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The current speed of change means that employees need to be trained continuously in order for Companies to avoid the dangers of being out-thought and out-maneuvered by competitors. These training initiatives (incorporating individual and group training activities) need to be monitored and managed via a consistent and reliable tracking system that can be stored, consulted and analyzed as required. The system’s data will be useful for management reports on productivity and for assessing individuals’ career advancement. This system of Training management -- often referred to as a learning management system (LMS) -- is a key element of an effective professional development plan as well as being a key element of an Organization’s human resources strategy.
The current speed of change means that employees need to be trained continuously in order for Companies to avoid the dangers of being out-thought and out-maneuvered by competitors. These training initiatives (incorporating individual and group training activities) need to be monitored and managed via a consistent and reliable tracking system that can be stored, consulted and analyzed as required. The system’s data will be useful for management reports on productivity and for assessing individuals’ career advancement. This system of Training management -- often referred to as a learning management system (LMS) -- is a key element of an effective professional development plan as well as being a key element of an Organization’s human resources strategy.
There seems to be universal agreement that the worldwide E-Learning market will show fast and significant growth over the next three years. The worldwide market for Self-Paced E-Learning reached $35.6 billion in 2011. The five-year compound annual growth rate is estimated at around 7.6% so revenues should reach some $51.5 billion by 2016. While the aggregate growth rate is 7.6%, several world regions appear to have significantly higher growth rates. According to recent regional studies, the highest growth rate is in Asia at 17.3%, followed by Eastern Europe, Africa, and Latin America at 16.9%, 15.2%, and 14.6%, respectively. Each of the world’s regions has its idiosyncrasies In terms of the factors that drive this market. The U.S. and Western Europe markets are the most mature. The U.S.A. spent more on Self-Paced E-Learning than anywhere else in the world. Western Europe is the world’s second largest buying region for E-Learning products and services but Asia is predicted to outspend Western Europe in E-Learning terms by 2016. In 2012, Bersin & Associates stated that there were some 500 providers in the LMS market and only five of them have more than a 4% market share. According to this, the LMS market was expected to reach $1.9 billion in 2013. However the growth exceeded expectations, closing the year at $2.55 billion.
The Cloud is changing the way Organizations, Employees and Partners interact and collaborate. Within the Cloud solutions universe, Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) is playing a major role. According to Gartner, SaaS will continue to experience healthy growth through 2014 and 2015, when worldwide revenue is projected to reach around $22 billion. Gartner has stated that many Enterprises are now replacing their legacy systems with SaaS-based CRM systems. Enterprise clients also report that SaaS-based CRM systems are delivering new applications that deliver complementary functions which are not possible with older, legacy CRM platforms. Various surveys and analyses into the reasons behind this big growth in SaaS agree on at least three. SaaS brings:
- Speed of implementation
- Savings on capital expenditures
- Savings in terms of operational expenses
While the corporate-training market has lagged behind other education-based sectors, it continues to represent a viable investment opportunity. The corporate-training market is among the most cyclical within the education industry. Since 2010, employers’ total spending on training and the amount spent per employee -- the key data used to measure this sector -- have been declining. However, the corporate market related to outsourced services (net of all ancillary costs) has grown to reach 42% of total expenditure. Within the training industry, the E-Learning sector has grown consistently in recent years. All its subsectors (Packaged Content, Platform, and Authoring tools) show positive annual growth. Market acceptance of E-Learning has resulted in its increased use for both large and small companies. SaaS/ Cloud E-Learning solutions are particularly suitable for Organizations ranging from SMEs to large institutions. General budget constraints appear to be the main drivers of the shift towards using E-Learning.
However, E-Learning is not merely a solution which is attractive during an economic downturn but it is also an efficient and cost-effective solution when workers -- especially those in Organizations with a widely geographically distributed workforce -- need to be brought up-to-speed quickly on relevant knowledge and skills. K-12 and post-secondary are two key sectors of the educational market. One of the key characteristics of the education sector is its large base of potential users. Importantly, each of these users may start in the K-12 or post-secondary markets but they have the potential to also become future users of vocational training programs. Their involvement in E-Learning projects at the K-12 and postsecondary stages will build a large base of users already accustomed to using such technologies in order to learn. With the inflow of an estimated $6 billion of venture capital over the past five years, E-Learning is being driven not only by startup dot-com entrepreneurs but also by big corporations, for-profit spin-off ventures, as well as big and small universities.