custom solutions, and learning technologies, such as learning management, content authoring and mobile learning solutions. Intuition provides clients with a total learning solution aligned to their business objectives. The company is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, with operations in New York, London, Singapore, Hong Kong and Sydney.
Contact Information: 185 Madison Avenue, Suite 700 New York, New York 10016 Phone: 1-212-686-3936 http://www.intuition.com Year Founded: 1985 Number of Employees: 101-200 Primary Target Market: Midmarket (1,00010,000 employees) Secondary Target Market: Enterprise (10,000+ employees) Top Industries Served: Banking / Finance Government (federal including military) Healthcare Pharmaceuticals Telecommunications Geographic Presence: North America Europe / Middle East / Africa Asia-Pacific Public or Private: Private Current Fiscal Year: 2010 Current Fiscal Revenue: Not Disclosed Growth Rate Over Previous Fiscal Year Revenue: 11%-20% Profitable: Yes 3 Largest Customers: 1. U.K. National Health Service (260,000 users) 2. Bank of America Mobile (55,000 users)
Offerings
Services Content Localization HR Outsourcing Learning Administration Learning Delivery Learning Process Outsource Strategic HR Consulting Employer Branding HR Technology Consulting Learning Content Development Learning Measurement Pre-Hire Assessment Strategic L&D Consulting
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Software Platforms Assessment System Career Management System Enterprise Content Management Event Capture Learning Content Management Systems Mobile Learning Performance Management System Social Learning Platform Web Conference and Virtual Classroom Candidate Relations Management Competency Management System ERP Learning Analytics Learning Management System Onboarding System Performance Support System Social Software
Content Assessments Compliance Executive Education General Personal Development General Management IT Desktop Project Management Sales Competency Libraries Customer Service Financial Management General Professional Development Healthcare Leadership Development Quality / Manufacturing
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Market Differentiators147
1. Largest community of active mobile learning users. 2. Cloud-based LMS supporting web and mobile Internet devices. 3. Experience and Expertise Established in 1985, the company has almost 25 years of experience in delivering learning solutions for professionals within its vertical markets. 4. Best-of-breed approach to content delivery. 5. One million- plus users of Intuition content.
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Current GA Version #
Delivery Models Supported (SaaS / Multitenant, Hosted and / or On-Premise) SaaS, On-Premise SaaS, On-Premise SaaS, On-Premise SaaS On-Premise
1. Intuition Know How (Content Library) 2. Intuition Rubicon LMS 3. Intuition Rubicon Mobile 4. Intuition Learning Portal 5. Intuition Publisher
Product Capabilities
Modules Available Career and Succession Collaboration / Social Software Compensation Management HRMS / HRIS Learning Performance Management Recruiting / Talent Acquisition Workforce Planning
/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
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Learning Management Course and Resource Management Curriculum, Learning Plans and Certification Management Skills and Competency Management Enrollment and Registration Administration
Catalogs
Learning Content
eCommerce
Learning Reporting
/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
Competency Management Competency Maintenance Competency Assessment Talent Integration Competency Reporting
Employee Profile Management Employee Education and Experience Job Profile Talent Profile Review and Analytics
/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
Adaptability Application Configurability Application Communications and Notifications Interface Data Architecture Data Core Reporting and Analytics
/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
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Social Software and Collaboration Conversations Collaboration Connections Content Moderation Tools Social Analytics Integrated Communication Tools
/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
Overall Analysis of the Talent Management Suite Global, secure, highly scalable SaaS platform Rapid deployment time Deep expertise in learning content, especially in financial services Improved intelligent search Integrated social tools to support social learning, knowledge-sharing and network-building Improved competency management to serve as pivot point with larger talent strategies Deeper employee profile
Strengths
Q32010 Support for Android Web authoring of Mobile content Extended event support Q42010 Integrated learning and knowledge delivery Social networking throughout the learning environment Integration API using web services Local content generation, tagging and rating 2011 Further devices support (e.g., eReaders, tablets) Fully integrated social networking Augmented experience using mobile sensors Large organizations anywhere in the world looking for global reach and / or enterprise-grade support for mobile learning
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Learn.com (Taleo)
COMPANY SNAPSHOT
Company Overview
Learn.com is a provider of on-demand workforce development and productivity solutions, with more than 50 million end-users around the globe. Its broad suite of software as a service (SaaS) applications can fully automate the pre-hire-to-retire lifecycle within any organization. The Learn.com family of solutions includes the award-winning LearnCenter learning and talent management suite, the WebRoom web-conferencing suite, the CourseMaker Studio authoring tool, Mentor EPSS and the 1,000-title Learn2 online course library. In September of 2010, talent management suite provider Taleo acquired Learn.com.
Contact Information: 14001 NW 4th Street Sunrise, Florida 33325 http://www.learn.com Year Founded: 1999 Number of Employees: 201-300 Primary Target Market: Midmarket (1,00010,000 employees) Secondary Target Market: Small Business (1-1,000 employees) Top Industries Served: Banking / Finance Business Services / Consulting Healthcare Manufacturing Durable Technology (computers, software, ISP) Geographic Presence: North America South America Europe / Middle East / Africa Asia-Pacific Public or Private: Private Current Fiscal Year: 2010 Current Fiscal Revenue: $25 million to $50 million Growth Rate Over Previous Fiscal Year Revenue: 31%-40% Profitable: Yes 3 Largest Customers: 1. Jackson Hewitt (95,000+ users) 2. Intuit (50,000+ users) 3. U.S. Department of Commerce (40,000+ users)
Software Platforms Learning Management System Talent Management Suite Social Software
Offerings
Services Benefits Administration HR Technology Consulting Employer Branding Learning Content Development Learning Measurement Competency Development Content Localization Learning Administration Learning Delivery Learning Process Outsource
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Software Platforms Assessment System Career Management System Competency Management System Job Board Learning Analytics Onboarding System Social Learning Platform Succession Management System Video Rsum Candidate Relations Management Competency Management System HR Management System Job Search Engine Learning Content Management Systems Performance Management System Social Software Talent Acquisition System Web Conference and Virtual Classroom
Content Accredited Degree Programs Compensation Data Customer Service General Management IT Desktop Leadership Development Sales Assessments Competency Libraries Financial Management HR Benchmark Data IT Systems and Programming Quality / Manufacturing
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Market Differentiators148
1. Adaptability Bersin & Associates analysis shows Learn.com to be the only provider with full maturity in four of the five adaptability categories. Learn.com is the only provider to achieve full maturity in the application category, which encompasses configurability, workflow tools and platform extensibility. Learn.com has clearly led the way in the evolution of adaptive learning and talent systems for some time (according to Josh Bersin). 2. Sub-LearnCenters Sub-LearnCenter architecture allows organizations to use the same instance of the LearnCenter to serve different audiences (whether internal or external), and share content and reusable items, but maintain autonomy and centralization for reporting and information. Multiple portal designs may be easily created by the clients in a WYSIWYG interface, providing for easy rotation of fresh portal look and feel, and changing business needs without additional charges. 3. ROI Guarantee Learn.com is so confident that its platform will increase an organizations ROI, that the company guarantees a hard-dollar return on its new clients investments within the first year of service or the new client will receive its next year of the Learn.com platform service for free.
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Date Current Version Released Winter 2010 Winter 2010 Winter 2010
Delivery Models Supported (SaaS / Multitenant, Hosted and / or On-Premise) SaaS, On-Premise SaaS, On-Premise SaaS, On-Premise
Product Capabilities
Modules Available Career and Succession Collaboration / Social Software Compensation Management HRMS / HRIS Learning Performance Management Recruiting / Talent Acquisition Workforce Planning
/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
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Learning Management Course and Resource Management Curriculum, Learning Plans and Certification Management Skills and Competency Management Enrollment and Registration Administration
Catalogs
Learning Content
eCommerce
Learning Reporting
/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
Competency Management Competency Maintenance Competency Assessment Talent Integration Competency Reporting
Employee Profile Management Employee Education and Experience Job Profile Talent Profile Review and Analytics
/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
Adaptability Application Configurability Application Communications and Notifications Interface Data Architecture Data Core Reporting and Analytics
/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
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Social Software and Collaboration Conversations Collaboration Connections Content Moderation Tools Social Analytics Integrated Communication Tools
/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
Overall Analysis of the Talent Management Suite Highly adaptable system Integrated collaboration features to support live mentoring, performance support, coaching and best-practices sharing Non-technical administrators can easily brand and configure LearnCenter for the unique needs of a company without customizations High-value, low-cost solution LearnCenter is not sold in modules; every customer gets the entire suite for one license fee Advanced learning management support (including informal learning) to provide opportunities to close talent gaps Continue to implement Web 2.0 features to enhance the user experience Take full advantage of the synergies between the Taleo and Learn.com platforms Not disclosed.
Strengths
Learn.coms LearnCenter is well-suited for enterprises, midmarket and small organizations requiring an integrated LMS, LCMS, collaboration and performance management solution.
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LearnShare, LLC.
COMPANY SNAPSHOT
Company Overview
LearnShare provides talent management software solutions that enable FORTUNE 1000 companies to measure, motivate and manage the development of their most important asset. LearnShare was founded in 1996 by FORTUNE 500 companies that joined together to transform the way their companies research, design, purchase, package and communicate career development and skills enhancement. This visionary group included General Motors, 3M, Motorola, Owens Corning, Deere & Co., O-I, Eaton, Northwest Airlines, Pfizer Inc, Pilkington, UnitedHealth Group and Chevron. Since that time, 30 additional diverse corporations joined the consortium, which now represents more than 2.5 million employees around the globe.
Contact Information: One Seagate, Suite 690 Toledo, Ohio 43604-4510 http://www.learnshare.com Year Founded: 1996 Number of Employees: < 50 Primary Target Market: Midmarket (1,00010,000 employees) Secondary Target Market: Enterprise (10,000+ employees) Top Industries Served: Banking / Finance Healthcare Insurance Manufacturing Durable Retail Geographic Presence: North America South America Europe / Middle East / Africa Asia-Pacific Public or Private: Private Current Fiscal Year: Not Disclosed Current Fiscal Revenue: Not Disclosed Growth Rate Over Previous Fiscal Year Revenue: <10% Profitable: Yes 3 Largest Customers: 1. United Health Group (190,000+ users) 2. Ashland (35,000+ users) 3. Johns Hopkins (50,000 users)
Offerings
Services Community Moderation Learning Administration Learning Process Outsourcing Strategic L&D Consulting* Community Management Learning Delivery Content Localization Learning Measurement Strategic HR Consulting* HR Technology Consulting Learning Content Development Technology Hosting
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Content Leadership Development Financial Management Customer Service IT Desktop Accredited Degree Programs Healthcare General Management Sales IT Systems and Programming Quality / Manufacturing Assessments Assessments
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(SaaS Architecture, original release date 2001, ASP / hosted delivery model.)
Market Differentiators149
1. Personalized Customer Service LearnShare clients and members become partners. When deciding LearnShares technology roadmap, the client / members have the ability to influence the technology direction. Functionality development is a product of clients business needs. 2. Proprietary Implementation Process LearnShares standard implementation time period is approximately 90 days; however, LearnShare has implemented systems in less than 60 days. 3. Ease of Use LearnShare provides a simple, easy-to-use solution that can be installed and configured by administrators without the need for outside services. The platforms interface, business rules and workflow are highly configurable, with no programming language or customized code needed. 4. Multiple Sites in One System Portal and domain-based architecture make it easy to have different learning environments with different looks and feels for different audiences. 5. Ready for the Extended Enterprise Combination of domain functionality, ecommerce and customer support model enable LearnShare to support large-scale extended enterprise training / ecommerce initiatives. 6. Compliance Needs The systems functionality has been targeted to best manage the compliance training needs of heavily regulated companies, including Title 21 CFR Part 11 of the Code of Federal Regulations. 7. Integrated Functionality Learning, compliance, performance and succession management all built in-house and integrated. 8. Content Aggregation and Integration The solution includes preintegrated content titles from more than 15 vendors, hosted and serviced by LearnShare.
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Current GA Version # 2010 2010 2010 2010 2010 2010 2010 2010 2010
Date Current Version Released 2010 2010 2010 2010 2010 2010 2010 2010 2010
Delivery Models Supported (SaaS / Multitenant, Hosted and / or On-Premise) SaaS/Hosted/On Premise SaaS/Hosted/On Premise SaaS/Hosted/On Premise SaaS/Hosted/On Premise SaaS/Hosted/On Premise SaaS/Hosted/On Premise SaaS/Hosted/On Premise SaaS/Hosted/On Premise SaaS/Hosted/On Premise
1. LearnShare LMS 2. Talent & Succession Planning 3.Performance Management 4. LearnShare CustomerFacing System 5. LearnShare Analytics 6. LearnShare Plug-and-Learn 7. Social Learning 8. 360 Survey 9. Community
Product Capabilities
Modules Available Career and Succession Collaboration / Social Software Compensation Management HRMS / HRIS Learning Performance Management Recruiting / Talent Acquisition Workforce Planning
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/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
Learning Management Course and Resource Management Curriculum, Learning Plans and Certification Management Skills and Competency Management Enrollment and Registration Administration
Catalogs
Learning Content
eCommerce
Learning Reporting
/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
Competency Management Competency Maintenance Competency Assessment Talent Integration Competency Reporting
Employee Profile Management Employee Education and Experience Job Profile Talent Profile Review and Analytics
/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
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Adaptability Application Configurability Application Communications and Notifications Interface Data Architecture Data Core Reporting and Analytics
/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
Social Software and Collaboration Conversations Collaboration Connections Content Moderation Tools Social Analytics Integrated Communication Tools
/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
Overall Analysis of the Talent Management Suite High-touch customer service Configurable, adaptive platform Strong support for automated, prescriptive learning required to support the needs of companies with substantial compliance and / or process training needs Integrated social tools to support social and collaborative learning, knowledge-sharing and network-building Learning content management More intelligent search capabilities Integrated global content delivery network partners Additional talent management products and services More services, such as content conversion LCMS Mobile
Strengths
Midmarket and large organizations, especially those in highly regulated industries and / or manufacturing
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Company Overview
Meridian Knowledge Solutions serves approximately 300 customers, with an average implementation size of 24,000 learners. Meridians system includes a full suite of functionality, including an LMS, LCMS and talent management. In addition, the system offers performance support, collaboration, reporting, mobile learning (e.g., Meridian Anywhere) and analytics. Meridians solutions have been proven in large-scale deployments; among its customers are some of the largest federal agencies, including the FBI and the U.S. Air Force. Meridian is also increasing its presence in the corporate market. Meridian is a wholly owned subsidiary of Visionary Integrated Professionals (VIP), providing the company with access to more than 900 professional services resources around the world.
Contact Information: 4465 Brookfield Corporate Drive, Suite 201 Chantilly, Virginia 20151 http://www.meridianksi.com Year Founded: 1997 Number of Employees: 101-200 (a subsidiary of Visionary Integration Professionals, which employs 900 people) Primary Target Market: Midmarket (1,00010,000 employees) Secondary Target Market: Small Business (1-1,000 employees) Top Industries Served: Telecommunications Retail Aerospace Government (federal, including military) Hospitality Geographic Presence: North America Europe / Middle East / Africa Asia-Pacific Public or Private: Private Current Fiscal Year: 2008 Current Fiscal Revenue: $100 million to $500 million Growth Rate Over Previous Fiscal Year Revenue: 11%-20% Profitable: Yes
Offerings
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Software Platforms Assessment System Competency Management System Learning Analytics Performance Management System Succession Management System Mobile Learning Career Management System Job Board Learning Content Management System Social Software Workforce Analytics
(contd) 3 Largest Customers: 1. Motorola (1,000,000+ users) 2. U.S. Air Force (1,000,000+ users) 3. Project Management Institute (400,000 users)
Content Assessments Customer Service General Management IT Systems and Programming Quality / Manufacturing Competency Libraries Financial Management IT Desktop Leadership Development Sales
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Services
Courseware Development Services Consulting Services Software Support Services
Market Differentiators150
1. Customer Service Customer satisfaction data consistently shows happy customers. 2. Ease of Use, Integration, Configuration and Version Upgrade (.NET 2.0 architecture with Web 2.0 features) The code base of the LMS coupled with more than 2,000 exposed APIs has reduced the cost of integration and version upgrades. It is more than just reducing the cost of integration and upgrades. Meridians engineers have given customers a way to build a wall around all of the customized code in the LMS. The softwares base code does not have to be tinkered with when moving to a new version. Customers can easily carry forward whatever edits they have made to a previous version without affecting the newer versions base code. This means a Meridian customer who upgrades from one version of Meridian Global to a newer version can make the move in days, instead of the weeks or months that LMS vendors generally take to complete an upgrade. Nothing like this software code wall currently exists among Meridians competitors. 3. Offers Behind-the-Firewall, Hosted and SaaS Extensive experience in supporting all three. 4. Offers UI in 30 Different Global Languages The most extensive language library in the market. 5. Extensive Functionality To support extended communities and revenuegenerating applications.
