What is an LMS?

LMS is the abbreviation for Learning Management System or learning management system, often also referred to as learning platform.
What does the abbreviation LMS stand for?
L: Learning => learning

M: Management => administrative and organizational processes

S: system => software

Why do you need an LMS?
Learning management systems (LMS) were developed to support learning and teaching processes in e-learning and to manage learning materials and user data. The LMS forms the basis for the digital education strategy in companies and organizations. In addition, those responsible for training can organize further training measures for employees entirely via the LMS. They access different learning content (WBTs, videos, texts) via the browser and exchange information in forums or chats.

Who Uses an LMS?
Learning management systems (LMS) are probably the most important infrastructure for organizing teaching and learning processes and for providing learning materials. Together with web-based trainings (or formerly computer-based trainings), LMS are the veterans of the eLearning market and are often still the starting point today when companies or organizations want to get into the subject of eLearning. The typical users of an LMS are organizations that want to promote further training or companies that want to design learning and training processes individually and yet automatically as part of corporate learning. Topics such as compliance and security or product and service training often play a major role here, as they are not trained openly and the target definition is measurable. The configuration and components of the LMS are weighted differently depending on the company and must be adapted to the company's needs. An LMS in the company must also be able to support future developments.

What are the basic functions of an LMS?
Software-based learning management in a company or a public institution does not just mean selecting a learning platform and installing web-based training courses. As an elementary component of the personnel development strategy or an online academy, the LMS must not be an isolated solution that is limited to the delivery of learning content.

The basic functions of an LMS also include:
the user administration,
the allocation of authorizations,
a range of communication functions (discussion forum, chat, pinboard, tutor mail, etc.),
Assessments,
Search functions                 
and

the reporting of learning processes in the form of processed usage and learning status data.
Extended functions of an LMS
Other functions of an LMS include

the support of authoring processes,
Education controlling with comprehensive tools for evaluating learning success,
Skill Management,
Event management with the maintenance of customer and trainer data and all aspects of the event offer and environment,
the administration of the learning media in blended learning events and
the final invoicing of completed educational measures.
With IBT SERVER Software v24 learning management from A to Z
Need-based learning content in the LMS
With a learning management system (LMS) based on IBT SERVER, you provide your employees with needs-based learning content as web-based training (SCORM) as well as support and communication functions and organize face-to-face seminars in your LMS. A role and rights concept that is flexibly tailored to the company or organization enables various access rights to be assigned. (Learner, tutor, administrator, author, etc.).

Administration of the educational offer in the LMS
You present your entire educational offer to your employees, from classroom seminars to online tutorials and web-based training: inside an online catalog with a booking catalog. The IBT SERVER software provides you with many options for the administration of the educational offer:

Education controlling with IBT Training Administration System
Manage your courses, rooms and resources (trainers, tutors, rooms, etc.) with the IBT Training Administration System and map individual approval and notification processes. With a right click you can optimize your entire event and resource planning thanks to a clever AI algorithm and save valuable time for more important personnel processes.

Standardized and individually configurable evaluations of our reporting components in the IBT TAS answer all questions about your education controlling. From the simple learning status to the complex evaluation of the use of your educational offer, all statistics with numerous display variants and export options are available at the push of a button.

Competence management with IBT TMS
The web-based competence management IBT TMS supports your professional employee development and career planning : Use company-specific competence profiles as part of a well-founded analysis of the current situation and as a solid basis for needs-based training planning.

E-learning content can be easily created with the IBT LCM authoring tool
Create, design and develop simple web-based learning content for your employees with IBT LCM : inside at the push of a button! The script based on Microsoft Word is converted into online learning content with one click. Uniform templates relieve your authors of routine tasks.

Conclusion: An LMS significantly supports your company or organization in managing knowledge management economically and efficiently and thereby keeping your company competitive! Register here for a non-binding online demo and take a look at IBT SERVER Software v24!
Learning platform = LMS?
The word learning platform used synonymously is explained as follows:

“The term learning platform or learning management system (LMS) is understood to mean a software system that integrates several task-specific sub-programs under a central interface with which various learning scenarios are supported. Based on the original e-learning approach, the consensus has developed that so-called blended learning best supports the learning activities of most users, which is why most LMS are currently following this approach. What all these learning environments have in common is that they contain tools for creating, communicating and managing learning content, as well as for coordinating web-based learning opportunities and for assessing learners. "

If one proceeds from these definitions, the following initial findings emerge. On the one hand, Wikipedia uses the two terms learning platform and learning management system (LMS) as synonyms. In addition, LMS is software that essentially functions as an interface between teachers and learners and supports the organization of learning processes. Typical functions are tools for creating content, communicating and managing learning content, coordinating learning opportunities and assessing learners.

LMS = a matter of opinion?
These examples show how difficult it is to find or set up a general definition for LMS. Even when listing the functions, there seem to be clear differences. Is invoicing really one of the main characteristics of an LMS? What about event management? It is true that many LMS now also enable the management of face-to-face events, especially in the context of blended learning, but this function is by no means present in all systems that are available on the market as LMS. The same applies to communication methods such as chats or forums. Here too, many LMS have meanwhile integrated forums, chats, blogs, wikis and the like under the buzzword "social learning".

The definition of Wikipedia raises further questions: is the term learning platform really a synonym for the learning management system? The term learning platform is possibly the most blurred and most arbitrarily used term. It is true that learning platform and LMS are often used as interchangeable terms in everyday language, but a learning platform can also only represent a portal with learning content on the Internet, the functions of which can by no means be compared with an LMS.