The Costs Associated with Buying an LMS (June 2017)
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When you purchase a learning management system (LMS), where is your money going? With subscription fees, hosting, set-up and configuration, the costs can be hard to track. Join Lambda Solutions' Product Manager, James Nicolson to unpack this topic. From set-up to data migration to training, discover where exactly your money is going when you purchase an LMS, as well as some tips and tricks for ensuring you successfully launch your LMS, and avoid any hidden costs. You will learn: -The main costs associated with an open source LMS -Important questions to consider when organizing deployment activities -Workarounds to avoid hidden LMS costs http://www.lambdasolutions.net/resources/webinars/costs-associated-open-source-lms-2/
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The Costs Associated with Buying an LMS (June 2017)
- 1. A C C E L E R AT E L E A R N I N G P E R F O R M A N C E James Nicolson Product Manager The Costs Associated With Buying an LMS
- 2. Housekeeping • Sound and Audio • Poll Questions • Q&A at the End • Presentation Recording and Slides • Post-Webinar Survey
- 3. Todays Speaker James Nicolson Product Manager
- 4. Agenda • Training • Support • Migration • Upgrades • Application • Hosting • Content • Reporting and Analytics • Theming
- 5. Our Objectives Help you understand the financial implications of purchasing an LMS, and how to make sure you pay for the right things: • Where your money goes • Features • Presentation Recording and Slides • Post-Webinar Survey
- 6. # Poll Question #1 What is your Learning Management System (LMS) status? Never owned, first time buyer Have an LMS but exploring other options Have an LMS and happy with the solution
- 7. #
- 8. Your LMS requirements What lies beneath the surface…
- 9. Application What LMS do you need? This is usually the main cost (and the main concern) of the LMS project as a whole. • Functionality • Flexibility • Usability
- 10. # Poll Question #2 If you are looking for an LMS, what is your biggest challenge? Too many options, I don’t know where to start My organization does not find value in training Budget constraints Defining the project requirements
- 11. #
- 13. Hosting Self or Outsourced Hosting Self Hosted • Full control • Need IT team and resources Outsourced Hosting • Hosted on optimized environment • All site maintenance is handled by hosting partner • Not same level of control
- 14. Content How to training and engage your learners • Built in content creation tools • 3rd party content creation tools and integrations. • 3rd party content libraries • Custom developed content
- 15. Reporting & Analytics Learning analytics are key to tracking, improving, and maintaining an LMS. • Access to all LMS data • Ad-hoc report building and Out-of-the-box analyses • Scheduling and distribution • Analyze ROI
- 16. Theme and Branding Maintain your brand across platforms • Assess available design options • Is custom development required? • Impact on user experience
- 17. # Poll Question #3 How important is it to have an LMS platform that can styled to your organization’s branding? Very important, the site must follow our corporate brand Somewhat, some branding options would be desirable Doesn’t matter
- 18. #
- 20. Training Ensure familiarity and skills comprehension • Application familiarity is key to ongoing success • Delivered through freely available course/academy training resources • Tailored to your organizational needs or more general workflows
- 21. Support How can we help? Support is an integral part of the overall LMS solution, as well as your continuing experience with the application. Support varies based on product, as well as the specific licensing/hosting package. • Levels of support • Contact channels • Hours of support
- 22. Upgrades System performance and user experience often necessitates upgrades to the latest versions. • Major and minor releases • Included upgrades • Version changes and release tracking
- 23. Migration • System Compatibility • Appropriate Content Formats
- 24. # Poll Question #4 Are you already using Software as a Service (Saas) or cloud hosting systems in your IT infrastructure? Yes, cloud is the future No, I like to look after my own applications internally Not sure what a “SaaS” is
- 25. #
- 26. Questions to Consider Some take-away questions to help you assess the right LMS • What business or learning problem are you looking to solve? • Identify the core features you need • How do you intend to get content into the system? • Is branding important?
- 27. Questions to Consider (ctd.) Some take-away questions to help you assess the right LMS • What information do you need to extract? • What is the system being integrated with? • What performance requirements do you have? i.e. uptime guarantee • How quickly do you need to be up and running?
