What are learning management systems?

The pandemic has caught some of the teaching, learning, training and education
fraternity off-guard. Smart institutions have implemented their eLearning systems
through some of the modern day Learning Management Systems (LMS) such MOODLE,
TalentLMS, SAP Litmos etc. and have already started reaping the benefits. LMS's
come with various features and the commercials vary from product to product. Even
Open Source systems would incur some of the other costs and hence it is important
to understand in more details. This article highlights some of the key commercial
aspects that should help one to budget their LMS implementation and plan their
Return on Investment (RoI) vis-a-vis Total Cost of Ownership (TCO).
1. Setup Implementation Cost
2. Customization/ Theme
3. Per User License Charges
4. Appreciation
5. Hosting/ Cloud Charges
6. Support Charges
7. Change Requests/ Enhancements
8. Upgrades
9. Mobile App (Hybrid/ Native)
10. SMS Integration
11. Bulk Email Integration
12. Whatsapp Integration/ Social Media Integration
13. Integration with any other systems e.g. Payment Gateway, CRM etc.
14. Content Development Cost

Cost components can be a permutation/ combination from the above list. Please note
that the above list covers major cost components and we wont rule out any other
charges that can be incurred. The idea is not to deter the LMS adopters with a
barrage of charges, but to educate them with the possibility of various heads that
they can pre-empt before taking the leap. It helps them in averting any surprises
before signing the dotted line. Many businesses have managed to make a smooth
transition to the online systems and have been able to get their stakeholders
onboard with swiftness.

At MEETCS, we do face questions on the various components from our customers and at
times it does impede our conversion rates. However we make it a point to spend
sometime upfront with our potential customers, understand their aspirations and
target users and the best combination that would help them go on-line quickly and
ensure that their investments start bearing fruits with minimum time loss. With
nearly a decade long experience of implementing large scale systems, our teams have
experience on handling versatile implementations such as Educational ERP, HRMS,
global roll-outs of Enterprise Learning Management System and even handling exams
with proctoring solution.
Incase you know of any institution that could benefit from this article, do tag
them in the comments and our customer experience team shall reach out to them.
Happy Learning!!