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Delivery Models Supported (SaaS / Multitenant, Hosted and / or On-Premise) All On-Premise All On-Premise
1. Meridian Global 2010.1 2. Meridian Anywhere 3.x 3. Performance Management 4. Skill and Competency/On-Line Performance Evaluations
Product Capabilities
Modules Available Career and Succession Collaboration / Social Software Compensation Management HRMS / HRIS Learning Performance Management Recruiting / Talent Acquisition Workforce Planning
/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
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Learning Management Course and Resource Management Curriculum, Learning Plans and Certification Management Skills and Competency Management Enrollment and Registration Administration
Catalogs
Learning Content
eCommerce
Learning Reporting
/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
Competency Management Competency Maintenance Competency Assessment Talent Integration Competency Reporting
Employee Profile Management Employee Education and Experience Job Profile Talent Profile Review and Analytics
/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
Adaptability Application Configurability Application Communications and Notifications Interface Data Architecture Data Core Reporting and Analytics
/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
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Social Software and Collaboration Conversations Collaboration Connections Content Moderation Tools Social Analytics Integrated Communication Tools
/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
Overall Analysis of the Talent Management Suite Strong support for automated, prescriptive learning to meet complex requirements of organizations in highly regulated industries Integrated reporting and analytics Highly adaptable system; a market leader in the evolution toward open architectures and web services Fully .NET application since 2006 Standards-based commitment leadership in 508, SCORM and other industry standards. Continue to add talent management support in the areas of succession management, goal management and career management Continue to integrate social tools to support social learning, knowledge-sharing and network building Morphing of the current LMS into cloud of services Continual UI enhancements Refinement of user interface Provide seamless integration with web-based and open content, and learning support services RESTful API Enable infrastructure for semantic content markup, tagging and repository services
Strengths
Large and midmarket customers, especially in regulated and / or process-heavy industries, clients looking to support extended communities with for-profit learning, or those looking for a partner provider with integrated performance management and social learning functions
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Mzinga
COMPANY SNAPSHOT
Company Overview
Mzinga is the leading provider of enterprise-class technologies, services and analytics that improve business performance. The companys flagship enterpriseclass solution, Mzinga OmniSocial, enables businesses to connect, interact, collaborate, learn and share knowledge with their employees, customers and partners from anywhere, anytime. Using OmniSocial, businesses can create a learning ecosystem that can be pervasive throughout their business to enable a user-centric approach to learning that includes formal learning and development, social knowledgesharing, teamwork and collaboration, peer support, and much more. As a result, OmniSocial users can attain significant business improvements and ROI, including increased productivity, efficiency gains, improved employee and customer satisfaction, speed to competency and revenue growth. Mzinga markets its products to midmarket and enterprise organizations, primarily in the areas of HR and learning, marketing, and customer support. The company also has extensive experience with some of the largest-scale business to consumer social media communities in existence today.
Contact Information: 230 Third Avenue Waltham, Massachusetts 02451 1-888-MZINGA-8 http://www.mzinga.com/ Year Founded: 2007 Number of Employees: 101-200 Primary Target Market: Midmarket (1,00010,000 employees) Secondary Target Market: Enterprise (10,000+ employees) Top Industries Served: Banking / Finance Business Services / Consulting Healthcare Insurance Technology (computers, software, ISP) Geographic Presence: North America Europe / Middle East / Africa Asia-Pacific Public or Private: Private Current Fiscal Year: 2010 Current Fiscal Revenue: Not Disclosed Growth Rate Over Previous Fiscal Year Revenue: Not Disclosed Profitable: Not Disclosed 3 Largest Customers: 1. About.com 2. Chevron 3. Fox.com
Offerings
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Services
Strategic Consulting Services Moderation Services Training Administration and learning Services Custom Content Development Services
Market Differentiators151
Mzinga OmniSocial is an enterprise-class, SaaS solution that incorporates a broad range of formal and social learning technologies which enable a robust, collaborative learning experience. This rich, unified learning environment enables organizations to create, manage, deliver and track corporate learning, while also providing a user-centric, knowledge-sharing approach that lets employees, customers and partners connect with peers, share resources and expertise, and benefit from the feedback and ideas of others. Key capabilities include: 1. Organizationwide Social Learning Ecosystem from a Single Platform With Mzingas administrator Control Panel, customers can easily create multiple internal (private) and external (public) sites for a broad range of informal and formal learning management, social learning, customer education or employee collaboration, as well as multiple other use cases for marketing and customer support and then manage the entire ecosystem from one core platform. With the design flexibility in the systems layout
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manager, customers can configure each site with distinct branding, layout, languages, content and features. 2. Cloud Model The companys cloud deployment model saves customers time and money by eliminating the need for infrastructure and reducing the time needed to manage technology, so a customers focus can be on its social strategy and content. This cloud model is supported by a best-ofbreed data center, with advanced security measures and an enterprise-class utility computing platform delivered over one of the largest and highestperforming carrier neutral networks. As a result, customers can get their sites up and running quickly. Mzingas single instance, multitenant SaaS architecture ensures that, when product updates occur, every customer in the Mzinga cloud can get access to the latest OmniSocial features and functionality. 3. Broad, Robust Suite of Applications Mzinga offers the broadest range of learning, knowledge-sharing and social applications on the market (30plus applications and third-party integrations), all delivered from a single, flexible platform, so that customers can create a unified user experience and preserve data integrity and avoid potential data silos from using point or aggregated solutions that are not offered as a single platform solution. 4. In-Depth Blended-Learning Support OmniSocial supports multiple adult-learning styles and needs, from formal to informal, physical to virtual, interactive to just in time. With OmniSocials proprietary learning programs framework, users can easily organize and manage multiple learning types, while also giving learners the options to choose their preferred learning methods. This gives companies the ability to deliver a more engaging, flexible learning experience for users, with the added flexibility of allowing users to choose the learning methods that they find most effective and suitable for them. 5. Self-Service Integrated Applications and Widgets In OmniSocial, users can easily create, brand and deploy social applications and widgets within other web properties without any technical assistance. 6. Speed to Value OmniSocial is easy to deploy, brand and configure, and can be made readily accessible to users from a simple web browser. This, coupled with our best practices for ease of implementation, ensures that a customers solution is up and running in a timely manner, so that they can begin using it to solve their business needs. As with our implementation process, this ensures that customers can begin getting value from their solution as quickly as possible.
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7. In-Depth, Expert Services Mzinga offers strategic consulting, training administration services, custom content, moderation and community engagement services.
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Mzinga OmniSocial Platform Social (software, LMS, performance, et al) Firefly Simulation Developer Mzinga Link (virtual classroom and web-conference) Mzinga Catalog (off-the-shelf content) Multimedia management (integrated through Kaltura)
Product Capabilities
Modules Available Career and Succession Collaboration / Social Software Compensation Management HRMS / HRIS Learning Performance Management Recruiting / Talent Acquisition Workforce Planning
/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
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Learning Management Course and Resource Management Curriculum, Learning Plans and Certification Management Skills and Competency Management Enrollment and Registration Administration
Catalogs
Learning Content
eCommerce
Learning Reporting
/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
Competency Management Competency Maintenance Competency Assessment Talent Integration Competency Reporting
Employee Profile Management Employee Education and Experience Job Profile Talent Profile Review and Analytics
/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
Adaptability Application Configurability Application Communications and Notifications Interface Data Architecture Data Core Reporting and Analytics
/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
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Social Software and Collaboration Conversations Collaboration Connections Content Moderation Tools Social Analytics Integrated Communication Tools
/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
Overall Analysis of the Talent Management Suite Strengths Opportunities for Improvement Near-Term Enhancements Planned Target Customers / Best-Suited Deep integration of best-of-breed social software functionality Enhance adaptability, especially related to application configurability, the interface and open data architecture Not disclosed
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NetDimensions Limited
COMPANY SNAPSHOT
Company Overview
Established in 1999 and listed on the London Stock Exchange (AIM:NETD), NetDimensions is committed to leadership in learning and knowledge management technology but, more importantly, the company is committed to delivering global solutions that produce results for our clients. NetDimensions provides companies, government agencies and other organizations with enterprise solutions to help deliver and manage corporate training, career development, assessment and certification programs. It helps clients around the world address growing regulatory compliance needs. Through its offices worldwide, as well as through a global partner network that extends to more than 40 countries, NetDimensions serves in excess of 800 clients with more than eight million users.
Contact Information: Corporate Headquarters 17/F Siu On Centre, 188 Lockhart Road Wanchai, Hong Kong +852-2122-4500 U.S. Sales Headquarters 1900 South Norfolk St., Suite 350 San Mateo, California 94403 +1 (650) 577 2352 http://www.netdimensions.com/ Year Founded: 1999 Number of Employees: 51-100 Primary Target Market: Small Business (1-1,000 employees) Secondary Target Market: Midmarket (1,00010,000 employees) Top Industries Served: Aerospace Banking / Finance Business Services / Consulting Energy Healthcare Geographic Presence: North America South America Europe / Middle East / Africa Asia-Pacific Public or Private: Public Current Fiscal Year: 2010 Current Fiscal Revenue: $5 million to $10 million Growth Rate Over Previous Fiscal Year Revenue: <10% Profitable: Yes
Offerings
Services Competency Development Learning Administration Learning Delivery Technology Hosting Content Localization Learning Content Development Strategic L&D Consulting Technology Implementation
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Software Platforms Learning Content Management System Workforce Analytics Assessment System Performance Management System Career Management System Learning Analytics Competency Management System Onboarding System Succession Management System
(contd) 3 Largest Customers: 1. Red Cross of the Netherlands (500,000 users) 2. VCampus (350,000 users) 3. ING (110,00 users)
Services
Hosting and Managed Services Implementation Services
Market Differentiators152
1. Quick to Implement with Lower Overall Costs EKP can be deployed without implementation services. Implementations typically require weeks versus months.
152 This information has been submitted by the Solution Provider.
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2. Portability EKPs end-user version that runs from a USB flash drive (mEKP) is a true portable LMS. No installation or Internet connection required. 3. More Than Just an LMS EKP is no longer used only to implement an organizations learning development, but also to measure and report on training delivery, ensure regulatory compliance, and automate reporting and tracking, as well as deliver assessment and testing.
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Current GA Version #
1. Enterprise Knowledge Platform (EKP) Learning Management System 2. Enterprise Assessment Platform (EAP) Assessment Engine 3. Enterprise Content Platform (ECP) Single-Source Authoring and Publishing Tool 4. Enterprise Talent Platform (ETP) Talent Management System
6.20
5/3/2010
Hosted, On-Premise
6.20
5/3/2010
Hosted, On-Premise
3.40
Nov 2009
All
1.00
July 2010
Hosted
Product Capabilities
Modules Available Career and Succession Collaboration / Social Software Compensation Management HRMS / HRIS Learning Performance Management Recruiting / Talent Acquisition Workforce Planning
/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
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Learning Management Course and Resource Management Curriculum, Learning Plans and Certification Management Skills and Competency Management Enrollment and Registration Administration
Catalogs
Learning Content
eCommerce
Learning Reporting
/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
Competency Management Competency Maintenance Competency Assessment Talent Integration Competency Reporting
Employee Profile Management Employee Education and Experience Job Profile Talent Profile Review and Analytics
/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
Adaptability Application Configurability Application Communications and Notifications Interface Data Architecture Data Core Reporting and Analytics
/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
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Social Software and Collaboration Conversations Collaboration Connections Content Moderation Tools Social Analytics Integrated Communication Tools
/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
Overall Analysis of the Talent Management Suite Rapid implementation Offline LMS Extensive experience supporting the learning needs of organizations in highly regulated and compliance-driven industries Integrate new talent management processes Improved competency management to serve as pivot point with larger talent strategies Implement Web 2.0 features to enhance the user experience I2010: Mobile mEKP Added talent management through partner (Enterprise Talent Management - ETP) including support for: o Performance management o Goals (including cascading) o Career o Assessment o Competency o Talent analytics o Succession o Position o Online mentoring SAML Security assertion markup language Adding new question types for assessments Enhancements to eCommerce Add Adobe Connect 21 CFR Part 11 (by 6.3 or 6.4) Compliance requirement editor Performance management revisions OLSA integration EAP import add question types Remove frames Wiki Enhancements Add widgets (Atlassian Confluence) Knowledge task push engine
Strengths
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Oracle
COMPANY SNAPSHOT
Company Overview
Oracle Corporation is the worlds largest enterprise software company. The company develops, manufactures, markets, distributes and services database and middleware software, as well as applications software that help organizations to manage their businesses. Oracle has multiple businesses, including software, services and, with its recent acquisition of Sun, hardware. The companys software business, which includes database, middleware and applications software, represents a significant portion of its total revenue. Based in Redwood Shores, California, the company employs more than 81,000 people around the globe. Oracle offers two global, web-based, HCM solutions, which include a family of applications to automate the entire recruit-to-retire process. More than 12,500 organizations of every size and region, including nine of the top 10 FORTUNE 500 and 75 of the top FORTUNE 100, use Oracles HCM solutions to manage their human capital initiatives.
Contact Information: 500 Oracle Parkway, Redwood City, CA 94065 1-800-ORACLE1 http://www.oracle.com Year Founded: 1977 Number of Employees: > 10,000 Primary Target Market: Enterprise (10,000+ employees) Secondary Target Market: Midmarket (1,00010,000 employees) Top Industries Served: Banking / Finance, Business Services / Consulting, Government (federal, including military), Government (State / Local), Manufacturing - Durable, Retail, Telecommunications Geographic Presence: North America, South America, Europe / Middle East / Africa, Asia Pacific Public or Private: Public Current Fiscal Year: 2010 Current Fiscal Revenue: $500 million or greater Growth Rate Over Previous Fiscal Year Revenue: Not Disclosed Profitable: Yes 3 Largest Customers: Not Disclosed
Core Strengths
Software Platforms Career Management System Competency Management System Compensation Management System Learning Content Management Systems
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Offerings
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o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
Payroll Interface for ADP Connection Payroll for North America Pension Administration Services Procurement Stock Administration Talent Acquisition Manager Time and Labor eBenefits eCompensation eCompensation Manager Desktop eDevelopment ePay ePerformance eProfile eProfile Manager Desktop
Oracle EBS 12.1, 2009 o o o o o o o o o o Core HR Self-Service HR Performance Management Compensation Workbench Incentive Compensation Oracle Learning Management Hyperion Workforce Planning Time and Labor Oracle Business Intelligence Applications (OBIA) HR Analytics Payroll
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o o o o o
Oracle Workforce Scheduling Succession Planning iLearning iRecruitment Oracle Advanced Benefits
Market Differentiators153
1. Comprehensive integrated talent management suite of solutions with functional breadth and depth, enabling customers to leverage seamless integrated data, the same security model and a consistent user interface. 2. Scalable, configurable system on a proven technology platform. 3. Robust global capabilities.
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The E-Business HRMS offers a broad range of products that support talent management, including products for recruitment, performance, learning and compensation. These products can be purchased with the larger ERP suite or as a standalone offering. The PeopleSoft Enterprise HCM solution also offers support for a suite of talent management products, including recruiting, performance, learning, career and succession, and compensation.
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Current GA Version #
Delivery Models Supported (SaaS / Multitenant, Hosted and / or On-Premise) Hosted, On-Premise Hosted, On-Premise Hosted, On-Premise Hosted, On-Premise Hosted, On-Premise Hosted, On-Premise
PeopleSoft Human Resources PeopleSoft eCompensation PeopleSoft ePerformance PeopleSoft HRMS Portal Pack PeopleSoft Recruiting Solutions PeopleSoft Succession Planning PeopleSoft Enterprise Learning Management Oracle Business Intelligence for Human Resources
9.10
September 09
Hosted, On-Premise
7.9.6
April 09
Hosted, On-Premise
Product Capabilities
Modules Available Career and Succession Collaboration / Social Software Compensation Management HRMS / HRIS Learning Performance Management Recruiting / Talent Acquisition Workforce Planning
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/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
Learning Management Course and Resource Management Curriculum, Learning Plans and Certification Management Skills and Competency Management Enrollment and Registration Administration
Catalogs
Learning Content
eCommerce
Learning Reporting
/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
Competency Management Competency Maintenance Competency Assessment Talent Integration Competency Reporting
Employee Profile Management Employee Education and Experience Job Profile Talent Profile Review and Analytics
/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
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Adaptability Application Configurability Application Communications and Notifications Interface Data Architecture Data Core Reporting and Analytics
/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
Social Software and Collaboration Conversations Collaboration Connections Content Moderation Tools Social Analytics Integrated Communication Tools
/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
Strengths
Incorporate additional performance support and Web 2.0 features to enhance the user experience Deeper integration of social tools to drive adoption of talent management initiatives and support social learning Improved learning content management Greater support for adaptability in the interface (allow more granular control to buyers) and architecture (greater support for open APIs, web services and portal standards) Usability o Workcenters and dashboards (learners dashboard and learning admin dashboards) o Web 2.0 user experience o Process redefinition Strengthened Self-Service Experience o Organization visualization o Paycheck modeling o Life events
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Oracle EBS
Product Overview
Current GA Version #
12.1.2
12/1/2009
All
Product Capabilities
Modules Available Career and Succession Collaboration / Social Software Compensation Management HRMS / HRIS Learning Performance Management Recruiting / Talent Acquisition Workforce Planning
/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
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Learning Management Course and Resource Management Curriculum, Learning Plans and Certification Management Skills and Competency Management Enrollment and Registration Administration
Catalogs
Learning Content
eCommerce
Learning Reporting
/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
Competency Management Competency Maintenance Competency Assessment Talent Integration Competency Reporting
Employee Profile Management Employee Education and Experience Job Profile Talent Profile Review and Analytics
/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
Adaptability Application Configurability Application Communications and Notifications Interface Data Architecture Data Core Reporting and Analytics
/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
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Social Software and Collaboration Conversations NR Collaboration NR Connections NR Content NR Moderation Tools NR Social Analytics NR Integrated Communication Tools NR
/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
Overall Analysis of the Talent Management Suite Comprehensive profile and competency management seamlessly integrated to support all talent initiatives Robust global support Integration with core HRMS and financials, and integrated talent analytics with Oracle Business Intelligence Enterprise Edition (OBIEE) Enhance enrollment and waitlist management Enhance career and development planning, including support for consolidated development plans Incorporate additional performance support and Web 2.0 features to enhance the user experience Embed WebCenters social tools to drive adoption of talent management initiatives and enable social learning Enhance learning specific reporting Analytics and Workforce Planning Collaborative and Social Continued EBS HCM Innovation around o Talent Management Career pathing by employee and manager o Succession Planning What-if analysis o Learning Management --Social learning, UCM for content management o Usability and Web 2.0 Tools and Technology o Native consumption of Fusion middleware technologies, such as UCM and WebCenter o Near-zero downtime for upgrades through database 11g R2 o Enhanced Web 2.0 usability through REST-based services Fusion Integrations o Coexistence and integration between EBS HCM and Fusion talent management o New Fusion talent review module This solution is best-suited for all Oracle / EBS Human Capital Management customers on 12.1, or intending to upgrade in the next one to two years.