- 28. Lambda Solutions # Totara & Moodle are 80% more cost effective Managed cloud hosting reduces your IT operating costs by more than 40% Over 12 years of experience and 600 customer implementations
- 29. Healthcare & Education Clients
- 30. Corporate & Technology Clients
- 31. #
- 32. Follow Up • Recording & slides to follow • Resources • Post-webinar satisfaction survey
- 33. Your TOLL FREE +1.877.700.1118 EMAIL SALES@LAMBDASOLUTIONS.NET WWW.LAMBDASOLUTIONS.NET Contact Us
Editor's Notes
- Today will are looking at the Costs Associated With Buying an LMS; in which, we will be covering the items listed in the agenda that can impact the costs with buying an LMS.
- Our objectives today is to help you understand the financial implications of buying a learning management system, and ensure that you are paying for the right things. W
- Like most projects, from a high level view, the needs and requirements appear simple; however, when explored in more depth a layer of complexity is uncovered.
- This is usually the core focus of the LMS hunt. There are over 300 LMS’s in the market and with that a wide verity of features available. There are a variety of different LMS platforms with unique focus. Some are more tailored to compliance, with others on integrations and media or servicing a particular industry sector. Identifying and prioritizing the requirements of the LMS project is important as often the features of any application can greatly impact the price, knowing what is important can really help with understanding what you are spending your money on. Keep in mind the features you are looking for today and if that functionality will meet your needs in the future. This can help in identifying what LMS is right for you and in some situations what version of the LMS with vendors offering different tiers of the product unlocking different components at different price points. Consider if you have the flexibility to have created the features missing in an LMS that you want or if in the future you are open to add new features to the LMS Once you have decided on the application, its time to purchase and depending on the product the licensing or ownership of the application can be performed in a variety of ways.
- We have a few other webinars that may be of interest to you that focus on things such as the RFP process and Return on Investment.
- Depending on the application and its licensing model certain hosting options are available. Definitely the traditional approach to this ties in the perpetual licensing model. Software is purchased, an activation key for the level of license that is required is provided and it is then up to the customer to install this within their internal IT infrastructure. Open Source allows for this approach as well with a self hosted solution. Most companies still operate some sort of internal IT system but the emergence of Salesforce, Google Apps, Amazon Web Services and all the other web applications has started to push this type of hosting more to the way side. Internal hosted system obviously provide the largest amount of control for the organization. This is a huge plus for many organizations, especially when talking about security as you can completely control how your systems operate. The downside of this is that you need to maintain and operate your own systems including hardware, data center (storage, usage, and setup), and personnel costs, this can be difficult to justify for organization that need to be able to focus IT efforts on other projects or don’t have the budget to take on such a large project. Remember system administrators and LMS administrators are required to operate a system and may not be the same person. Replacing hardware can be expensive, also redundancies and backups are entirely up to your team. Monthly costs may not be directly present although staff, hardware, and data center’s all have their own costs. The other option which definitely has the most significant market growth is outsourced hosting. This has a few variations, you could simply operate your system on an outsourced hosting architecture via a hosting platform partner. This allows you to maintain the application itself, as well as other systems. This releases you from hardware constraints but IT personnel constraints are still there. The alternative, is a SAAS solutions that is really geared up around subscription to the software which only exists as a cloud application. SAAS providers operate a system that is custom built for the application making sure it runs as effectively as possible. The SAAS providers are responsibility to maintain these systems and ensure their uptime. They also typically have expertise specific to this platform meaning they have application specific support. The downside to a SAAS approach is often the level of control of the underlying systems. Totara and Moodle being a standalone application is not in itself a SAAS application. Lambda has taken this software and wrapped a layer of SAAS features such as optimized hosting environment, redundancy, backups, application support, training, and upgrades to SAASify the Moodle and Totara LMS. This provides our clients full control within the application but we take care of the burden of managing the underlying architecture so you can focus on the LMS system itself., reducing personnel and physical hardware costs.
