The Future of the LMS

No other tool of the learning and development (L&D) trade has had as conflicted a relationship as the learning management system (LMS). These systems are an essential part of most corporate learning strategies as they manage employee, customer, partner and reseller training. Yet dissatisfaction remains consistently high.

• These systems are often bloated and overly complicated and frequently fail to deliver the basics.
• These systems can seem disconnected from work. They become a convenient stand-in for a general dissatisfaction with the current state of corporate learning, including a lack of business alignment and a failure to deliver at business speed.
• These systems have historically proven to be unfriendly to users.

We’ve watched the learning industry engage in a healthy debate on the long-term value of the LMS. In May 2010, we captured a snapshot of that dialogue on our blog. Some of the industry’s most respected thought leaders — and at least one CLO — argued that the LMS has outlived its usefulness. At best, they say its value is as a means of tracking required training, and its role should be marginalized given the relatively small fraction of the overall organizational learning needs that such training represents. At worst, they say the LMS is the anchor preventing the evolution of L&D into something more learner-centric and environmental in effect.

So is the LMS dead? The short answer is no, at least not yet. Based on the findings in our latest LMS industry study, “Learning Systems 2011,” these systems are alive: The market is growing — eclipsing $1 billion in 2010 — and expected to grow up to 11 percent globally in 2011. Whether or not we can pronounce the LMS healthy remains to be seen. We do know that what constitutes an LMS is changing significantly enough to warrant an honest discussion as to whether or not we need a new name going forward. Future value may not be derived in the same ways as in the past.

The market itself is splintering into separate but overlapping fragments:
1. Integrated talent management suites.
2. Social learning platforms.
3. Specialists, such as for industry verticals or specific audiences.