Strengths
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Plateau
COMPANY SNAPSHOT
Company Overview
Plateau is a leading provider of talent management software, content and services that are designed to increase workforce productivity and drive business success. The company offers a comprehensive integrated suite of products for managing, rewarding, optimizing and developing organizational talent. Plateau solutions are available either on-demand or on-premise. Plateau product lines include Plateau Performance, Plateau Compensation, Plateau Career & Succession, and Plateau Learning. The products can be deployed individually or together, enabling the companys current and prospective customers to expand their investments.
Contact Information: 4401 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 400 Arlington, Virginia 22203-1820 http://www.plateau.com Year Founded: 1996 Number of Employees: 301-500 Primary Target Market: Enterprise (10,000+ employees) Secondary Target Market: Midmarket (1,00010,000 employees) Top Industries Served: Banking / Finance Energy Government (federal, including military) Manufacturing Durable Pharmaceuticals Geographic Presence: North America Europe / Middle East / Africa Asia-Pacific Public or Private: Private Current Fiscal Year: 2010 Current Fiscal Revenue: $50 million to $100 million Growth Rate Over Previous Fiscal Year Revenue: 11%-20% Profitable: Yes 3 Largest Customers: 1. General Electric (500,000+ users) 2. Department of Veterans Affairs (450,000+ users) 3. Bank of America (300,000+ users)
Offerings
Services Competency Development Learning Process Outsource Strategic L&D Consulting Learning Content Development Strategic HR Consulting Technology Implementation
Software Platforms Assessment System Compensation Management System Career Management System Competency Management System
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Content Accredited Degree Programs Compensation Data Compliance Financial Management HR Benchmark Data IT Systems and Programming Quality / Manufacturing Assessments Competency Libraries Customer Service General Management IT Desktop Leadership Development Sales
Tools Advanced e-Learning Development Survey and Assessment Rapid Content Development
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Plateau Career & Succession Includes career and development, and succession planning
Plateau Compensation Includes compensation planning, short-term incentive and long-term incentive
Services
Plateau Professional Services for strategy, implementation and post-implementation Managed Services Talent management process outsourcing and Tier-1 support Knowledge Services Global university and training Customer Support Self-service, help desk and live support
Market Differentiators154
1. Comprehensive Global Services Plateau maintains an intense focus on high-quality professional services to help its customers realize tangible business results. Plateau Professional Services focuses on three key areas performance and strategy services, implementation services, and customer lifecycle services. The company also offers managed services. Plateaus success in SaaS and on-premise deployments is driven by a customer-centric approach, highly skilled project professionals, and a proven methodology for managing the implementation and post-implementation processes. 2. Learning and Development Foundation Plateau has a long history of delivering innovation as a learning management system provider. The companys ability to deliver seamlessly integrated and robust learning capabilities as part of its talent management suite allows its customers to maximize each component of talent management by incorporating L&D. From performance reviews to individual development plans for career and succession planning, users can move from talent planning to individual
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action. This allows organizations to more quickly and efficiently fill their talent pipelines with qualified individuals, and it provides individuals with more control over their career planning. 3. Industry-Leading Customer Satisfaction Plateau was the leader in several categories within the global enterprise segment of the Bersin & Associates 2006, 2007 and 2009 LMS Customer Satisfaction studies. This achievement is due to a combination of a well-engineered solution and the companys expertise in professional services.
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Current GA Version #
Delivery Models Supported (SaaS / Multitenant, Hosted and / or On-Premise) Saas, On-Premise Saas, On-Premise Saas, On-Premise Saas, On-Premise Saas, On-Premise
1. Plateau Learning 2. Plateau Performance 3. Plateau Career & Succession 4. Plateau Compensation 5. Plateau Talent Gateway
Product Capabilities
Modules Available Career and Succession Collaboration / Social Software Compensation Management HRMS / HRIS Learning Performance Management Recruiting / Talent Acquisition Workforce Planning
/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
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Learning Management Course and Resource Management Curriculum, Learning Plans and Certification Management Skills and Competency Management Enrollment and Registration Administration
Catalogs
Learning Content
eCommerce
Learning Reporting
/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
Competency Management Competency Maintenance Competency Assessment Talent Integration Competency Reporting
Employee Profile Management Employee Education and Experience Job Profile Talent Profile Review and Analytics
/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
Adaptability Application Configurability Application Communications and Notifications Interface Data Architecture Data Core Reporting and Analytics
/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
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Social Software and Collaboration Conversations Collaboration Connections Content Moderation Tools Social Analytics Integrated Communication Tools
/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
Overall Analysis of the Talent Management Suite Award-winning implementation and post-implementation services to ensure program success Seamlessly integrated and comprehensive talent management solution (including a marketleading learning management system capable of supporting the most sophisticated training function) Native reporting and analytic tools Embedded talent analytics (including predictive indicators) to drive planning and decision-making Extensible collaboration portal that can overlay the system, providing a rich, adaptable experience Continue to embed social tools to drive adoption of talent management initiatives More comprehensive support for onboarding Assigned goals Administration UI enhancements / instant integrations with other platforms (Workday) Open development platform (PaaS) o Extension design and exchange o Report design and exchange o Social and collaborative development and integration Plateau Workforce Planning Plateaus talent management solution is best-suited for its existing LMS customer base, as well as U.S.-based multinational organizations, requiring integrated talent management solutions with sophisticated learning management.
Strengths
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REDTRAY Ltd.
COMPANY SNAPSHOT
Company Overview
Founded in 2001, REDTRAY has experienced rapid growth and gained an excellent reputation within the training industry for providing customer-focused training solutions. REDTRAYs key differentiator is its ability to save its clients time and money by using a combination of leading-edge technology and training industry know-how to deliver efficient, managed training solutions. By working in partnership with its clients, the company can achieve a 50 percent reduction in training costs. What sets REDTRAY apart from its competitors is that it is able to provide blended-training solutions that exactly meet the clients needs. Whether a customer is looking for e-learning or classroom training to virtual classrooms or the full package, the company will offer unbiased advice on the right blended solution for your training requirements. We also know that clients training needs change due to internal and external pressures, and we can be flexible to alter our solution to respond to these changes. REDTRAY is the U.K.s largest and most successful true, blended-learning provider and the trusted partner of many FTSE 250 organizations. The company offers clients a single point of contact for all enterprisewide training needs. It provides the most comprehensive range of products and services in training and development, which enables the company to work with large organizations, selected partner of choice to implement specific technology-driven projects or a corporate training plan. The most cost-effective method for training a customers staff to achieve an efficient and capable workforce is to provide bespoke learning solutions, which match the current capabilities and preferred training method according to the customers organizational and learner requirements, balanced against cost and time-critical factors. The company offers value in its solutions, backed up by extensive expertise and a consultative approach which ensure that the companys interventions work. REDTRAY has an unrivalled reputation for client service and 88 percent of its clients recommend the company to other organizations.
Contact Information: St. Albans House, 57-59 Haymarket London, SW!Y 4QX United Kingdom http://www.redtray.co.uk/ Year Founded: 2001 Number of Employees: 101-200 Primary Target Market: Midmarket (1,00010,000 employees) Secondary Target Market: Enterprise (10,000+ employees) Top Industries Served: Banking / Finance Government (federal, including military) Healthcare Pharmaceuticals IT and Telecommunications Geographic Presence: North America Europe / Middle East / Africa Asia-Pacific Public or Private: Private Current Fiscal Year: 2009 Current Fiscal Revenue: Not Disclosed Growth Rate Over Previous Fiscal Year Revenue: Not Disclosed Profitable: Yes 3 Largest Customers: 1. Professional Services Firm (10,000 users) 2. Pharmaceutical Company (20,000 users) 3. Telecommunications Company (10,000+ users)
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Offerings
Services Competency Development Learning Process Outsource Learning Delivery Technology Implementation HR Technology Consulting Learning Content Development Strategic L&D Consulting
Software Platforms Assessment System Learning Content Management System Social Software Competency Management System Performance Management System
Tools Advanced e-Learning Development Survey and Assessment Rapid Content Development
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Services
Consultancy and Change Management Services Support Services
Market Differentiators155
1. REDTRAY is a training company, that knows what it takes to deliver L&D projects across organizations. It uses the best approaches for the desired business outcome (e.g., classroom, virtual, online or a combination), all driven by the companys online portal and learning management system (ALTO). 2. A strategic enterprisewide learning approach aimed at maximizing employee performance in conjunction with a customers key management team. 3. Access to a team of experts with a wealth of award-winning experience and expertise to ensure customers always use the optimum solutions. 4. REDTRAY develops the skills of its clients people, so that they can achieve their business goals, while increasing the value and reducing the cost of training by one-half.
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Current GA Version #
Delivery Models Supported (SaaS / Multitenant, Hosted and / or On-Premise) SaaS and Hosted
1. ALTO
2.05
4/2/2010
Product Capabilities
Modules Available Career and Succession Collaboration / Social Software Compensation Management HRMS / HRIS Learning Performance Management Recruiting / Talent Acquisition Workforce Planning
/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
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Learning Management Course and Resource Management Curriculum, Learning Plans and Certification Management Skills and Competency Management Enrollment and Registration Administration
Catalogs
Learning Content
eCommerce
Learning Reporting
/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
Competency Management Competency Maintenance Competency Assessment Talent Integration Competency Reporting
Employee Profile Management Employee Education and Experience Job Profile Talent Profile Review and Analytics
/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
Adaptability Application Configurability Application Communications and Notifications Interface Data Architecture Data Core Reporting and Analytics
/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
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Social Software and Collaboration Conversations Collaboration Connections Content Moderation Tools Social Analytics Integrated Communication Tools
/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
Overall Analysis of the Talent Management Suite Strong expertise at meeting the security, privacy and localization needs of clients across Europe Integrated reporting and analytics Integrated social tools to support social learning, knowledge-sharing and network-building Enhance adaptability, especially related to application configurability, the interface and open data architecture Onboarding Time to train functionality ALTO v2.2 Headline Functions Marketing courses to delegates through Pursuit Tool, REDTRAY Learning Network. Integration with LIVE Meeting and Communication Server. End-user evaluations for third-party users ALTO v2.3 Headline Functions eCommerce for training catalogue Certification paths Training planning Learning Paths Record tasks, in addition to events Record events undertaken outside of ALTO Send attachments in email Changes to self-registration Delegate admin regress status of delegate on event Delegate admin dashboard ALTO v2.4 Headline Functions Connectivity with Microsoft CRM Event ratings Access certificates for events Arrange and set up one-on-one training sessions Target Customers / Best-Suited Midsize to large organizations, especially in Europe, looking for a fully featured learning management system
Strengths
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RISC, Inc.
COMPANY SNAPSHOT
Company Overview
RISC provides an award-winning, comprehensive learning management system for the coordination of e-learning, classroom training, assessment and records management. Founded in 1992 by trainers, the company works with directors of training, e-learning and human resources on a daily basis to provide solutions to common challenges.
Contact Information: 718 FM 1959, Suite A Houston, Texas 77034 1-281-480-7910 http://www.risc-inc.com/ Year Founded: 1992 Number of Employees: Not Disclosed Primary Target Market: Midmarket (1,00010,000 employees) Secondary Target Market: Enterprise (10,000+ employees) Top Industries Served: Aerospace Government (federal, including military) Legal Manufacturing - Non-Durable Retail Energy Petrochemical Geographic Presence: North America South America Europe / Middle East / Africa Asia-Pacific Public or Private: Private Current Fiscal Year: 2010 Current Fiscal Revenue: Not Disclosed Growth Rate Over Previous Fiscal Year Revenue: Not Disclosed Profitable: Yes 3 Largest Customers: 1. BP (250,000+ users) 2. FoodLion (125,000+ users) 3. Koch Industries (80,000+ users)
Offerings
Services HR Technology Consulting Strategic L&D Consulting Strategic HR Consulting Technology Implementation
Software Platforms Assessment System Learning Analytics Workforce Analytics Competency Management System Learning Content Management Systems
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Market Differentiators156
1. Compliance RISCs has provided learning management solutions to heavily regulated industries, driving the need for employee assessment, compliance management tools and detailed reporting since 1992. RISCs ability to manage regulatory / prescriptive training requirements has withstood the scrutiny of regulatory audits and supported international certifications. 2. Assessments The VTA suite provides assessment development tools to gauge student mastery of training from the reaction level through knowledge acquisition and on into field performance. 3. Customer Service RISC has used client-driven development from day one and this focus has allowed RISC to excel in independent customer / client satisfaction studies, such as those by U.S. News & World Reports, Bersin & Associates and BrandonHall.com.
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Current GA Version #
Delivery Models Supported (SaaS / Multitenant, Hosted and / or On-Premise) Hosted, On-Premise
1. VTA Suite
6.10
9/15/2010
Product Capabilities
Modules Available Career and Succession Collaboration / Social Software Compensation Management HRMS / HRIS Learning Performance Management Recruiting / Talent Acquisition Workforce Planning
/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
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Learning Management Course and Resource Management Curriculum, Learning Plans and Certification Management Skills and Competency Management Enrollment and Registration Administration
Catalogs
Learning Content
eCommerce
Learning Reporting
/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
Competency Management Competency Maintenance NR Competency Assessment NR Talent Integration NR Competency Reporting NR
Employee Profile Management Employee Education and Experience Job Profile Talent Profile Review and Analytics
/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
Adaptability Application Configurability Application Communications and Notifications Interface Data Architecture Data Core Reporting and Analytics
/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
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Social Software and Collaboration Conversations Collaboration Connections Content Moderation Tools Social Analytics Integrated Communication Tools
/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
Overall Analysis of the Talent Management Suite Strong support for automated, prescriptive learning to meet complex requirements of organizations in highly regulated industries Improved intelligent search Integrated social tools to support social learning, knowledge-sharing and network building Enhanced support for: o Performance management o Assessment o Job-mapping / profiling / job-based pathing / career management Large organizations anywhere in the world in highly regulated industries
Strengths
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Saba Software
COMPANY SNAPSHOT
Company Overview
Saba provides a new class of people systems that combine enterprise learning, people management and collaboration technologies. Todays people-driven enterprises are using Sabas solutions to mobilize and engage people around new strategies and initiatives; align and connect people to accelerate the flow of business; and, cultivate, capture and share individual and collective knowhow to effectively compete and succeed. Sabas premier customer base includes major global organizations and industry leaders in financial services, life sciences and healthcare, high-tech, automotive and manufacturing, retail, energy and utilities, packaged goods, and public sector organizations. Sabas solutions are available both on-premise and in the cloud and are underpinned by global services capabilities and partnerships encompassing strategic consulting, comprehensive implementation services and ongoing worldwide support.
Contact Information: 2400 Bridge Parkway Redwood Shores, California 94065-1166 http://www.saba.com Year Founded: 1997 Number of Employees: 501-1,000 Primary Target Market: Enterprise (10,000+ employees) Secondary Target Market: Midmarket (1,00010,000 employees) Top Industries Served: Banking / Finance Government (federal, including military) Healthcare Manufacturing Durable Technology (computers, software, ISP) Geographic Presence: North America South America Europe / Middle East / Africa Asia-Pacific Public or Private: Public Current Fiscal Year: 2010 Current Fiscal Revenue: $100 million to $500 million Growth Rate Over Previous Fiscal Year Revenue: Not Disclosed Profitable: Yes 3 Largest Customers: 1. U.S. Army (3,000,000 users) 2. IBM (350,000 users) 3. HP (340,000 users)
Software Platforms HR Management System Talent Management Suite Learning Management System
Offerings
Services Community Management Competency Development Event Services Learning Administration Community Moderation Employer Branding HR Technology Consulting Learning Content Development
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Software Platforms Assessment System Career Management System Competency Management System Learning Content Management Systems Onboarding System Performance Support System Social Software Talent Management Suite Web Conference and Virtual Classroom Workforce Planning Candidate Relations Management Compensation Management System Learning Analytics Mobile Learning Performance Management System Social Learning Platform Succession Management System Talent Acquisition System Workforce Analytics
Content Assessments Competency Libraries Financial Management IT Desktop Leadership Development Sales Compensation Data Customer Service General Management IT Systems and Programming Quality / Manufacturing
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Saba Publisher 9.03, released Feb 2010 Saba Centra 7.7, released September 2010 Saba Live, released September 2010
(All applications are delivered via on-premise, dedicated hosted or SaaS / on-demand.)