- Content plays huge role Built in authoring tools could make up part of your LMS sourcing process. Video and Audio Playback Document upload Quizzes, Glossaries, Wikis and Feedback modules Adobe Captivate & Articulate Storyline H5P SCORM and TinCan (xAPI) Lynda.com OpenSesame & Udemy Custom Content Having an LMS platform allows you to deliver training to you prospective audience but without any specific content the LMS itself doesn’t offer much immediate benefit. Content or courses are main components within the LMS that your users will be interacting with. Content comes in a variety of different forms with a number of different features that can be used. LMS applications often have built in or plugin based content creation tools. Content could be uploaded documentation via a PDF or word file. It could also be created within the LMS itself using a similar text editor function. This is typically your most basic type of content but the sky is really the limit with how you want to organize your information. Many systems include quiz functionality which allows you to administer knowledge tests for your users. Other features include the ability run surveys or questionnaire for user feedback. Glossaries and Wikis can be used to organise content into easy to navigate files. And you can of course add videos and other media to mix up the content type. Outside of these more basic learning components there are typically a wide spectrum of content creation tools that can be used to start enhancing your content and make it much more interactive and engaging. Creating interactive and engaging content is typically handled by specialised content creation tools such as Adobe Captivate and Articulate Storyline, which usually have their own subscription costs. These applications can create very sophisticated content that includes interactive videos, activities and quiz elements, which provide a much more hands on style of learning. Open source content creation tools, such as H5P, are also available and allow you to create interactive content through freely available tools. These platforms typically output the content files into formats such as SCORM and TinCan (xAPI) which can be used within the LMS itself. Instead of creating the content yourself there are also a number of different content providers that already offer existing courses which can be purchased off the shelf. These courses cover a variety of different topics and subjects and can be a very effective way of getting well developed content quickly into your LMS. Some of these partners include Lynda.com, Opensesame and Udemy, who all offer a large library of courses. Access to these content libraries is typically performed through subscription and user seats within a particular course. And the final alternative is to have a custom course built. There are many course developers that are typically specialised in a specific industry sector or subject area. Content plays one of the most important roles within the LMS and can potentially require investment to get the specific courses you are looking for. Many LMS’s contain a variety of tools that can help you create content but more sophisticate solutions are also available if you are looking for really polished content that will wow your learners and keep them coming back for more,
- LMS’ generate lots of information from different user roles and interactions Shows activity completions, course status Wider site metrics like time spent learning, compliance certifcations, and learner development Use this information to show LMS effectiveness and identify return on investment All LMS applications have some degree of reporting but is this enough to meet your company requirements? Proprietary systems may only give you access to certain reporting functions at specific applications tiers. If the built in reporting functions aren’t sufficient for your requirement, are there vendors who can provide their own reporting solution with enhanced capabilities. LMS applications are designed to generate a lot of information from a learner, manager and administrator perspective so having an effective way of get access to this information is imperative. This information is important for showing activity completions and course status but can be used to demonstrate wider site metrics like usage, time spent, program certification, and general trouble areas such as problematic quiz questions. With access to all the data and being able filter and view it in different ways it helps to monitor and maintain an effective eLearning program. All LMS applications have some degree of reporting but is this enough to meet your company requirements? Proprietary systems may only give you access to certain reporting functions at specific applications tiers. If the built in reporting functions aren’t sufficient for your requirement, are there vendors who can provide their own reporting solution with enhanced capabilities.
- Is it possible to capture and infuse your brands logo’s, graphics, and color scheme. Are customizable options available? Is there a theme library available? Sometimes custom development may be required to get the styling you are looking for. Can this development be performed directly through the partner? What options are available out of the box? Getting as much functionality out of the box as possible can saves major costs. In addition to theme and brand, what other integrations would you need? Are customization possible? Consider who can perform these integrations and customizations, how the integration will be implemented such as in the form of a plugins or app to extend the functionality. With open source applications there is freedom to extend the functionality of your application, but at what financial and functional costs?
- Training can be essential for an organization to gain understanding of the core features of a LMS and to see what advance capabilities the system offers. Organizations should first look into if training is available for the LMS and if so, is it included or does it cost extra? How is training delivered? Online wiki or live training? Does your organization require in-person training or is web conference acceptable? This is going to fully depend on the vendor and how they operate their services. The vendor’s services will also shape what the training consist of? Is it some sort of training knowledge resource available online such as a wiki, community forum, instructional videos, or is it an instructor lead sessions. Perhaps, training will be a combination of different types of materials and delivery formats. Does your organization require in-person training or is web conference acceptable? The answer to these questions can help with understanding the costs of running an LMS in addition to showing what value your organization places on services such as training, what it consists of, and how it is delivered.
