Ditto collaboration platform!

The same reasoning also applies to collaboration platforms, virtual classrooms, etc. Of course, a digital educational landscape can also use platforms for collaboration such as B. Offer webinar software or social media elements. These can be linked to the learning management system via interfaces or be permanently integrated.A virtual classroom, webinar or conference software can also be used independently of the LMS as a stand-alone solution if, for example, general communication takes place in the company. However, this can represent a media break if value is placed on economic efficiency using IT-supported learning processes.

Interfaces for future-proof flexibility!
It should also be noted that the webinar software available such as B. Adobe Connect or BigBlueBell differ significantly in terms of costs, functions and performance spectrum and are therefore not equally suitable for every company. The interaction is only problematic if certain formats are faulty or not further developed at all (vendor lock-in).

The IT department then has to communicate with the manufacturers and find out whether, for example, the conference software needs to be completely replaced or whether a reconfiguration, a software update or a workaround can help.

It is generally easier to replace or replace individual parts than a complete system. Interfaces for exchanging different data formats are the flexible, future-proof solution.

Learning content, methodology and didactics of content are therefore not LMS topics. Learning needs are highly individual. Different media and formats make sense depending on the target group, area of ​​application and learning objective. This is the domain of educators, trainers and didacticians.

The LMS user's perspective
The calculation basis for software licenses is also an occasion for discussion. Often the costs are based on the number of users in the database. But who are these users, who are also called users or users?

In fact, the word user is often used to refer to the learners. However, the added-value range of functions of an LMS is primarily used by the training administrators, e.g. B. the academy or personnel development, which is why they are also considered core users. However, for reasons of effectiveness, bundles of functions are often delegated to managers or trainers. These 'secondary users' typically have certain sections of the LMS available in their secure training portals, with which they can confirm qualifications, initiate approval or booking processes or track the learning status of your team.

What is relevant for the learner?
The learner only comes into contact with the learning management system at portal level when he calls up learning content or his or her history, books courses or fills out feedback forms. Here the graphical user interface is of great importance in terms of ease of use (usability).

However, this layout is not the task of the learning management system, but depends on the corporate design, the content management system, the didactic learning media used and their display options.

The learner does not even have to notice that he is moving on different surfaces. SingleSignOn offers the learner the opportunity to move seamlessly in the intranet, his personal employee portal and on the learning platform without necessarily noticing the system differences. Consistently uniformly designed interfaces often do not even raise the question of which platform you are on, whether you are accessing internal or external applications. For the learner, it is irrelevant whether the WBT is 'physically' on their own server or whether they are located in an external data center.

Web-based LMS?
From the user's point of view, 'web-based' means that the LMS is called up via a browser such as Mozilla, Internet Explorer or similar. The program is not installed on your own computer, but either on the server of your own company or in a leased data center of an external (third) provider.

The decision as to whether the LMS is maintained in your own computer landscape or whether an external data center hosts the system is a question of IT guidelines, security or company policy, but has no influence on the individual learning process. The same applies to the question of whether the software licenses are bought or leased (SaaS).

LMS security
Typically, companies naturally want to know their learning content in protected areas, i.e. on the intranet or password-protected portals. Product knowledge and internal process instructions represent information relevant to competition and must therefore be comprehensibly protected.

Theoretically, WBTs can also be accessed completely unprotected on any website via a link without using a separate elearning platform. If the security of evidence is relevant for compliance and security issues, for example, an LMS with appropriate functions is essential. An e (!) Learning platform - in contrast to the often used term learning platform - enables this with SCORM or AICC-compatible content.

LMS in the company
Different forms of organization such as universities, research and development and companies have defined different objectives for their learning processes. This results in different requirements for the software support required in each case, be it administrative, media or content. The number of learners, the complexity of the content, the binding nature of a certain acquisition of knowledge or options also play a major role.

However, there are certain functions that seem to belong to the basic functions of an LMS across the board and in general, such as learner / user management, administration of course data, assignment of electronic learning units and rights for definable target groups as well as evaluations. These seem to be functions that, regardless of a specific definition or product, must be part of the software in order for it to be classified as an LMS. But is there a generally applicable definition for LMS at all? And what could such a definition look like?

Requirements for LMS
A modern learning management system must be flexible enough to support the processes to be mapped in a meaningful way and to document developments. This applies in particular to the individual assignment of rights and the resulting use of function packages for different target groups such as trainers and managers.

Due to their economic orientation and industry-relevant legal requirements (e.g. compliance), more formal learning processes often prevail in companies than at universities or in the research area. Certain functions have emerged that are particularly relevant for learning management systems in business:

Seminar management
Qualification management (related or also used complementarily: competence management, talent and certification management, educational campaigns)
Individual portal access for different interest groups (employees, specialist dealers, trainers, executives, training administrators ...)
Quality assurance and reporting: feedback, training statistics, evaluations, gap analyzes ...)
if necessary: ​​collaboration platforms and other media (webinar software, social media ...)
if necessary: ​​elearning platform
These integrative components can be individually weighted differently in terms of their importance for companies. Their configuration and use must match the company's needs and it must also be possible to adapt them to future developments.

Conclusion: focus on management
Our (corporate) environment is becoming more complex. Increasing demands on the service area, digitization and a shortage of skilled workers are just some of the factors that make professional learning more and more important in companies. In the context of digitization, the importance of software goes even further. In digital companies, however, the entire business model is built around information technology. IT is becoming an indispensable and integral core part of business (Werth, 2016, p. 191). Transferring this approach to every industry and every part of a company would lead too far. However, many aspects can be transferred to corporate learning and performance processes or offer optimization approaches.

The diversity of the individual elements, their characteristics and interdependencies with their interactions are so complex that software support is essential in order to be able to accompany developments and learning processes in a targeted manner.

Definition of LMS
In a company, an LMS is the leading software with which professional learning processes are systematically managed, structured, organized and (partially) automated.

It is therefore more important that the LMS can cover the resulting different requirements for the administration of qualification programs and educational campaigns. In the simplest case, individual components such as B. Providing face-to-face events with metadata such as requirements, time, place and names (participants, trainers) and supporting the smooth organization, documenting the qualifications achieved and relating them to an educational profile.

The added value of an LMS becomes particularly clear when it is a matter of assigning individual learning paths to many thousands of participants in a timely manner within educational campaigns and ensuring implementation. In the case of qualification programs within complex organizational structures, the LMS must be able to abstract and evaluate the different levels.