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Market Differentiators157
1. Real-Time Collaboration with Enterprise Business Networking Saba is the only people-driven solution that delivers embedded enterprise business networking and integration with technologies which people use every day to increase the user adoption and engagement necessary to drive organizational performance. Sabas embedded enterprise business networking integrates Sabas rich person profile, and includes embedded competency-driven expertise, Twitter-like performance feedback, blended learning and workplace analytics. Saba infuses collaborative processes into each key people process to enable organizations to identify, engage and retain top people, as well as quickly onboard new hires thereby multiplying peoples productivity to outperform the competition. Real-time enterprise networking also cultivates the knowhow needed in todays global, multigenerational workforce by deploying a blended enterprise training and learning strategy that incorporates formal and informal learning and knowledge transfer. 2. Unified People Systems Saba solutions provide a unified profile, platform and user experience that help to bridge application silos, and gain visibility to capability gaps and pivotal talent. At the center of Sabas information architecture is the People Profile, the industrys only system that captures the entire perspective of critical people assets in the organization a highly differentiated asset of the solution. While others talk about owning the system of record, only Saba captures the entire history of people their competencies, performance and knowhow, as well as the persons compliance and certification history, and personal and professional networks. This visibility into people enables Saba to address complex people processes, such as talent mobility, with ease and allows customers to deploy their top talent to solve the most critical business challenges. 3. Global, Secure People-centric Technology Platform The Saba solution is underpinned by a world-class technology platform that leverages 13 years of enterprise solutions experience, bringing together multiple key capabilities. Based on open standards, the Saba platform allows simplified and flexible deployment, integration and personalization. Ease of User Interactions Saba offers multiple choices to deliver content and process support to people via applications they use every day, such as email, mobile, web and portal applications, to engage them frequently.
157 This information has been submitted by the Solution Provider.
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Integration Services Enables customer to leverage the value from their existing investments by integrating with their existing portals, ERP and CRM applications.
Global, Scalable and Secure Solution Delivered in 28 locales and supported by local teams across the globe, Saba is proven to scale across the worlds largest people systems, including HP at which more than 340,000 users rely on Saba.
Deployment Choice Offered both on-premise and in the cloud with streamlined implementation for faster deployments.
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Current GA Version #
Delivery Models Supported (SaaS / Multitenant, Hosted and / or On-Premise) All All All All All All All All All All All All
1. Saba Goals & Objectives 2. Saba Performance Reviews 3. Saba Impressions 4. Saba Compensation 5. Saba Learning 6. Saba Content Management 7. Saba Communities 8. Saba Centra 9. Saba Succession 10. Saba Workforce Planning 11. Saba Live 12. Saba Learning Commerce 13. Saba Publisher 14. Saba Anywhere
5.51 5.51 5.51 5.51 5.51 5.51 5.51 7.7 5.51 5.51
Sept 2010 Sept 2010 Sept 2010 Sept 2010 Sept 2010 Sept 2010 Sept 2010 Sept 2010 Sept 2010 Sept 2010 Aug 2010
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Product Capabilities
Modules Available Career and Succession Collaboration / Social Software Compensation Management HRMS / HRIS Learning Performance Management Recruiting / Talent Acquisition Workforce Planning
/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
Learning Management Course and Resource Management Curriculum, Learning Plans and Certification Management Skills and Competency Management Enrollment and Registration Administration
Catalogs
Learning Content
eCommerce
Learning Reporting
/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
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Competency Management Competency Maintenance Competency Assessment Talent Integration Competency Reporting
Employee Profile Management Employee Education and Experience Job Profile Talent Profile Review and Analytics
/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
Adaptability Application Configurability Application Communications and Notifications Interface Data Architecture Data Core Reporting and Analytics
/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
Social Software and Collaboration Conversations Collaboration Connections Content Moderation Tools Social Analytics Integrated Communication Tools
/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
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Strengths
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SAP
COMPANY SNAPSHOT
Company Overview
Founded in 1972 as Systems Applications and Products in Data Processing, SAP has a rich history of innovation and growth that has made the company a recognized leader in providing collaborative business solutions for all types of industries in every major market. Headquartered in Waldorf, Germany, SAP employs more than 51,200 people in more than 50 countries and serves more than 47,800 customers worldwide. SAP is the worlds largest business software company and the third-largest software supplier overall. SAP has leveraged an extensive experience to deliver a comprehensive range of solutions to empower every aspect of business operations, including solutions for human capital management. Organizations of all sizes can use SAP solutions including small business solutions and solutions for midsize companies.
Contact Information: SAP Aktiengesellschaft, Dietmar-Hopp-Allee 16, 69190 Waldorf, Germany http://www.sap.com Year Founded: 1972 Number of Employees: > 10,000 Primary Target Market: Midmarket (1,00010,000 employees) Secondary Target Market: Small Business (1-1,000 employees) Top Industries Served: Aerospace Automotive Business Services / Consulting Electronics Government (state / local) Manufacturing Durable Manufacturing Non-Durable Oil and Gas / Mining Pharmaceuticals Technology (computers, software, ISPs) Utilities Geographic Presence: North America South America Europe / Middle East / Africa Asia-Pacific Public or Private: Public Current Fiscal Year: 2010 Current Fiscal Revenue: $500 million or greater Growth Rate Over Previous Fiscal Year Revenue: 11%-20% Profitable: Yes
Offerings
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Software Platforms Workforce Analytics Assessment System Talent Acquisition System Succession Management System Compensation Management System HR Management System Job Search Engine Competency Management System Talent Management Suite Performance Management System Career Management System Workforce Planning Candidate Relationship Management
(contd) 3 Largest Customers: 1. PetroChina (1,200,000 users) 2. U.S. Postal Service (800,000 users) 3. Deutsche Post (300,000 users)
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Performance Management with SAP ERP HCM (ERP 6.0, latest version is SAP Enhancement Package 4 for SAP ERP 6.0)
Workforce Analytics (This includes ERP reporting, BI content and analytical composites (SAP NetWeaver 7.0 BI Content Add-On 4 SP 03)
o o o
SAP Talent Visualization by Nakisa (2.0) Organizational Management with SAP ERP HCM (SAP ERP 6.0) SAP Employee Self-Services (Business Package for Employee Self-Service 1.4)
o o
Duet Recruitment Management (1.5) HR Administrative Services (SAP ERP 6.0, latest version is SAP Enhancement Package 4 for SAP ERP 6.0)
o o o
Benefits Management (SAP ERP 6.0) Personnel Cost Planning and Simulation (SAP ERP 6.0) Global Employment (SAP ERP 6.0, latest version is SAP Enhancement Package 4 for SAP ERP 6.0)
Concurrent Employment (SAP ERP 6.0, latest version is SAP Enhancement Package 4 for SAP ERP 6.0)
Employee Interaction Center (SAP ERP 6.0, latest version is SAP Enhancement Package 4 for SAP ERP 6.0)
Travel Management (SAP ERP 6.0, latest version is SAP Enhancement Package 4 for SAP ERP 6.0)
Market Differentiators158
1. Viability SAP is a leading provider of business software, offering applications and services that enable companies of all sizes and in more than 25 industries to become best-run businesses. SAP has a track record of continuous growth, dating back to 1972.
158 This information has been submitted by the Solution Provider.
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2. Global Service and Support Offering SAP has customers in more than countries, supported by 3,000 support professionals, 6,000 developers, and more than 10,000 consulting and education-focused employees. The company has five global support centers, 14 global service centers and 70 training centers. 3. Leading Analytics Business Objects, one of the worlds leading business intelligence software providers, is now an SAP company.
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Delivery Models Supported (SaaS / Multitenant, Hosted and / or On-Premise) Primary delivery is via on-premise model. Customers can engage BPO partners or SAP Hosting to manage the implementation if they choose. Primary delivery is via on-premise model. Customers can engage BPO partners or SAP Hosting to manage the implementation if they choose. Primary delivery is via on-premise model. Customers can engage BPO partners or SAP Hosting to manage the implementation if they choose. Primary delivery is via on-premise model. Customers can engage BPO partners or SAP Hosting to manage the implementation if they choose. Primary delivery is via on-premise model. Customers can engage BPO partners or SAP Hosting to manage the implementation if they choose.
Compensation Management
SAP E-Recruiting
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Product Capabilities
Modules Available Career and Succession Collaboration / Social Software Compensation Management HRMS / HRIS Learning Performance Management Recruiting / Talent Acquisition Workforce Planning
Strengths
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Company Overview
SilkRoad technology, inc. provides software-as-a-service (SaaS) solutions for more than 1,500 customers across the globe. Through SilkRoads Life Suite, an integrated talent management solution, companies are able to hire better employees, identify high and low performers, drive a pay-for-performance culture, and improve employee tenure. The SilkRoad Life Suite solution set includes OpenHire (for recruiting management), RedCarpet (for employee onboarding and life events), WingSpan (for flexible employee performance management), GreenLight (for learning management), Eprise (for employee intranets and content management) and HeartBeat (for core HR).
Contact Information: 102 West Third Street, Suite 250 Winston-Salem, North Carolina 27101 http://www.silkroad.com/ Year Founded: 2003 Number of Employees: 101-200 Primary Target Market: Midmarket (1,00010,000 employees) Secondary Target Market: Small Business (1-1,000 employees) Top Industries Served: Banking / Finance Energy Healthcare Manufacturing Durable Technology (computers, software, ISP) Geographic Presence: U.S. only North America South America Europe / Middle East / Africa Asia-Pacific Public or Private: Private Current Fiscal Year: 2010 Current Fiscal Revenue: Not Disclosed Growth Rate Over Previous Fiscal Year Revenue: 31%-40% Profitable: Yes 3 Largest Customers: 1. Regis Corporation (56,000 users) 2 T-Mobile (36,000 users) 3. Accenture (50,000 users)
Software Platforms Onboarding System Talent Acquisition System Performance Management System Talent Management Suite
Offerings
Software Platforms Assessment System Career Management System Competency Management System Learning Analytics Learning Management System Succession Management System Candidate Relations Management Compensation Management System Enterprise Content Management Learning Content Management Systems Social Software Workforce Analytics
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Tools Advanced e-Learning Development Survey and Assessment Rapid Content Development
Market Differentiators159
1. Customer Support SilkRoad puts a tremendous amount of focus on its customer support. The company tries to create partnerships with all of its clients and works to become an extension of their organizations, rather than just one of their vendors.
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2. Breadth of Solutions The company has a broader suite of talent management solutions with global reach and experience than any other vendor in the market. 3. The Talent Experience SilkRoad focuses all of its solutions on a one-toone, high-touch, personalized experience with employees, no matter where they are in the talent lifecycle. SilkRoad focuses heavily on incorporating social networking capabilities into its solutions, as well as offering distributed content and messaging that can be edited with no technical knowledge.
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Current GA Version #
Delivery Models Supported (SaaS / Multitenant, Hosted and / or On-Premise) SaaS SaaS SaaS SaaS SaaS SaaS
Product Capabilities
Modules Available Career and Succession Collaboration / Social Software Compensation Management HRMS / HRIS Learning Performance Management Recruiting / Talent Acquisition Workforce Planning
/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
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Learning Management Course and Resource Management Curriculum, Learning Plans and Certification Management Skills and Competency Management Enrollment and Registration Administration
Catalogs
Learning Content
eCommerce
Learning Reporting
/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
Competency Management Competency Maintenance Competency Assessment Talent Integration Competency Reporting
Employee Profile Management Employee Education and Experience Job Profile Talent Profile Review and Analytics
/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
Adaptability Application Configurability Application Communications and Notifications Interface Data Architecture Data Core Reporting and Analytics
/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
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Social Software and Collaboration Conversations Collaboration Connections Content Moderation Tools Social Analytics Integrated Communication Tools
/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
Overall Analysis of the Talent Management Suite Market-leading functionality to support a comprehensive onboarding process through RedCarpet Ease of use for employees and managers A full suite approach, including strong recruitment management and robust support for learning management Content management support SCORM 2004 sequencing support Enhance adaptability, especially related to application configurability, the interface and open data architecture Not disclosed.
Strengths
SilkRoads Life Suite is best-suited for small to midsize organizations based in North America.
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SkillSoft
COMPANY SNAPSHOT
Company Overview
SkillSoft is a leading SaaS provider of on-demand e-learning and performance support solutions for global enterprises, government, education and small to medium-size businesses. SkillSoft enables business organizations to maximize business performance through a combination of comprehensive e- learning content, online information resources, flexible learning technologies and support services. Content offerings include business, IT, desktop, compliance and consumer / small-to-medium business courseware collections, as well as complementary content assets, such as Leadership Development Channel video products, KnowledgeCenter portals, virtual instructor-led training services and online mentoring services. SkillSofts Books24x7 product offering includes access to more than 20,000 digitized IT and business books, as well as book summaries and executive reports. Technology offerings include the SkillPort learning management system, Search-and-Learn, SkillSoft Dialogue and virtual classroom.
Contact Information: 107 Northeastern Boulevard Nashua, New Hampshire 03062 http://www.skillsoft.com Year Founded: 1984 Number of Employees: 1,001-2,500 Primary Target Market: Enterprise (10,000+ employees) Secondary Target Market: Midmarket (1,00010,000 employees) Top Industries Served: Banking / Finance Business Services / Consulting Government (federal, including military) Technology (computers, software, ISP) Telecommunications Geographic Presence: North America South America Europe / Middle East / Africa Asia-Pacific Public or Private: Private Current Fiscal Year: 2009 Current Fiscal Revenue: $100 million to $500 million Growth Rate Over Previous Fiscal Year Revenue: Not Disclosed Profitable: Yes 3 Largest Customers: 1. U.S. Air Force (700,000 users) 2. CSC Global (not specified) 3. ADP (not specified)
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Offerings
Content Accredited Degree Programs Customer Service General Management IT Systems and Programming Quality / Manufacturing Assessments Financial Management IT Desktop Leadership Development Sales
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o o o o o
Legal Compliance Environmental Safety and Health Business Exploration Business Exploration Series Business Impact Series
Challenge Series Job-Aids and SkillBriefs Localized Courseware SkillSim Business Simulations Online Mentoring Virtual Instructor-Led Courses o o o o Cisco Microsoft (technical) Project Management CompTIA
KnowledgeCenters Books24x7 Collections AnalystPerspectives BusinessPro EngineeringPro ExecBlueprints ExecSummaries ExecEssentials ElmentsEssentielsFranais (translated: French Essentials) ExecSuite FinancePro
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GovEssentials HospitalityPro ITIL Powered by Books24x7 ITPro ManagerSuite OfficeEssentials Oracle Press Well-BeingEssentials Leadership Development Channel Leadership QuickTalks CEO QuickTalks Video On-Demand Programs o o Live Executive Leadership Series Events Administrative Professional Channel
Books24x7 On Demand Platform SkillPort Learning Management System Integration Support o o Open Learning Services Architecture Reference Port
Custom Content Creation o o o o SkillStudio Dialogue Design KnowledgeCenter Editor Customer Content Publishing
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Services
SkillSoft Consulting Services Team Certified Learning Consultants Deployment Consultants Project Specialists Solution Services Shared Services Program Management Services Blended Learning Services Custom Development Services
Market Differentiators160
SkillSoft differentiates itself in the marketplace by owning a majority of its assets, delivering consistent performance against its stated build plans, and providing core services from the industrys largest professional services and support organization. SkillSoft is a sustainable enterprise with experience and stability.
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Current GA Version #
Delivery Models Supported (SaaS / Multitenant, Hosted and / or On-Premise) SaaS, On-Premise
Hosted Hosted
Product Capabilities
Modules Available Career and Succession Collaboration / Social Software Compensation Management HRMS / HRIS Learning Performance Management Recruiting / Talent Acquisition Workforce Planning
/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
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Learning Management Course and Resource Management Curriculum, Learning Plans and Certification Management Skills and Competency Management Enrollment and Registration Administration
Catalogs
Learning Content
eCommerce
Learning Reporting
/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
Competency Management Competency Maintenance NR Competency Assessment NR Talent Integration NR Competency Reporting NR
Employee Profile Management Employee Education and Experience Job Profile Talent Profile Review and Analytics
/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
Adaptability Application Configurability Application Communications and Notifications Interface Data Architecture Data Core Reporting and Analytics
/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
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Social Software and Collaboration Conversations Collaboration Connections Content Moderation Tools Social Analytics Integrated Communication Tools
/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
Overall Analysis of the Talent Management Suite User experience Rapid implementation Support for third-party or client content Classroom management Platform enhancements: Reporting ILT management Enrollment, registration, approvals Compliance management Integrating customer content Social learning (inGenius - Book24/7 current, in SkillPort in 2011) User experience Organizations of any size looking for a ready-to-use platform for content
Strengths
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Softscape
Softscape was acquired by SumTotal Systems in 2010.
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Company Overview
SumTotal Systems, Inc. is a market leader and global provider of talent development solutions. The company deploys solutions designed to drive learning, align goals, develop skills, assess performance, plan for succession and set compensation. SumTotals solutions aim to accelerate performance and profits for more than 1,500 companies and governments of all sizes, including six of the worlds 10 biggest pharmaceutical makers, six of the 10 largest automotive companies in the world, four of the five branches of the U.S. Armed Forces, three of the worlds top five airlines, five of the six largest U.S. commercial banks and two of the worlds top five specialty retailers. SumTotal is backed by Vista Equity Partners, a leading private equity firm, with more than $2 billion in committed capital, focused on investing in software and technology-enabled businesses. Vista Equity has built a strong portfolio of more than 17 software and technology-enabled businesses with a focus on long-term value creation. With total revenues of more than $3.5 billion and a combined earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) of more than $1 billion, Vista Equity portfolio businesses employ more than 9,500 people and reach more than 35,000 customers in more than 75 countries.