- And in the same vein as Training, Ongoing application support is important throughout your time with the LMS. There are obviously a variety of support levels and depending on the LMS provider they may provide a selection of these. Most vendors offering support offer these services on a per hour cost or bundled into the application/hosting costs. With the emergence of Software as a Service (SaaS), applications are being hosted, maintained and supported directly by the vendor on a more common basis. This means that some application support time is bundled into the subscription, but you may only have access during specific times or through certain channels such as email only and not phone from the hours of 9 to 5 Monday to Friday. Is their an Enterprise or Gold plan with a different support SLA and service? Would this benefit your organization…
- Having access to the latest and greatest version of the application has many benefits and is certainly recommended but these are not always directly included and may come at an additional cost. Do you have to implement the new version when it is supplied? Does it cost to upgrade to the new version? Many Organizations place great value on included upgrades to the latest version removing the complex involved with updates to the hosting platform, leap frogging from one newer version of the application to the next, and trouble shooting issues. Upgrades are critical for keeping software secure and safe to use as well as having the newest features so getting expert advice or having this included in the subscription is key to success.
- Migration is a common topic associated with moving to a new LMS. Organizations often want to move their users and course content over. Moving systems can be quite a lengthy process in general so having your content being compatible with the new system can make the whole deployment process a lot quicker and painless. Content can certainly be easily moved between systems, especially if it is using standards such as SCORM, TinCan, or other common content formats. On a slightly different note, but also related consider costs around if new content is needing to be developed. That being said there are a number of tools and providers that can take courses and content created from different LMS platforms and convert them to the new systems format. In other situations working with a partner that can help you create a strategy around how best to migrate and switch over to the new LMS can help reduce your time to get up and running.
- How does the system fit in with your organization, what is its purpose of the application and how is it helping you meet your requirements. For example, do you need webinars? Is reporting really important now or in the future? Do you have the content already in another system? Would you work with a content creation partner?
- What does this system need to tie in with to be successful. What does that integration look like on a high level? Similarly, what infomation should come out? Where is this information going? Into another system or to a person in the form of reports? What are your timelines? Is procuring new hardware for a one month deadline going to be feasible?
- Why is Lambda talking today about learning management system costs? We specialize in cloud-based hosting of the learning management systems Moodle and Totara. With these two LMS, clients benefit from powerful, flexible and open source solutions that are feature rich with mobile and social applications. Totara and Moodle are 80% more cost effective and match leading competitors feature for feature. Our agile service team implements scalable deployments to reduce your IT operational costs by more than 40%. Lambda’s cloud hosting is unparalleled for security and reliability with our 99.99% uptime commitment Your set-up time to use your LMS is days, not weeks, with 12 years of experience and over 600 customer implementations. Our Moodle experts provide support, training, integration and custom development.
- Well-known organizations like Google, Safeway and Four Seasons use open source learning management. Here are just a few of the companies that use our technology. One company that we’d like to highlight is Kodak Alaris. Rutgers University. Rutgers uses a Lambda hosted instance of Moodle to deliver learning for their Biomedical and Health Services programs. Three things that Rutgers were looking for in an LMS were flexibility, cost savings, and speed and reliability. Using Moodle Rutgers was able to benefit from full control of their Moodle site, with ability to build in features and functionalities that were unique to their student needs. Rutgers also experienced both time and cost savings, compared to what they invested in their previous hosting provider
- Well-known organizations like Google, Safeway and Four Seasons use open source learning management. Here are just a few of the companies that use our technology. One company that we’d like to highlight is Rutgers University. Rutgers uses a Lambda hosted instance of Moodle to deliver learning for their Biomedical and Health Services programs. Three things that Rutgers were looking for in an LMS were flexibility, cost savings, and speed and reliability. Using Moodle Rutgers was able to benefit from full control of their Moodle site, with ability to build in features and functionalities that were unique to their student needs. Rutgers also experienced both time and cost savings, compared to what they invested in their previous hosting provider
- What is the typical setup time of an LMS? What is the most common type of content used within your LMS? How customisable is a Moodle or Totara LMS?