What is a SaaS LMS and which one is the best?
A learning management system or LMS is a piece of software that is used to plan, implement, and analyze a specific knowledge item related to your business. They are used most commonly for eLearning practices and other educational activities such as employee training.
The 2 sides of LMS
There are two sides to a LMS. The backend, which consists of all the boring stuff that you need developers for and the front end. As a business owner, the backend shouldn’t be your biggest worry - as long as it is secure and operates when it should.
The most important aspect of any LMS for a business is its user interface - the dashboard where your business interacts with the backend. This actually determines how useful the LMS will be in supporting business decisions.
SaaS LMS are generally secure by design and come pre-configured to your specifications. This means the option of hosting these resources offsite and subscribing to a SaaS LMS provider has become the preferred choice for most businesses.
In an educational and business setting, a LMS is typically used by a teacher or manager to create and deliver content, monitor activity rates, student participation and analyze performance.
Related: Check out our comprehensive review of Articulate 360
Are LMS really that useful?
Learning Management Systems are used by multinational conglomerates as well as governments to streamline their employee training and policy education. They save businesses like yours money by reducing the need for a full or part time education professional to teach your staff what they need to know.
Effective SaaS LMS will allow managers to complete registration, content, user access, communication, calendars, certifications, and notifications in one easy to view dashboard.
In this article, we will be going through the advantages of having a SaaS based LMS and the top 3 choices for your business!
Advantages
- Control Over Training
When your LMS is hosted online, your business has ultimate control over the training materials. Whilst this may seem a little counterintuitive, when you realse the effort it takes to integrate different training services and analytics tools, you’ll quickly see what having another platform doing the heavy lifting for you is the way to go.
You can make changes in a few clicks rather than a few days. Furthermore, most of the SaaS LMS providers on the market have dedicated support networks where you can troubleshoot almost instantly.
- Scalability
Having your LMS hosted online and not on-site provides the easiest mechanism by which you can scale your company-wide learning. If your business takes on a large number of new employees, you can simply upgrade your plan without having to install new servers at your place of business. Always remember that the best LMS grow with their business - start off small and then upgrade plans as needed.
Scalability can be on demand with SaaS LMS. Take advantage of this and save your business money in the long run! Only pay for what you need.
- Third-Party Integrations
Having another company do all the heavy lifting in terms of programming and back end operations allows for seamless third-party integrations. Most analytics tools and other providers have their API’s ready to go - its as simple as plug and play with your provider. Offer your employees SSP capabilities, meeting integration for blended learning and other third-party offerings with the click of a button.
Top 3 SaaS LMS Solutions
The size of your business will determine the complexity needed by your SaaS based LMS. In this section, we will be going over three different options. One for small businesses, one for medium sized operations, and one for enterprise sized companies.
- Tiiny.Host
Tiiny.host is built for small to medium sized businesses who want to manage their educational and outbound academic content online. Tiiny.host is without a doubt the most simple offering out of these three, it does what you need when you need it.
Its simplicity is why so many businesses see it as an attractive choice to manage their educational materials.
Don’t confuse simplicity with a lack of utility though. Tiiny Host provides inbuilt analytics so you can see who’s viewed your course, from where, and at what time. Perfect for sharing worksheets and other practical tasks, consider Tiiny Host if your small business is looking for a simple solution to the often complex LMS systems.
- LOOOP LMS
Looop’s LMS is perfect for those medium sized businesses who need automation and more sophisticated capabilities. With Looop your business can automate the process for employee onboarding and on-demand training. Your training manager can set-up rules and conditions and Looop will execute them seamlessly with each employee listed.
Perfect for medium sized businesses that have repetitive training, Looop has a rich content library of pre-built training materials that can be utilized by your business. Save time and money and only create custom resources when they are needed.
- Guru LMS
Guru LMS is a Saas platform that offers an incredibly wide array of different features. You can create, deliver, and monetize your courses in line with current business practices and needs. With Guru you get ultimate customization and enterprise features. If your enterprise level business sells courses or training materials, Guru is for you. With its built in video conferencing capabilities, it’s a true corporate powerhouse.
Wrapping Up
Having a SaaS based LMS is incredibly advantageous for your business, eliminating the need to store resources and servers onsite. Bring your education into the digital age to scale, monetise and control your resources whenever you want.