Contact Information: 1808 Shoreline Boulevard Mountain View, California 94043 http://www.sumtotalsystems.com Year Founded: 2004 Number of Employees: 501-1,000 Primary Target Market: Enterprise (10,000+ employees) Secondary Target Market: Midmarket (1,00010,000 employees) Top Industries Served: Banking / Finance Healthcare Insurance Manufacturing Durable Retail Technology (computers, software, ISP) Geographic Presence: North America South America Europe / Middle East / Africa Asia-Pacific Public or Private: Private Current Fiscal Year: 2010 Current Fiscal Revenue: Not Disclosed Growth Rate Over Previous Fiscal Year Revenue: Not Disclosed Profitable: Yes 3 Largest Customers: 1. Walmart 2. Exxon 3. Citigroup
Software Platforms Learning Management System Talent Management Suite Performance Management System
Offerings
Services Content Localization Employer Branding
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Software Platforms Assessment System Compensation Management System Learning Analytics Mobile Learning Performance Management System Social Software Web Conferencing and Virtual Classroom Workforce Planning Career Management System Competency Management System Learning Content Management Systems Onboarding System Performance Support System Succession Management System Workforce Analytics
Tools Advanced e-Learning Development Rapid Content Development Classroom or Meeting Technology Survey and Assessment
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Market Differentiators161
1. Trusted expert in talent development with more than 20 years domain experience within complex global enterprise deployments. 2. Large customer portfolio with more than 1,500 customers and 18 million users worldwide, including 192 of the FORTUNE 500. 3. Corporatewide standards support without customization, using SumTotals proprietary Open Activity Architecture (OAA) and Open Workflow Architecture (OWA).
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Current GA Version #
Delivery Models Supported (SaaS / Multitenant, Hosted and / or On-Premise) All All All All All All All On-Premise
Learning Performance Compensation Career and Succession Planning Project Reviews TotalAccess TotalLCMS ToolBook
8.2 SP4 8.2 SP4 8.2 SP4 8.2 SP4 8.2 SP4 8.2 SP4 8.2 SP4 10.50
Product Capabilities
Modules Available Career and Succession Collaboration / Social Software Compensation Management HRMS / HRIS Learning Performance Management Recruiting / Talent Acquisition Workforce Planning
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/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
Learning Management Course and Resource Management Curriculum, Learning Plans and Certification Management Skills and Competency Management Enrollment and Registration Administration
Catalogs
Learning Content
eCommerce
Learning Reporting
/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
Competency Management Competency Maintenance Competency Assessment Talent Integration Competency Reporting
Employee Profile Management Employee Education and Experience Job Profile Talent Profile Review and Analytics
/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
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Adaptability Application Configurability Application Communications and Notifications Interface Data Architecture Data Core Reporting and Analytics
/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
Social Software and Collaboration Conversations Collaboration Connections Content Moderation Tools Social Analytics Integrated Communication Tools
/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
Overall Analysis of the Talent Management Suite Highly configurable Market-leading learning management Competency-based talent development Experience deploying solutions in large, multinational organizations
Strengths
Support for talent pools and employee-driven career management Continue to implement Web 2.0 features to enhance the user experience Better integrate social tools to support social learning and network building, and to drive adoption of talent management initiatives Continue to integrate learning, performance and compensation through profile management and talent pool management Value-added solutions o Analytics o Social collaboration o Mobility Industry solutions Customer-driven enhancements o Project review support o Compliance enhancements o Manager assignments
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SumTotals TotalPerformance product is best-suited for SumTotals LMS customer base, as well as large, global organizations seeking an integrated talent development solution. The company also offers a full-featured performance product targeted to the midmarket and delivered on-demand in the SaaS model.
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Company Overview
Technomedia is a web-based solutions provider for talent management and human capital development. With its TM SIGAL platform, Technomedia offers integrated solutions covering the entire lifecycle of an organizations employee from recruitment to succession planning, through competency development, performance management, training and knowledge management. TM SIGAL is modular and configurable, allowing organizations to implement applications as their businesses demand, while ensuring an integrated platform and user experience. Technomedias client base includes AREVA, Bell Canada, Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC), Bombardier, CAE, Canada School of Public Service, Credit Agricole, the City of Montreal, Crossknowledge, Desjardins, EADS (Airbus, Eurocopter), Geoservices, the Government of Quebec, Groupama, Groupe Alain Ducasse, Groupe Desjardins, La Poste, Legrand, Loto Quebec, MAAF Assurances, Natixis, Renault and RioTintoAlcan.
Contact Information: 1001 De Maisonneuve Boulevard West, 5th Floor Montreal, Quebec, Canada, H3A 3C8 http://www.technomedia.com/ Year Founded: 1996 Number of Employees: 101-200 Primary Target Market: Enterprise (10,000+ employees) Secondary Target Market: Midmarket (1,00010,000 employees) Top Industries Served: Aerospace Banking / Finance Energy Manufacturing Durable Telecommunications Geographic Presence: U.S. only North America Europe / Middle East / Africa Asia-Pacific Public or Private: Private Current Fiscal Year: 2009 Current Fiscal Revenue: $10 million to $25 million Growth Rate Over Previous Fiscal Year Revenue: 11%-20% Profitable: Yes 3 Largest Customers: 1. EDF (lectricit de France - 110K users) 2. Credit Agricole (70K users) 3. Bell Canada (60K users)
Offerings
Services HR Technology Consulting Community Management Learning Delivery Technology Implementation Learning Content Development
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Tools Simulations and Games Survey and Assessment Advanced e-Learning Development Rapid Content Development
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o o o o o o o o o o
Career Management People Review Learning Management (LMS) Blended Learning Management System Creation of Online Learning Content (LCMS) Virtual Classroom Knowledge Management Communication Management Reports (report generator and preformatted reports, dashboards) User Profiles
Market Differentiators162
1. Viability Since its inception in 1996, Technomedia has had sustained controlled growth year after year, maintaining profitability and long-term relationships with its customers, and creating its community of customers. The development of TM SIGAL is aimed specifically at the growth of the human capital in enterprises. Technomedia has sustained impressive profitable growth over the years and maintains no debt. The company currently manages a solid base of existing customers providing a flow of recurring revenues. Technomedia also benefits from an international customer base that includes several large North American and European public and private organizations, as well as educational institutions providing a global reach and perspective. 2. Communities of Practice With Technomedias knowledge management functionality, employees are part of one or several communities of practice, and can contribute content and share with their peers. The TM SIGAL solution enables mapping of an organizations knowledge domains, capturing specialists knowledge and transferring it through communities of practice.
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3. The Technomedia Team The Technomedia team links together experts in HR and training, IT and project management who listen, understand and solve the customers issues with rapid interventions, guaranteeing that projects are run effectively, timely and within budgets. This also ensures the customers a one-point of entry, single point of responsibility, no finger pointing.
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Current GA Version #
1. Training and Development Mgt. including LMS, LCMS, Knowledge Management, Virtual Classroom and Invoicing 2. Performance Assessment / Compensation 3. Competency Management and 360 Feedback 4. Career Management and Mobility 5. Talent Management and Succession Planning 6. Recruitment / Talent Acquisition and Onboarding 7. System Module, necessary for all implementations, includes system management, Organizational and other settings; Reporting and Analytics; Complete User File Management; Catalogs / Directories: competencies, courses, jobs, etc.
6.00
May 2010
All
6.00
May 2010
All
6.00
May 2010
All
6.00
May 2010
All
6.00
May 2010
All
6.00
May 2010
All
6.00
May 2010
All
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Product Capabilities
Modules Available Career and Succession Collaboration / Social Software Compensation Management HRMS / HRIS Learning Performance Management Recruiting / Talent Acquisition Workforce Planning
/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
Learning Management Course and Resource Management Curriculum, Learning Plans and Certification Management Skills and Competency Management Enrollment and Registration Administration
Catalogs
Learning Content
eCommerce
Learning Reporting
/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
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Competency Management Competency Maintenance Competency Assessment Talent Integration Competency Reporting
Employee Profile Management Employee Education and Experience Job Profile Talent Profile Review and Analytics
/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
Adaptability Application Configurability Application Communications and Notifications Interface Data Architecture Data Core Reporting and Analytics
/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
Social Software and Collaboration Conversations Collaboration Connections Content Moderation Tools Social Analytics Integrated Communication Tools
/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
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Strengths
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TEDS, Inc.
COMPANY SNAPSHOT
Company Overview
TEDS, Inc., a privately held and profitable company, has provided talent management solutions for more than 20 years. TEDS offers a comprehensive enterprisewide talent management solution that includes management of competencies, performance, learning, compliance, career development, recruiting, succession, compensation, and workforce and workforce initiatives. The talent management suite is based on the companys CEOs theory of People Resource Planning and provides a strategic tool to align resources, close corporate gaps and individual gaps quickly to meet critical business needs. TEDS talent management modules are available individually, in any combination or as a comprehensive solution. TEDS products and services are used by some of the worlds leading companies, including Verizon, Philips Healthcare, Chrysler, Mountain States Health Alliance, Eastman Chemical, Steelcase, Dominion Resources, Qwest, Sandia National Labs, Frontier Communications, and Washington & Lee University.
Contact Information: 1235 Mountain Empire Road Atkins, Virginia 24311 http://www.teds.com/ Year Founded: 1980 Number of Employees: 51-100 Primary Target Market: Enterprise (10,000+ employees) Secondary Target Market: Midmarket (1,00010,000 employees) Top Industries Served: Energy Healthcare Manufacturing Durable Technology (computers, software, ISP) Telecommunications Geographic Presence: North America South America Europe / Middle East / Africa Asia-Pacific Public or Private: Private Current Fiscal Year: 2010 Current Fiscal Revenue: Not Disclosed Growth Rate Over Previous Fiscal Year Revenue: 5%-15% Profitable: Yes 3 Largest Customers: 1. Verizon (200,000+ users) 2. Chrysler (72,000+ users) 3. Large High-Tech Company (50,000 users)
Offerings
Services Community Management Competency Development Event Services Learning Administration Community Moderation Employer Branding HR Technology Consulting Learning Content Development
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Software Platforms Assessment System Career Management System Competency Management System Job Board Learning Analytics Learning Management System Onboarding System Social Learning Platform Succession Management System Workforce Analytics Candidate Relations Management Compensation Management System Event Capture Job Search Engine Learning Content Management System Mobile Learning Performance Management System Social Software Talent Acquisition System Workforce Planning
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Services
SkillSoft Consulting Services Team Certified Learning Consultants Deployment Consultants Projearning Services Custom Development Services
Market Differentiators163
1. Vision The companys CEO created the theory of People Resource Planning (PRP) in 1989. This theory describes the link between continual change in the marketplace, the business initiatives that result from the change and the human capital gaps that must be closed to achieve business results (via internal or external resources). The companies that manage this process with the greatest speed will be more successful than their competitors. PRP takes an overall look at people processes throughout the
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lifecycle of an employee, and stresses the importance of capturing critical employee information dynamically to allow for the best and quickest decision by leadership in a company. Real-time skill / competency data is at the heart of PRP, and having this data for each employee is a necessity when determining how best and fastest to close a business gap. PRP was the basis for the first talent management suite. 2. Strategic Workforce Management TEDS collects real-time data from all talent management modules that provide the best possible employee information for strategic workforce decisions. A quick skill / competency assessment of the workforce will show the companys readiness and / or gap against the required skills / competencies needed to meet a business objective. This data is critical in determining make (use internal resources) versus buy (hire external resources) decisions to ensure the skills / competencies are available when needed to meet the business objective. To complete the gap closure, TEDS can assign skills / competencies to internal resources or generate requisitions for external resources both of which are tied to the workforce initiative. 3. Competency Management TEDS is recognized as a leader in the management of certification, recertification and decertification of competencies / skills within an organization. TEDS customers average more than 5,000 competencies per company and many have more than 12,000 active competencies managed via TEDS. Because competencies are the gateway to true talent management, TEDS 20 years of work in this area, along with continual improvement based on customer best practices, provide a best-in-industry solution that is the foundation for talent management success. Note: All TEDS modules are built by TEDS (no bolt-ons) in one database, ensuring integration and ease of implementation for future modules.
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Current GA Version #
Delivery Models Supported (SaaS / Multitenant, Hosted and / or On-Premise) Hosted, On-Premise
1. Learning on Demand (LOD) 2. Roles, Tasks and Competencies (RTC) 3. Performance Impact (PI) 4. Job Vision (JV) 5. Succession Management (SM) 6. Compensation Management (CM) 7. Workforce Management (WM)
10.00
3/1/2010
10.00
3/1/2010
Hosted, On-Premise
Hosted, On-Premise Hosted, On-Premise Hosted, On-Premise Hosted, On-Premise Hosted, On-Premise
Product Capabilities
Modules Available Career and Succession Collaboration / Social Software Compensation Management HRMS / HRIS Learning Performance Management Recruiting / Talent Acquisition Workforce Planning
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/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
Learning Management Course and Resource Management Curriculum, Learning Plans and Certification Management Skills and Competency Management Enrollment and Registration Administration
Catalogs
Learning Content
eCommerce
Learning Reporting
/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
Competency Management Competency Maintenance Competency Assessment Talent Integration Competency Reporting
Employee Profile Management Employee Education and Experience Job Profile Talent Profile Review and Analytics
/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
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Adaptability Application Configurability Application Communications and Notifications Interface Data Architecture Data Core Reporting and Analytics
/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
Social Software and Collaboration Conversations Collaboration Connections Content Moderation Tools Social Analytics Integrated Communication Tools
/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
Strengths
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WBT Systems
COMPANY SNAPSHOT
Company Overview
WBT Systems offers an integrated LMS and LCMS suite, with additional modules for certification and competency management, eCommerce, test creation, collaboration, classroom management, content publishing, and offline or mobile capabilities. The company has approximately 85 customers, many in the midmarket segment. WBT Systems is a wholly owned subsidiary of Avnet, Inc.
Contact Information: Block 2 Harcourt Centre Harcourt Street Dublin 2 Ireland http://www.wbtsystems.com/ Year Founded: 1995 Number of Employees: < 50 Primary Target Market: Enterprise (10,000+ employees) Secondary Target Market: Midmarket (1,00010,000 employees) Top Industries Served: Associations and Professional Organizations Banking / Finance Insurance Manufacturing Durable Oil and Gas / Mining Pharmaceuticals Geographic Presence: North America South America Europe / Middle East / Africa Asia-Pacific Public or Private: Public Current Fiscal Year: 2009 Current Fiscal Revenue: $500 million or greater Growth Rate Over Previous Fiscal Year Revenue: Not Disclosed Profitable: Yes 3 Largest Customers: 1. ELT (1,000,000+ users) 2. Dow Chemical (100,000+ users) 3. Husqvarna (50,000 users)
Offerings
Software Platforms Assessment System Learning Analytics Onboarding System Competency Management System Learning Content Management Systems
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Services
Strategic Consulting Technical Consulting Client Administrator Training Partner Training TopClass Implementation and Integration
Market Differentiators164
1. Flexible Architecture The TopClass technology is built in a flexible, modular style that permits organizations to customize all aspects of the product, and enables tight integration with other parts of the enterprise IT infrastructure, from security and authentication policies to integration with enterprise applications (such as HR and ERP systems). 2. Heritage WBTs heritage is in the content management space and has a very comprehensive LCMS product that is tightly integrated with its LMS. 3. Fast Deployment The core TopClass out-of-the-box solution can be deployed very easily in a matter of weeks.
164 This information has been submitted by the Solution Provider.
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Current GA Version #
Delivery Models Supported (SaaS / Multitenant, Hosted and / or On-Premise) Hosted, On-Premise
1. TopClass Suite
8.00
5/1/2009
Product Capabilities
Modules Available Career and Succession Collaboration / Social Software Compensation Management HRMS / HRIS Learning Performance Management Recruiting / Talent Acquisition Workforce Planning
/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
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Learning Management Course and Resource Management Curriculum, Learning Plans and Certification Management Skills and Competency Management Enrollment and Registration Administration
Catalogs
Learning Content
eCommerce
Learning Reporting
/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
Competency Management Competency Maintenance Competency Assessment Talent Integration Competency Reporting
Employee Profile Management Employee Education and Experience Job Profile Talent Profile Review and Analytics
/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
Adaptability Application Configurability Application Communications and Notifications Interface Data Architecture Data Core Reporting and Analytics
/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
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Social Software and Collaboration Conversations Collaboration Connections Content Moderation Tools Social Analytics Integrated Communication Tools
/ 0 = No functionality in this area or not applicable. / 1 = Limited functionality in this area. May support some use cases. / 2 = Basic functionality in this area. Will likely support most use cases. / 3 = Advanced functionality in this area. / 4 = Complete or near complete functionality in this area per market at report publication date.
Overall Analysis of the Talent Management Suite Simple, rapid implementation Strong support for automated, prescriptive learning to meet complex requirements of organizations in highly regulated industries Enhance usability Integrated social tools to support social learning, knowledge-sharing and network building New Java-based architecture
Strengths
Midsize to large organizations with heavy compliance training needs, and associations and professional organizations
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Appendix VII
Other Learning Systems Providers
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Company Name
Website URL
Content Full-service learning services provider, offers outsourced LMS and related services. Formerly Cyborg Systems, known primarily for talent acquisition systems and services. Adobe Connect Pro, a virtual classroom and web-conferencing environment, offers a limited set of LMS functionality. Well-known HR and payroll services provider, includes LMS services and partnerships. Learning content developer offers highly configurable SaaS LMS.
http://www.adp.com
1949
175 West 200 South Allen Communication Learning Services http://www.allencomm.com Suite 100 Salt Lake City, Utah 841011 1-866-310-7800 2105 S. Bascom Avenue Suite 135 Altus Learning Systems http://www.altuscorp.com/ Campbell, California 95008 1-408-395-9154 phone 1-408-369-9230 fax
Source: Bersin & Associates, 2010.
1981
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Figure 150: Other Learning Systems Providers Not Profiled (contd) Company Contact Information 118th Floor, Building A Chengjian Plaza, No.18 North Taipingzhuang Road, Ambow Education http://www.ambow.com. cn/en/index.shtml Haidian District, Beijing, 100088 China 8610-6206-8000 phone 8610-6206-8100 fax ir@ambow.com email American Research Institute 170 Southport Drive American Research Institute http://www.americanri.com Suite 400 Morrisville, North Carolina 27560 6760 Alexander Bell Drive, Suite # 105 Columbia, Maryland 21046 1-410-290-0008 BAI Learning & Development BAI Learning & Development http://www.bai.org/ learninganddevelopment 12250 Weber Hill Road Suite 200 St. Louis, Missouri 63127 12724 Gran Bay Parkway West, Suite 200, Jacksonville, FL 32258-4467 Krntner Strae 311, A-8054 Graz +43 (0) 316/ 28 55 50-0 office@bit.at Known primarily for talent acquisition system and services, growing LMS. A leading provider in continental Europe, especially Germany.
Source: Bersin & Associates, 2010.
Company Name
Website URL
Year Founded
Content
http://www.Avilar.com
1997
SaaS LMS and competency management company focused on small and midsize companies. Specialist provider focusing on needs of banks and credit unions.
Beeline.com
http://www.beeline.com
1999
BIT Group
http://www.bitonline.com/en
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Figure 150: Other Learning Systems Providers Not Profiled (contd) Company Contact Information Year Founded
Company Name
Website URL
Content SaaS LMS provider. Growing quickly through partnerships and reseller arrangements. Specialist LMS provider focused on supporting for-profit training to industry groups and associations, or with companies and customers. Platform for rapid development and distribution of presentations, marketing and e-learning. Offers basic LMS functionality.
http://www.blatant.ca
2002
130 Turner Street Building 1, Suite 100 Brainshark, Inc. http://www.brainshark.com/ Waltham, Massachusetts 02453 1-781-370-8000 331 N. LaSalle Street Britannica Knowledge Systems http://www.britannica-ks. com/index.asp Chicago, Illinois 60654 1-312-205-6440 phone 1-312-294-2162 fax 285 Chesterfield Business Parkway Business Training Library http://www.bizlibrary.com/ Chesterfield, Mississippi 63005 1-636-449-3006 1997 1999
Learning content provider focusing on small and midsize business, also offers simple-to-use LMS. Learning content provider specializing in banking and credit unions, also offers basic LMS.
http://www.bvs.com
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Figure 150: Other Learning Systems Providers Not Profiled (contd) Company Contact Information 1616 Anderson Road Suite 109 Certilearn http://www.certilearn.com Mclean, Virginia 22102 info@certilearn.com email 1-877-CL4-LEARN 1-877-254-5327 46 Loman Street Cezanne Software Ltd. http://www.cezannesw.com London SE1 0EH +44 (0) 20 7202 9300 Chamilo http://www.chamilo.org +44 (0) 208 973 4092 phone +44 (0) 160 86 4258 fax 500 Frank W. Burr Boulevard, Teaneck, New Jersey 07666 1-201-801-0233 Competentum USA, Ltd. 1595 NW Gilman Blvd. Competentum http://competentum.com/ Suite 13 Issaquah, Washington 98027 1-425-996-4201 phone/fax SaaS LMS company offers marketplacelike environment for creating and distributing content to employees and customers.
Source: Bersin & Associates, 2010.
Company Name
Website URL
Year Founded
Content
2000
European talent management systems provider, includes LMS. An open-source LMS. LMS provider specializes in compliance-related needs. Full-service learning services provider, offers outsourced LMS and related services.
Cobent Group
http://www.cobent.com
http://www.cognizant.com/
1994
e-Learning content development company from Russia offers LMS based on Microsoft SharePoint.
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Figure 150: Other Learning Systems Providers Not Profiled (contd) Company Contact Information 12/F, Edward Wong Tower CyberWisdom http://www.cyberwisdom. net/ 910 Cheung Sha Wan Road Kowloon, Hong Kong 852-2581-0300 151 Charles Street W. Desire2Learn http://www.desire2learn.com Suite 400 Kitchener, Ontario Canada N2G 1H6 101/102 Cirencester Business Park, Love Lane, Cirencester, Gloucestershire GL7 1XD United Kingdom 280 Madison Avenue Elearning Force International http://www.elearningforce. com Suite 912, 9th Floor New York, New York 10016 United States +1-347-748-9660 eLogic Learning http://www.elogiclearning. com 14934 North Florida Avenue, Tampa, Florida 33613 Taikang Lu Lane 210 No. 5 Room 428 Emeneo http://www.emeneo.com/ welcomeen.html Tianzifang Creative Area Shanghai, 200025 China + 86-21-54-653-695 phone + 86-21-54-653-695-428 fax EmTrain http://www.emtrain.com/ 777 Campus Commons Sacramento, California 95864 2000 Saas LMS provider. A leading LMS provider in China. 2001 Small LMS provider focused on the midmarket. Eastern Europeanbased provider of a SharePoint-based LMS. U.K.-based LMS and learning content services provider. LMS provider focused on higher education. Likely market leader for LMS and e-learning content in China. Year Founded
Company Name
Website URL
Content
e2train
http://www.e2train.com
2000
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Figure 150: Other Learning Systems Providers Not Profiled (contd) Company Contact Information 300 State Street, Suite 400, New London, Connecticut 06320 1-908-722-6622 Sophia-Antipolis 1360, route des Dolines Epistema http://www.epistema.com/ engb Les Cardoulines B4 06560 Sophia-Antipolis +33-4-93-74-14-26 phone +33-4-93-33-12-37 fax Expertus Inc Expertus http://www.expertus.com 2091 Landings Drive Mountain View, CA 94043 Tel: 650-691-1440 1998 Full-service learning services provider, offers LMS, continuous learning platform and related services. European LMS provider. Year Founded
Company Name
Website URL
Content
http://www.ePathLearning. com
1999
First Advantage
http://www.fadv.com
2003
Fronter AS Fronter http://com.fronter.info/ P.O. Box 232 Sentrum N-0103 Oslo, Norway Tel. +47 99 40 50 00 4900 Perry Pkwy. Building 2, 2nd Floor Inmedius, Inc. http://www.inmedius.com Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15229 1-303-462-8787 phone GeoMetrix Data Systems Inc. http://www. trainingpartner.com 240 Bay Street Victoria, British Columbia V9A 3K5 Canada 1992 Offers Training Partner LMS. 1996 Gen21, one of the most veteran names in the LMS space. 1998 Owned by Pearson Education.
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Figure 150: Other Learning Systems Providers Not Profiled (contd) Company Contact Information CONTACT U.S. Grade i Stockholm Grade i Lund Grade in Grade http://www.grade.se Stockholm, Lund +46-08-673-62-40 phone +46-0-46-37-30-00 phone +46-0- 8-673-62-40 phone +46-0-46-37-30-00 phone Via Portobello Exact Learning Solutions http://www.exact-learning. com Abbazia dellAnnunziata 16039 Sestri Levante (Ge) Italy +39-0185-4761 5400 Glenside Drive Gyrus Systems http://www.gyrus.com Henrico, Virginia 23228 1-888-GO-Gyrus http://www. halogensoftware.com 495 March Road Ottawa, Ontario K2K 3G1, Canada Nashville Home Office 209 10th Avenue South HealthStream http://www.healthstream. com/ Suite 450 Nashville, Tennessee 37203 (615) 301-3100 phone (615) 301-3200 fax 2929 N. Central Expressway HRsmart http://www.hrsmart.com/ Suite 110 Richardson, Texas 75080 Integrated talent management suites provider with LMS.
Source: Bersin & Associates, 2010.
Company Name
Website URL
Year Founded
Content
European-based LMS.
1987
Halogen Software
2001
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Figure 150: Other Learning Systems Providers Not Profiled (contd) Company Contact Information 8221 Ritchie Hwy Suite 303 Pasadena, Maryland 21122 52-53 Margaret Street, London, WIW BSQ England +44-0-845-644-3837 223 Broadgait Brae Rd. Cary, North Carolina 27519 USA Instancy http://www.instancy.com +1-877-548-3360 (within USA) +1-919-521-5572 (from outside USA) 3461 Bonita Bay Boulevard Suite 207 Bonita Springs, Florida USA 34134 LMS provider offering specialized implementation of MOODLE (open source) LMS. Continuous learning environment provider, based on the technology behind the SUN Learning Exchange. Spun out as a new company when Oracle purchased SUN Microsystems. Provider of certification and related complex curricula design services for large enterprises, also includes LMS.
Source: Bersin & Associates, 2010.
Company Name
Website URL
Year Founded
Content Learning content development tools and services provider, also offers LMS. U.K.-based LMS and learning content services provider.
http://www. icslearninggroup.com
Ikomami Ltd.
http://www.ikonami.com/
1999
Interactyx
http://www.interactyx.com/
2001
Jambok
http://jambok.com/
1-800-334-9360
202 Carnegie Center Kaplan Eduneering http://www. kaplaneduneering.com/ Suite 202 Princeton, New Jersey 08540 1-609-627-5320
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Figure 150: Other Learning Systems Providers Not Profiled (contd) Company Contact Information 650 East Swedesford Road Kenexa http://www.kenexa.com 2nd Floor Wayne, Pennsylvania 19087 19 Cortland Drive KINEO http://www.kineo.com/ Hudson, Massachusetts 01749 1-617 326-7307 Veteran LMS / LCMS provider specializing in industries with heavy process and compliance training needs, such as manufacturing. Specialty LMS provider for callcenter industry with innovative integration of LMS with callcenter telephony technologies. Learning content services provider with innovative approach to ensuring learning mastery. Learning content development services provider, also offers LMS. 2005 Integrator of MOODLE, open-source LMS. 1987 Year Founded
Company Name
Website URL
Content
http://www.kmsi.us/
866-448-0846
11800 Amberpark Drive Knowlagent http://www.knowlagent. com/ Suite 200 Alpharetta, Georgia 30009 1-678-356-3500 1995
Knowledge Factor
http://www. knowledgefactor.com/
4775 Walnut Street Suite 210 Boulder, Colorado 80301 100 East Michigan Avenue
Latitude Learning
http://www. latitudelearning.com/
2005
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Figure 150: Other Learning Systems Providers Not Profiled (contd) Company Contact Information Bangalore 24x7 Learning Pvt. Ltd. 24x7 Learning http://www.learntrak.net No 20, Annaswamy Mudaliar Road, Ulsoor Lake Bangalore - 560 042, India. +91-80-4069-9100 phone +91-80-2555-1041 fax 6th Floor Westbourne House 14-16 Westbourne Grove Line Communications http://www.line. co.uk/?lang=en London W2 5RH. England +44-0-20-7243-5110 phone +44-0-20-7243-5111 fax P.O. Box 32213 Devonport Litmos http://www.litmos.com North Shore City 0744 New Zealand +1-408-786-5901 (USA) +64-9-445-6348 (NZ) 7107 Elm Valley Drive Kalamazoo, Michigan 49009 1-800-319-2212 245 Peachtree Center Ave. NE, Marquis Tower One, Suite 1900 MC Strategies Inc. http://www.mcstrategies. com/ Atlanta, Georgia 30303 1-404-799-4000 phone 1-800-999-6274 phone 1-404-799-4001 fax
Source: Bersin & Associates, 2010.
Company Name
Website URL
Year Founded
Content
Indian-based learning content services company with an LMS. Focuses on both business to business and business to consumer.
Bloomfire
http://www.bloomfire.com
2010
1986
Specialist provider of healthcare content and LMS; part of larger publishing group, Elsevier.
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Figure 150: Other Learning Systems Providers Not Profiled (contd) Company Contact Information Year Founded
Company Name
Website URL
Content LMS company specializing in extended enterprise. Offers LMS (NetExam) and continuous learning environment (Ensemba). Specialist provider of healthcare content and LMS.
MediaDefined, Inc.
http://www.netexam.com
1999
121 Richmond Street West Medworxx Inc, http://www.medworxx.com Suite 700 Toronto, Ontario Canada M5H 2K1 190 W. Ostend St. Moodlerooms Inc. http://www.moodlerooms. com/ Suite 110 Baltimore, Maryland 21230 1-410-779-3400 phone 1-410-244-1608 fax http://www.neusoft.com/ en/technology/1254 7107 Elm Valley Drive Kalamazoo, Michigan 49009 1-800-319-2212 5 Maxwell Drive NetLearning, a division of Cengage Learning http://www.netlearning. cengage.com/ Clifton Park, New York 12065 1-888-795-1603, ext. 4 200 Blue Fin Circle, Suite 2, Savannah, GA 31410 1-912-898-9202 x203 194 Sophia Street Operitel http://operitel.com/ Peterborough, Ontario Canada K9H 1E5 705-745-6605 phone
Source: Bersin & Associates, 2010.
Neusoft
1997
Specialist provider of healthcare content and LMS; part of larger healthcare learning services company, Cengage. LMS and LCMS provider and an early market leader in mobile learning. LMS provider and Microsoft SharePoint integrator.
http://www.onpointdigital. com
2001
January, 2010
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Figure 150: Other Learning Systems Providers Not Profiled (contd) Company Contact Information 745 Atlantic Avenue 4th Floor OutStart, Inc. http://www.outstart.com/ Boston, Massachusetts 02111 1-617-897-6800 Oztime http://www.oztime.com http://www. pearsonlearningsolutions. com/ 501 Boylston Street Boston Massachusetts 1-800-635-1579 445 Park Avenue PulseLearning Inc. http://www.pulselearning. com 9th Floor New York City, New York 10022 Q2Learning http://www.q2learning.com/ 2686 Hillsman Street Falls Church, Virginia 22043 900 East Hamilton Ave. Rainmaker Systems http://www. rainmakersystems. com/142/view_central_ revenue_profit.html Suite 400 Campbell, California 95008 408-340-2800 phone 408-369-0910 fax 441 West Main Street Rapid Intake http://www.rapidintake.com/ Suite B, Lehi, Utah 84043 1-866-231-5254 20 E. 5th Street Reliant http://www.reliantlive.com Suite 1020 Tulsa, Oklahoma 74103 1-888-825-6080 2000 e-Learning content development tools provider with a basic LMS. SaaS LMS provider with a specialization in assessment and competency management. Specialist LMS provider focused on selling learning content for-profit. 2001 Continuous learning environment provider. 1999 Learning content services provider with an LMS. 2002 1999 Year Founded
Company Name
Website URL
Content Market leading LCMS provider, also offers LMS and continuous learning environment (Participate). Chinese LMS provider. Compliance specialist learning services provider with an LMS.
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Figure 150: Other Learning Systems Providers Not Profiled (contd) Company Contact Information 1569 Jefferson Hwy. Suite 103 Remote Learner http://www.remotelearner.net/ P.O. Box 717 Fishersville, Virginia 22939 877-299-1293 phone 540-943-7831 phone 915-200-9145 fax 1455 Research Blvd. 3rd Floor Reqwired http://www.reqwired.org Rockville, Maryland 20850 1-800-800-0064 phone 1-801-905-5509 fax info@reqwired.com email Sakai http://sakaiproject.org 160 Gould Street Salary.com http://www.salary.com Needham, Massachusetts 02494 Suite 1660 999 West Hastings Street Serebra http://www.serebra.com Vancouver, British Columbia Canada V6C 2W2 604-676-5480 Tidel Park, 2nd Floor, No. 4 Sify Technologies Ltd. http://www.sifyelearning. com/ Canal Bank Road, Taramani Chennai 600 113, India +91-44-2254-0770-77 2000 Full-service learning services provider, offers outsourced LMS and related services. SaaS LMS provider. 1999 Open-source LMS. Talent management suites provider. Specialize LMS and learning content provider focused on legal industrycompliance needs. Integrator of MOODLE, open-source LMS. Year Founded
Company Name
Website URL
Content
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Figure 150: Other Learning Systems Providers Not Profiled (contd) Company Contact Information P.O. Box 90157 Albuquerque, New Mexico 87199 Simplidigi http://www.simplydigi.com/ 1-800-216-8005 (USA / Canada) 1-505-880-9737 (Intl) 1-505-856-5781 fax Houston - Corporate Headquarters: SoloLearning http://www.sololearning.com 3831 Golf Drive Houston, Texas 77018 713-402-1900 phone Tempus Court, Onslow St. StepStone Solutions www.stepstonesolutions. com Guildford Surrey GU1 4SS United Kingdom +44-7540-666-439 1010 de Serigny, Suite 660 Longueuil, Quebec, Canada J4K 5G7 Strategia http://www.strategia-ed.com 450-679-8239 Montreal 1.866.679.8239 Canada/U.S. 450-679-1813 fax 411 Waverley Oaks Road Building 3, Suite 319 Syberworks http://www.syberworks.com/ Waltham, Massachusetts 02452 781-891-1999
Source: Bersin & Associates, 2010.
Company Name
Website URL
Year Founded
Content
1996
Canadian LMS provider specializing in industries with heavy process and compliance training needs, such as manufacturing.
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Figure 150: Other Learning Systems Providers Not Profiled (contd) Company Contact Information Level 4, 77 Pacific Hwy. Talent2 http://www.talent2.com North Sydney NSW 2060 Australia +61-2-9934-5666 Tata Interactive Systems (a division of Tata Industries Limited) http://www.tatainteractive. com 2124 Oaktree Rd. Edison, New Jersey 08820 1-773-793-4604 264 The Esplanade Thinking Cap http://www.thinkingcap.com Toronto, Ontario Canada, M5A 4J6 1-416-977-4675 Time4You http://www.time4you.de/ ibt/main/en/site/time4you/ ibt/en/start.cxjsp 2001 1990 Full-service learning services provider, offers outsourced LMS and related services. LMS and LCMS provider with strong support for learning object-based model. European LMS provider. Specialist LMS and learning content provider focused on industries with heavy process and compliance training needs, such as manufacturing. 2004 Australian talent management services and systems provider. Year Founded
Company Name
Website URL
Content
New England Business Park 461 Boston Street Traincaster http://www.traincaster.com Topsfield, Massachusetts 01983 1-888-475-3165 1-978-887-2100 311 Elm Street, Suite 200 Trivantis http://www.trivantis.com Cincinnati, Ohio 45202 1-817-929-0188 1999 e-Learning content development tools provider with a basic LMS. SaaS LMS provider.
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Figure 150: Other Learning Systems Providers Not Profiled (contd) Company Contact Information Suite 1, 415 Dunedin St. Udutu Online Learning Solutions Victoria, British Columbia http://www.udutu.com/ V8T 5G8 Canada 250-388-5003 phone 250-298-9291 fax http://www. ultimatesoftware.com/ 2000 Ultimate Way Weston, Florida 33326 1-800-432-1729 Punakar Complex Survey No-117, 1st Floor Upside Learning Solutions Pvt. Ltd. http://www. upsidelearning.com Opposite Popular Nagar Bangalore Pune Highway Warje, Pune 411052 Maharashtra, India +91-20-2523 6050 / 51 / 52 Postbus 92 1170 AB Badhoevedorp http://www. vergouwenoverduin.nl/ index.cfm Netherlands (020)-659-57-51 (020)-659-57-52 (020)-659-36-71 info@vergouwenoverduin. nl email 4070 Youngfield St. WestNet Learning http://www. westnetlearning.com/site/ Wheatridge, Colorado 80033 888-452-6902 phone 303-432-2565 fax 1996 LMS provider and learning services provider specializing in certification curricula and franchise-heavy industries (e.g., restaurants). European LMS and learning content services provider. 2004 Full-service learning services provider, offers LMS and related services. 1990 Talent management systems provider with LMS. Learning content services provider with Facebook-based LMS. Year Founded
Company Name
Website URL
Content
Ultimate Software
Vergouwen Overduin
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Figure 150: Other Learning Systems Providers Not Profiled (contd) Company Contact Information 1840 Gateway Drive Suite 200 Xerceo http://xerceo.com/ San Mateo, California 94404 415-692-0089 phone 415-335-4081 fax 866-770-4913 U.S./Canada 2060 Broadway Suite 260 Xyleme http://www.xyleme.com/ Boulder, Colorado 80302 303-872-0233 phone 303-479-7127 fax 2965 Colonnade Drive Roanoke, Virginia 24018 Ziiva http://www.ziiva.com 866-387-0633 phone 540-777-5621 phone 540-777-5620 fax
Source: Bersin & Associates, 2010.
Company Name
Website URL
Year Founded
Content
LCMS provider.
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Appendix VIII
Sample Features by Application Functional Category
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Figure 151: Sample Features by Application Functional Category (contd) Content Content Management The core application includes a built-in rapid content development tool usable by any / all users depending on client configuration. Support for systemwide metadata / taxonomy. Support for document / records management. Support for version control of managed content. Support for archived version history and rollback of managed content. Support for document locking. Support for embedding / linking to external content. Support for batch import and export via web interface. Support for virtual file system (folder view, e.g., WEBDAV, Adobe Air, Google Gears, et al) Support for web embedded MS Office file formats. Support for export of MS Office file formats. Integrated Content Support for preintegrated competency libraries. Support preintegrated learning content. Support for preintegrated assessments and / or evaluation content. Global Global System Support and Infrastructure Uses of the written word within interface elements (titles, menus, et al) can be changed via customizable localization tables. Support for double-byte character sets. Hardware resources are distributed globally to ensure best possible performance worldwide. Partnerships with third-party content distribution networks have been prearranged and integrated with the application infrastructure. System supports multiple currencies. System can support multiple sets of tax regulations. System can support multiple time zones and date formats. System can support European Union privacy requirements. Provider Expertice You provide local system support resources in: o North America o Latin America and Caribbean o Western Europe o Eastern Europe, Middle East or Africa o South Asia o East / Southeast Asia o Australia, New Zealand, Oceania
Source: Bersin & Associates, 2010.
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Figure 151: Sample Features by Application Functional Category (contd) Provider Expertice You offer local use-case support and thought leadership (for example, best practices for compliance with local privacy or tax regulations, et al) in: o North America o Latin America and Caribbean o Western Europe o Eastern Europe, Middle East or Africa o South Asia o East / Southeast Asia o Australia, New Zealand, Oceania Learning Management Course and Resource Management Enable efficient workflows and templates for creating, editing and updating ILT courses and class sessions. Support creating and assigning learning content to multiple groups or audiences. Support managing instructor availability and assigning instructor(s) to a course, class or location. Support classroom management (creating classrooms, assigning locations and resources). Support worldwide time zones when scheduling classes and enable users to select time zones. Enable prerequisite management (e.g., required, recommended, due dates, enforcement processes, administrator override, approve / deny waiver requests, et al) linked to enrollment into the learning activity. Support the ability to assign and edit pre- and post-work to a course or class. Enable the uploading of documents available to learners before or after course registration (e.g., instructor, learner and reference materials). Support resource management (e.g., books, instructors, flipcharts, projectors, et al), including availability, utilization, costs and conflict identification for course and class sessions. Enable course equivalencies (new course is equivalent to old course). Support expiring learning activities and maintaining historical data. Support management of virtual classroom (e.g., WebEx, AT&T Connect) courses and classes. Ability to manage room layouts. Catalogues Support unlimited catalogue hierarchy levels. Enable categories to be assigned to the course catalogue structure. Support catalogue availability based on a learners organizational designation (e.g., job family, role, talent pool, group / audience, position, department, domain). Enable an automatic adjustment of catalogue content based on learners organizational changes (e.g., group, talent pool, position, organization). Enable assigning catalogue content based on predefined groups or audiences. Support customized catalogue structures based on learning approach (e.g., competencies, course, topic, skills, organizations). Curriculum , Learning Plans and Certification Management Enable grouping of learning activities (including curriculum) in a curriculum, certification or learning plan. Support adding social networking components to a curriculum or certification . Enable system prior notification of certification renewal date (e.g.. 90-, 60-, 30-days prior).
Source: Bersin & Associates, 2010.
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Figure 151: Sample Features by Application Functional Category (contd) Curriculum , Learning Plans and Certification Management Support sequencing and grouping curriculum / certification activities based on completion requirements (e.g., sections, completion timeline). Ability to support non-sequenced curriculum / certifications. Support setting completion times and requirements for curriculum, certification and learning plans. Ability to set absolute or relative due dates for curriculum. Ability to manage both required and elective training within a curriculum. Ability to manage, track and delegate licenses. Ability to support complex, renewal-based certifications. Ability to match terminology and workflows for different licenses, certifications, designations, CEU, et al. Ability to support nonlinear renewal processes. Ability to support grace periods. Ability to manage training credits by role or organizational unit. Skills and Competency Management Support skills and competency inventories. Enable integration of third-party competency libraries. Support competency banks for shared competencies and behavioral anchors. Enable linking skills and competencies to any learning activity. Enable online competency assessments either through the LMS or integrated with performance management. Support a web-based tool for developing competency assessments with multiple assessment rating scales. Support generating an individualized development plan resulting from a competency assessment (either required or recommended learning activities). Learning Content Enable integration of third-party content libraries, either housed on the LMS or integrated with the providers servers. Support uploading standards-based e-learning content (e.g., SCORM 1.2, SCORM 2004, AICC). Support administrators easily uploading e-learning content developed with common, standards-based authoring tools (e.g., Captivate, Camtasia, Articulate, Lectora, Toolbook). Enable viewing and replacing SCORM / AICC files in previously published e-learning content. Support efficient course creation workflows for uploaded e-learning content (e.g., assign subjects, curriculum, audiences, prerequisites, competencies, completion dates, expiration date). Enable printing of course certificate upon completion. Support adding external training, CEUs, and certifications and informal internal training (i.e., seminars, on-the-job training). Support tracking and / or comments for changing employee enrollment status. Support versioning for distributing and tracking e-learning courses. Enable content development through built-in development tools and templates for creating text, graphic, interactive elements and standards-based output (e.g., SCORM, AICC). Support previewing SCORM / AICC content before and after publishing course. Enable printing of selected content from e-learning course. Support tracking of non-SCORM / AICC content as learning activities (e.g., expert Q&A, podcasts, blogs, documents, wikis). Support user-generated ranking and rating of learning content (e.g., courses, wikis, podcasts, blogs). Ability to version content manage disparate workflow rules by version; choose who gets the new version (or not). Ability to manage metadata related to course content (anything in the catalogue).
Source: Bersin & Associates, 2010.
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Figure 151: Sample Features by Application Functional Category (contd) Surveys and Assessments Enable creating a survey question bank. Enable a test / assessment question bank. Support integration of third-party surveys and assessments. Enable importing of test questions either from a local or shared drive, or from a third-party vendor, directly into a question bank. Enable creation of multiple assessment question formats (e.g. true-false, multiple choice, fill in the blank) within a test engine. Enable unique course evaluations (Levels 1, 2, 3) sent at predefined intervals (e.g., upon completion, 30, 60, 90 days) to multiple users (e.g., learner, manager, instructor). Support generating customized surveys and tests from question banks, and set specification by survey / test (e.g., how many times a test can be taken, timed tests, save and return, duration for retaking the test if failed). Enable question randomization, including distracters, core questions that remain on test. Support making tests or surveys required to complete a course. Support linking tests and surveys to all learning activities (e.g., curriculum, certifications, course, session, blogs, wikis, virtual classroom). Enable linking tests and quizzes to learning activities either as pre-work, post-work or prerequisites, or embedded within a curriculum or certification. Support creating dynamic prescriptive pre-testing that can adapt course content and learning plans based on gap analysis. Enable multiple users to edit and update assessments / surveys and questions based on users role. Support proctored tests. Support sending a post-course evaluation to a sampling of the course participants. Enrollment and Registration Administration Support prescriptive enrollment. Support enrollment by learner, manager or administrator. Support batch enrollment / proxy enrollment processes to enroll multiple users into a single learning activity. Ability to batch update rosters and transcripts. Enable multiuser registration approval process (e.g., manager, instructor, HR). Administrators can override approval workflow requirements. Enable a manager, instructor or administrator to complete a learner from a class, and add test scores and comments. Support chargeback for course costs. Demand forecasting (e.g., ability to allow users to express interest in a session or event, even if none is presently scheduled or those scheduled are full). Ability to apply penalties for no-shows or late withdrawals. Ability to support tiered refund policies. Enable notification and viewing of certification requirements expiring 30, 60, 90 days. Enable ability to view waitlist and enroll on waitlist. Support ability to locate resource support (e.g., coaches, mentors, experts). Ability to track acknowledgment forms. Ability to route forms (e.g., travel paperwork). eCommerce Support eCommerce capabilities for all learning activities and curricula. Enable automated credit-card purchases.
Source: Bersin & Associates, 2010.
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Figure 151: Sample Features by Application Functional Category (contd) eCommerce Support multiple currencies. Enable multiple merchant accounts / domains. Ability to split payments between users or cost centers. Ability to track transactions by user or cost center. The ability to price training or other type of learning object by organizational grouping (different pricing for any different organizations division, location, position, custom group, et al). The ability to enable discounts for certain types of users. Support eCommerce security protocols. Learning Reporting Support multiple user access to learner transcripts, including test results (e.g., manager, HR). Support standard reporting options for common learning data requirements (e.g., completions, curriculum, activity type, status, hours). Enable managers to view learning data for all direct reports and downstream employees. Enable reporting on all learning activities (i.e., ILT, e-learning, external, certifications) and talent data based on organizational hierarchy, talent pools, roles, career paths, et al. Enable calculations of learning data (e.g., percentage, count). Support updating employees talent profile with transcript data. Enable reporting of all test and survey questions and answers. Enable question item analysis of tests and surveys. Enable reporting by curriculum, certification, course and objective. Support reporting on course waitlist demand. Support reporting that links learning activity to employee and organizational performance. Ability to enforce question distribution (from pool) across categories. Ability to weight test sections. Support reporting of curricula completion percentages. Support reporting of certifications, license and CEU credits. Support reporting tuition reimbursement data to the compensation module. Support reporting of learning costs by resource utilization (e.g., instructor costs, room, materials, course). Special Topics Mobile Learning Provide a mobile- / portable-ready content development tool. Development tool or platform supports developing once and publishing to multiple platforms. Provide a mobile learning management platform for assigning, pushing, tracking and reporting of mobile consumed content. Support for various forms of knowledge content and learning activities. Content is download in the background for consumption later. Supported forms of system-to-learner and learner-to-learner communcation. SMS Email Twitter or other microblogging / status update technology. IM Mobile learning transcripts or history.
Source: Bersin & Associates, 2010.
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Figure 151: Sample Features by Application Functional Category (contd) Mobile Learning Access full LMS transcript or history. Search a catalogue of available content or activities. See assigned mobile learning activities See mobile learning plans / bundled groups of content or activities. See any LMS assigned activity or learning plan. Rate or comment on learning content or activities. Register for live events. Submit live-event evaluations. Submit live-event audience response. Access LMS or talent management employee profile over the device. Pre-built templates / skins for mobile content for one or more mobile platforms. A native mobile learning application for one or more platforms. Support for leveraging location-based services for learning or performance support. Support for applying eCommerce functionality to mobile learning. Mobile learning platform can be integrated with another learning management system. Competency Management Competency Maintenance Support a custom competency library and taxonomy. Support third-party competency library integration. Enable modifications to third-party competency libraries in system. Enable custom competency model development (e.g., leadership, career paths, job families). Support behavioral anchors / attributes for each competency and competency model. Share anchors within a competency library. Support competency banks for shared competencies and behavioral anchors. Enable editing of competencies and behavioral anchors when copying and reusing from a competency bank with appropriate approval processes. Support multiple levels of competencies, or building block approach, for a single competency area, such as project management levels 1, 2 and 3. Support multiple proficiency scales. Enable employees and managers to update competencies with multiple user approval capabilities. Support workflows and notifications that enable regular reviews and updates of competencies. Enable surveying content / subject experts while developing competencies to determine how frequently knowledge, skills and abilities are used in a specific role or job. Support a competency hierarchy that includes job families, multiple roles and job-specific competencies. Enable competency models to be assigned to organizational units, job families, jobs, roles and / or positions. Enable competency models to be assigned to specific goals or goal groupings. Enable HR practitioners to identify critical competencies by organizational unit, job families, jobs and / or positions. Enable managers to assign competencies. Competency Assessment Support competency assessments with single and multirater assessments. Support weighted competencies. Support rating both competencies and behavioral anchors / attributes.
Source: Bersin & Associates, 2010.
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Figure 151: Sample Features by Application Functional Category (contd) Competency Assessment Enable overall rating based on competency assessment. Enable auto generation of recommended or required development activities based on competency assessment. Ability to add external assessors. Talent Integration Assign competencies to learning activities (e.g., courses, curricula, workshops, webinars, et al). Support linkage to certification requirements from competency bank. Enable updating of certifications based on competency changes. Support linking competencies to predefined development activities, such as deployed through career paths. Enable assignment of competencies to curricula paths within job functions, positions, roles or families. Enable integration of competencies with both job and talent profiles. Enable competencies to integrate with recruitment workflows and interview forms. Enable competency data to support workforce planning processes and systems. Enable competency assessment data to integrate with performance management workflows (e.g., appraisals, development plans, talent reviews, et al). Enable competency assessment data to integrate with succession planning workflows. Enable competency assessment to link to compensation modules and pay-for-performance workflows. Competency Reporting Enable the measurement of organizational capabilities, skills gaps and managerial bench strength. Support competency assessment data in a graphical dashboard format. Enable managers to view competency levels of their direct reports on a single screen. Enable employees to view their personal competency assessment data and in a single screen, along with recommended or required development activities. Enable graphical comparisons of competencies for target positions. Enable reporting based on all competency structures (e.g., job families, core values, leadership, career path, job functions) across organizational hierarchies, talent pools and other groupings. Enable reporting of competencies across any talent management process that utilizes and integrates competencies. Enable the identification of qualified candidates based on skills and competencies. Enable the ability to monitor organizational health based on competency reporting. Ability to customize and produce a PDF-based report for end-users and managers. Employee Profile Management Employee Education and Experience Enable employees to view their personal career profile information in a single location. Enable employees to add and edit their rsums / employment history. Support the display of employee employment history data with internal and external work experience segregated. Support rsum data feeds from recruitment application or scanned documents. Display the employees current job role with brief description. Enable employees to add external development (e.g., courses, seminars, et al). Enable employees to add certifications and licenses with expiration details. Enable employees to add education history (e.g., institutions, area of study and select degree levels). Enable employees to add professional associations.
Source: Bersin & Associates, 2010.
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Figure 151: Sample Features by Application Functional Category (contd) Employee Education and Experience Enable employees to add relocation preferences. Enable employees to add language skills. Enable employees to self-assess current competencies and skills (expert through novice). Support for an internal rsum-building tool. Support uploading of employee photo. Job Profile Support a comprehensive and standard job profile used across the application(s) that includes a description, the competencies, skills, experience required, the ideal candidate, development plans for the job, common career paths / steps of employees who have been in the job, et al. Enable HR, managers and employees to recommend and edit skills and competencies to a job profile, and manage through a multiuser approval process. Enable managers and employees to view and print an employees comprehensive talent profile (including rsum, performance and potential information). Support approval workflow process with either single or multiple approvals (manager, HR) where needed. Link the job profile to job competency assessments. Enable the system to automatically create talent pools based on defined criteria (i.e., performance, skills / competencies, potential, experience, et al). Enable the assignment of job status (e.g., critical / pivotal, strategic, core). Support the alignment of jobs to strategic goals and initiatives. Incorporate job statistics in the job profile for certain users to view, such as the cost of the job (market and total rewards), the current talent pool for the job, the top performers in the job, the best sources to hire for the job, employees with the job, et al. Support condensed and contextualized views of the talent profile anywhere the employees name appears in the application(s). Enable the assignment of more than one job to an employee, role or talent pool. Support recommended salary percentile for job. Talent Profile Review and Analytics Support view of all employee profile and career management data. Enable display of employees organizational social networking (e.g., communities, blog postings, wikis, expert Q&A, et al). Support a data warehouse for all talent information. Support display of employees current performance goals and objectives. Support display of current salary and total rewards data (e.g., base, incentives, benefits and market data). Support view of current succession data (e.g., potential, readiness, successor, successor manager, at-risk). Support display of performance history and current goals. Enable managers and employees to view and print an employees comprehensive talent profile (including rsum, performance and potential information). Enable display of status of current goal achievement by organization, department, team and employee. Support the identification of organizational, team and employee talent performance and competency gaps. Support the identification of high fit and high-potential candidates to fill talent gaps. Enable the consolidated view of direct-report team talent data (e.g., performance goals, reviews, succession data, development plans, compensation). Enable identification of high-potential and at-risk employees.
Source: Bersin & Associates, 2010.
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Figure 151: Sample Features by Application Functional Category (contd) Talent Profile Review and Analytics Enable secure view of data by role. Enable ad-hoc reporting, analytics and dashboard display of organizational talent data by talent pools, organization, departments, roles, jobs, et al). Enable publishing of analytic views (e.g., dashboards, scorecards, reports) to groups of users and individuals. Enable managers and HR practitioners to view a comparison of an employees talent profile against a specific job / position profile. Support the ability to limit access (read, edit) to sensitive data based on security role following the organizations security model. Enable managers and HR practitioners to view a comparison of employees against a specific job profile. Provide relevant and embedded analytic views within process steps to support decision-making and planning activities. Enable custom report design, creation and publishing. Enable a report view of who is actively managing their career. Adaptability Application - Configurability Application functions are organized into discrete modules that can be independently enabled or disabled. Within a given module, application function behaviors can be configured or adjusted through client specific system settings. Most application functions have the ability to be automated based on configurable business rule. Standard application functional behaviors and / or workflows can be customized for individual clients without affecting the core application or other clients. The platform includes a ready-to-use tool for creating fully customized workflows and / or application behaviors using existing core application functions. Clients can add custom database fields to be used for the same purposes that native fields are used. The platform uses open-source technology in transparent (publically documented) ways. The core application functions can be extended using custom applications or plug-ins. The platform includes a ready-to-use tool for creating custom forms. One or more independent developers of custom web applications and / or plug-ins exists for this platform. Application - Communications and Notifications The client can customize all triggers and messages for system communications and notifications. Ability to create custom templates for system notices by system item or item type. Ability to create custom templates for system notices by user group or domain. Ability to send notices using external email. Support for deep links - the ability to go directly to a specific page or system function (such as an e-learning course) by clicking a URL in an external source, such as an email notification. Ability to send notices of system activity using RSS feeds. Support management of email reminder notifications (e.g., 30, 60, 90 days). Support integration with email platforms (e.g., Exchange, Lotus Notes). Interface Support ADA Section 508-compliance. The primary system interface uses a portal-style architecture in which all application functionality is deployed via movable and configurable objects.
Source: Bersin & Associates, 2010.
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Figure 151: Sample Features by Application Functional Category (contd) Interface All aspects of interface appearance are controlled via one or more customizable CSS files. All aspects of interface appearance can be controlled via customizable templates or skins. Clients can allow end-users to customize aspects of their own interface. The e-learning course player environment is fully customizable (if applicable). The system includes a visual interface editor supporting dynamic changes to interface appearance without need for web programming. The system includes a WYSIWYG content editor supporting changes to page copy without the need for web programming. The application includes native support for common mobile device environments (e.g., iPhone, Blackbetter, PALM, Android, Symbian). The application supports multiple, independent user domains and / or subdomains within the same client deployment, each of which may have separate application and / or interface configurations. Interface appearance can be automatically determined by: o Domain o User / Group o Business Rule Data - Architecture The application has a published and documented client-accessible programming interface through which application functions can be addressed as one or more web services. The applications API is RESTful. Support for HR-XML. Support for WSRP- and JSR-related open portal standards. Support for Microsoft SharePoint-compliance web parts. The application comes with a set of prebuilt standards compliant portal widgets for utilizing application functions in third-party portals. Data - Core Reporting and Analytics Clients have access to up-to-date documentation for the applications database model and schema. The application includes a built-in tool for exporting data from the system. The application includes a set of customizable stock reports. The application includes a systems-based ad-hoc / custom reporting tool. The application includes an embedded VISUAL custom-report building tool or comes with PREINTEGRATED connections to an external tool. The applications reporting functions are based on separate hardware resources from the core application. Enable the display of analytics data in a graphical dashboard format available to multiple users based on access rights. Support report administrators ability to manually push and automate timing of dashboards / reports to users. Enable end-users to refresh report / dashboard data on a daily basis. Enable printing system reports in common output formats (e.g., MS Excel, MS Word, PDF). Delivery Model Full system administration is offered as an outsourced business process either directly or via a prearranged partnership. Full system configuration and site design / development is offered as a service either directly or via prearranged partnership.
Source: Bersin & Associates, 2010.
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Figure 151: Sample Features by Application Functional Category (contd) Delivery Model SaaS Maturity o Multiple clients are tenants on the same hardward architecture. o A single instance of the application program with a centrally managed codebase supports many clients. o The applications architecture is comprised of multiple tiers to allow the set of deployed hardware resources to continuously vary based on load and client need. o Use of virtualization technologies allows the set of deployed hardware resources to continuously vary based on load and client need. An on-premise, installed version of this same application is also available. The SaaS version supports the same features offered via any other delivery model (in other words, it is not a light or stripped-down version). The database structure underlying the application supports rapid transition from one delivery model to another (such as from on-premise to SaaS or vice versa). Social Software and Collaboration Conversations Blogs o Support for group blogs. o Support for end-user personal blogs. o Support for comments and comment controls. o Support for threaded comments. Forums o Support for forums. o Support for flat or nested topic displays. Microblogs / Status Updates o Support for broadcasting personal status updates. o Support for choosing to follow other users updates. o Support for user control over who can follow their status updates. Collaboration Wikis o Support wiki pages. o Support for page histories and rollbacks. o Support for WYSIWYG editing of pages. o Support for automatic generation of breadcrumbs, indices and tables of content. Work Spaces o Support page- and post-level permissions and approval workflows. o Support for personal workspaces. o Support for group / project workspaces. Idea Generation o Support for suggesting ideas. o Support for rating / prioritizing ideas. o Support for tracking / updating activity related to ideas.
Source: Bersin & Associates, 2010.
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Figure 151: Sample Features by Application Functional Category (contd) Collaboration Calendars and Events o Support for a calendar. o Support for meeting / event planning. o Support for meeting / event attendance tracking. o Support for meeting / event notices, confirmations and reminders. o Support for meeting / event capturing of feedback. o Support for meetings / events as focus of community discussion. Connections User Profiles o Support for user personal profile pages. o Support for searchable directory of user profiles. o Support for self-editing of profile data. o Support for a wall page on which other users can leave messages / comments. o Support for automatically growing profile data based on algorithmic analysis of user activity. o Support for customizable profile fields. o Support for tracking user reputation. Groups o Support for groups. o Support for group hierarchies, domains, communities, et al. Networks o Support for social networks (social graphs). o Support for visualization of social graphs. o Support for uploading contact information. o Support for identifying friends / contacts. o Support for requesting / establishing connections to friends / contacts. o Support for intelligent suggestion of potential contacts based on algorithm. o Support for friend of a friend (FOAF) for social networks. o Support for different connection types / strengths. Content Content-Sharing o Support for user uploading / submission of files. o Support for user comments / reviews for other users. o Support for user comments / reviews for content. o Support for user-applied ratings / rankings. o Support for sharing of WWW bookmarks (social bookmarks). o Support for import / export of OPML files. o Support for user-applied keywords (TAGS). o Support for tag clouds. o Support for import of data sets. o Support for polls / surveys.
Source: Bersin & Associates, 2010.
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Figure 151: Sample Features by Application Functional Category (contd) Moderation Tools Support for content / contribution approval workflows. Support for public and private warnings. Support for suspensions and banning. Support for user reporting of abuse. Support for automatic compliance / risk word filtering or replacement. Support for comprehensive system logs / audit trails. Social Analytics Support for user behavior analysis tools. Support for user expertise reporting. Support for community-related reporting. Support for social network analysis tools. Support for embedded data visualizations. Support for allowing end-users access to reporting / visualization tools for discussion / collaboration. Integrated Communication Tools Support for direct integration with a web-conferencing platform (providers or third party). List pre-integrated third parties in comments. Support for integration with external email. Support for email alerts. Support for syndication feeds (RSS / ATOM) for any system activity. Support mobile text messaging (SMS). A mobile application exists for accessing system functionality via one or more major smart phone platforms. List platforms in comments.
Source: Bersin & Associates, 2010.
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Appendix IX
Table of Figures
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Figure 21: Three Types of Competencies Figure 22: Competencies in the LMS Figure 23: Features and Issues in Competency-Based Learning Figure 24: Bersin & Associates Talent Management Framework Figure 25: Talent Management Suite Architecture Figure 26: Performance-Driven Learning Versus Talent-Driven Learning Figure 27: An Example of an Employee Profile 1 Figure 28: An Example of an Employee Profile 2 Figure 29: Fit Analysis Figure 30: Elements of a Formalized Informal Learning Solution Figure 31: Performance Support in an LMS Figure 32: Electronic Performance Support and Knowledge Management Figure 33: Threaded Discussion Group Embedded in a Formal Learning Program Figure 34: Social in Support of Global Learning Community Figure 35: LMS as Social Learning Environment Figure 36: The Four Cs of Social Software Figure 37: Social Software Features and the Four Cs Figure 38: Example Portal Figure 39: Learning Portal Architecture Figure 40: LMS Portlets Figure 41: Use of Mobile Learning 2007 to 2009: U.S. Total Figure 42: Possible m-Learning Platforms Today and Tomorrow
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Figure 43: Types of m-Learning Approaches: Formal and On-Demand Figure 44: Content Ecosystem Figure 45: Bersin & Associates Learning Content Maturity Model Figure 46: LMS, LCMS and e-Learning Suite Figure 47: LCMS Usage by Current LMS Customers Figure 48: LCMS Usage by Company Size Figure 49: Bersin & Associates Adaptive Talent and Learning Platforms Maturity Model Figure 50: The Benefits of SaaS Figure 51: SaaS in Learning Management Figure 52: Configurable Workflows Figure 53: Adaptive Talent and Learning Platforms Summary The Application Figure 54: Drag and Drop Portal Interface Figure 55: Adaptive Talent and Learning Platforms Summary The Interface Figure 56: Adaptive Talent and Learning Platforms Summary The Data Figure 57: Adaptive Talent and Learning Platforms Summary Delivery Model Figure 58: Adaptive Talent and Learning Platforms Summary Operations Figure 59: Tell-Tale Signs of Adaptability Figure 60: Cloud Computing Figure 61: LMS Operations of Study Participants Figure 62: Single, Companywide LMS Model Figure 63: Consistency of Standards in an LMS Figure 64: Companywide Plus Departmental LMSs
93, 94 98 101 103 104 105 109, 136, 302 113 114 117 122 123 126 129 134 135 138 140 143 147 148 149
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Figure 65: Departmental LMS Model Figure 66: LMS Consolidation Figure 67: Shared Services for LMS Administration / Management Figure 68: Learning Technology Spending as a Percent of Total L&D Spending 2006 to 2009 U.S. Total Figure 69: Learning Technology Spending as a Percent of Total L&D Spending 2006 to 2009 by Company Size Figure 70: Learning Technology Spending as a Percent of Total L&D Spending 2009 by Industry Figure 71: LMS Implementation Costs by Size of Buyer Figure 72: LMS Annual Operations Costs by Company Size Figure 73: LMS Operating Cost Considerations Figure 74: Total LMS Staffing by Company Size Figure 75: Allocation of LMS Resources by Role Figure 76: Three Models for Deployment Figure 77: LMS Implementation Types for 2010 Figure 78: LMS Implementation Type by Industry for 2008 Figure 79: Key Requirements for LMS Outsourcing Figure 80: Use of External Providers for LMS Operations 2006 to 2009 Figure 81: Percent of U.S. Companies Outsourcing LMS Operations 2006 to 2009 by Company Size Figure 82: Percent of U.S. Companies Outsourcing LMS Operations 2009 by Industry Figure 83: Percentage of Companies Outsourcing Learner Support Figure 84: Percent of U.S. Companies Outsourcing Learner Support 2006 to 2009 by Company Size Figure 85: Percent of U.S. Companies Outsourcing Learner Support 2009 by Industry
161
161 162 163 164 166 166 167 168 168 169 171 171 172 173 173 174
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Figure 86: Use of External Providers for LMS Administration Figure 87: Percent of U.S. Companies Outsourcing LMS Administration 2006 to 2009 by Company Size Figure 88: Percent of U.S. Companies Outsourcing LMS Administration 2009 by Industry Figure 89: Top Three Challenges with Current LMS 2010 Figure 90: Realized Benefits of the LMS Figure 91: Feature Needs by Degree to Which They Are Met by Provider Overall Figure 92: Feature Needs by Degree to Which They Are Met by Provider Global and Large Segments Figure 93: Feature Needs by Degree to Which They Are Met by Provider Small and Segments Figure 94: Likelihood of Switching LMS Providers in the Next 12 Months Figure 95: Likelihood of Switching by LMS Provider Size Figure 96: A Nine-Step Process for LMS Selection Figure 97: An Example of the Structure of a Use Case Figure 98: Sample Customer Reference Questions Figure 99: LMS Usage Figure 100: Global Top 30 Figure 101: Fastest Growing of the Rest Figure 102: Overall Purchase Drivers Figure 103: LMS Usage by Company Size Figure 104: Breakdown of Customers by Segment for Providers in This Study 2009 to 2010 Figure 105: LMS Market Overall and by Segment 2009 to 2011
174 175
180
185 187 189 196 199 201 203 203 204 207 208 209
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Figure 106: Key Drivers for Global Enterprise Buyers Figure 107: Key Drivers for Enterprise Buyers Figure 108: Key Drivers for Midmarket Buyers Figure 109: Key Drivers for Government Buyers Figure 110: LMS Solution Providers Figure 111: Estimated 2010 Provider LMS Revenues Figure 112: 2010 Provider Shares of Total LMS Revenue Worldwide Figure 113: 2010 Provider Shares of Total LMS Revenue North American Focused Companies Figure 114: 2010 Provider Shares of Global LMS Revenue from Customers with 10,000 or More Employees Figure 115: 2010 Provider Shares of Global LMS Revenue from Customers with 1,000 to 10,000 Employees Figure 116: 2010 Provider Shares of Global LMS Revenue from Customers with Less Than 1,000 Employees Figure 117: Solution Provider Growth in 2010 Figure 118: Number of LMS Customers by Provider Figure 119: LMS Usage by Industry Figure 120: Major LMS Providers in China Figure 121: LMS 2011 Provider Market Map Market Leaders Only Figure 122: LMS 2011 Provider Market Map Other Profiled Providers Figure 123: Weighting for Feature Set Figure 124: Product Innovation Weightings Figure 125: Product Leadership Comprehensiveness of Product Feature Set by Product Innovation
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Figure 126: Platform Strategies for Social Learning Figure 127: m-Learning Provider Markets Figure 128: SharePoint and Social Learning Figure 129: Respondent Size by Number of Employees Figure 130: Global Operations of Respondents Figure 131: Global Footprint of Respondents Figure 132: Respondents by Industry Figure 133: Services Provided Figure 134: Providers and Revenue Sources Figure 135: Services Provided Figure 136: Current Status of Software Versions by Customer Base Figure 137: Capability Chart Legend Figure 138: Talent Management Modules Offered Figure 139: Other Learning Related Modules Available Figure 140: General Functionality Figure 141: Learning Management Figure 142: Special Topics Figure 143: Integration with Talent Management Figure 144: Adaptability Figure 145: Social Software and Collaboration Figure 146: Bersin & Associates Adaptive Talent and Learning Platform Shopping Guide
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Figure 147: Categories of Virtual Classroom Providers Figure 148: Virtual Classroom Providers Figure 149: Market Leaders and Growth Figure 150: Other Learning Systems Providers Not Profiled
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About Us
Bersin & Associates is the only research and advisory consulting firm focused solely on WhatWorks research in enterprise learning and talent management. With more than 25 years of experience in enterprise learning, technology and HR business processes, Bersin & Associates provides actionable, research-based services to help learning and HR managers and executives improve operational effectiveness and business impact. Bersin & Associates research members gain access to a comprehensive library of best practices, case studies, benchmarks and in-depth market analyses designed to help executives and practitioners make fast, effective decisions. Member benefits include: in-depth advisory services, access to proprietary webcasts and industry user groups, strategic workshops, and strategic consulting to improve operational effectiveness and business alignment. More than 3,500 organizations in a wide range of industries benefit from Bersin & Associates research and services. Bersin & Associates can be reached at http://www.bersin.com or at (510) 347-4300.
Bersin & Associates December 2010 Not for Distribution Licensed Material