You may have seen in the news or heard on your favorite social media channel who has received and or raised funding.   For some people this is by far impressive on who got what, especially if it over 100M, and as an analyst, I concur.   However, I always have to remember that plenty of systems do not go out and seek raising funds/receiving funds from Private Equity firms, VCs and alike.    

As a survivor of the dot.com days, I have noted that we in the e-learning space are for all the sense of the approach back in the dot.com days from a mentality perspective.  There are hundreds of companies that are on the wasteland of what was, never to be. Dreams of IPO, left to the sands of time.   

On the e-learning front, who can forget the darling Grovo and its 73M plus of funds from equity firms and alike?  But what you do not see is their burn rate, nor their financials in the end before being acquired.   I know of vendors whose burn rates are well, bad, but who are seen by folks as darlings.

But for those of us during those frenzy days of the late 90’s and early 2000’s, once a darling, can easily fade.

Just ask Webvan.

And now on to the rankings.

This post covers #29 to #11.  The first set #29 to #20 are listed, with #19 to #11 briefs.  As with the other vendors in the Top 50 Learning Systems for 2019, nearly all of them are on findanlms.com, my learning system search engine platform.  Schedule a demo. Compare each of them to other systems.  I recommend registering first, then login and explore the catalog of systems.  

#29 360Learning – LEP/LXP

#28 Syfadis Experience – LMS. Available only in France.

#27 Thought Industries – LMS targeting B2B/B2C, customer training

#26 Kalllidus Learn – LMS, strong in the supermarket space

#25 Roundtable Learning – LMS, very solid system

#24 MATRIX – LMS, lots to offer, very slick UI/UX

#23 Eurekos – LMS, Extremely robust system, one to watch in 2019

#22 LMS365 – LMS, Built on SharePoint Online, ties strongly into Office 365, very nice system

#21 Schoox – LMS,  Really strong system, lots to offer, another vendor to watch in 2019

#20 Kokm – LMS,  Definitely under the radar, so much potential it screams let me out and show the world.  Well, it screams that to me. 

#19 to #11

#19 glo Learn – LMS.  What’s not to like. Very good UI/UX, robust system. Learning Journeys are fun and valuable, without being lame (trust me, I’ve seen lame).

Big wins include a skill rating tool, where learners assess their skills and upon completion the system recommends the appropriate learning content. Other items include machine learning, but the administrator cannot change the weights and points (a minus), digital signature capability in the mobile app, can create KPIs and measure them via metrics and multiple catalog support (many vendors do not support).  Built-in scan capability is on the roadmap for 2019 (via a mobile app).

#18 GyrusAim –  Under the radar for some folks, not me though. Surprisingly, in a good way, strong in functionality.  Big wins include the ability to assign multiple certificates to a single course/content (not a common feature), skill ratings including ability for managers to review skill ratings by learners and change the rating if needed and KPIs too.   Built-in scan capability (i.e. for scanning badges, etc.) also on the roadmap for 2019 – and via the mobile app.  A minus at this point is the lack of machine learning, but it is on their roadmap for 2019.  I see the system best suited for SMB, although the do support large enterprises too.  Don’t let the UI fool you, this system has oomph behind it.

#17 IMC – Wow, this system has come a long way.  Always robust, its past has been, well, dated UI, but that has changed. A new UI that says, “Hi, take a look at me.” And when I say robust I am not kidding. From a learning environment which supports multiple catalogs, hierarchies and deep links to machine learning, where the administrator can make changes and having a built-in GAP analysis tool too for skill assessment. The skill piece is super strong, including the manager ability to review skills that the learner has rated themselves as high. In my content section (of my template) they scored nine out of nine.  Also has goal management.  Not a big fan of the “syllabus” vernacular that is doable, but that is maybe just me.  While I love the analytical data, the initial screen dashboard of some of the items seems squished – you can expand the size to solve that, but the initial is squished.

#16 Instancy OnDemand – You know the song, take me to the ballgame (uh assuming you have been to an American baseball game), well, the song has nothing to do with this system, but what it does say is stand up and shout, “Wow. Wow.”  – Always have been a fan of this system, because it does so many things, quite well. Scored a perfect 100 on my learning environment. Video management includes auto frame per second detection, ability to add a quiz to an already existing video.  Has machine learning, content curation and coaching component.  Not a fan of the analytical piece showing the system traffic because well, how does that benefit or even tell me about the training/learning perspective.  Great, if I was a web site for SEO, ehh, not so much for learning.

#15 LearnUpon – SMB to mid-size is where I see this system align best to. However, at the association level, easily 50,000+ user base.  A system that packs a lot.  The learner dashboard adds to the wins in my book. Very good UI and UX. Video management includes auto frames per second detection. Offers content curation and some coaching components. Multi-tenant is doable, although they charge for additional portals, past the first one (a minus IMO).  Very affordable, which makes it extremely attractive.  Social is a weak point overall, but then again, social in this industry has become stagnant. Lacks mobile apps, but does support m-learning and mobile responsiveness. Looks good on smartphone and tablet.

#14 Degreed – LEP/LXP.  What is there to say that hasn’t been said about this system? Skill ratings is a big win for me. The UI/UX is good, but needs some enhancements, especially since others have caught up to them.  Mobile apps are available.  A lot of content is available for purchase, likely the most of any LEP/LXP, but not all of it is good – not a minus on Degreed – that is the content provider’s fault.    While they offer direct to consumer, this system is far better for employees and as a bolt-on to your LMS, rather than a standalone. I say that because it lacks the ability for an administrator to create and assign system roles.  Event management is non-existent too.  Has an LRS which is very good, but doesn’t leverage it as it should – would do wonders with data visualization.  Still the biggest minus to me is the inability of administrators to change weights, and the requirement that you must complete the content to score higher with the weights, thus the data in terms of what content is recommended via machine learning is skewed. 

#13 Cornerstone Learning Suite – The revamped UI/UX on the learner side is well, fantastic and kudos to Cornerstone for finally making the changes.  The admin side needs though improvement. This is an extremely robust system, and for some folks especially on the admin side, can be overwhelmingly.  That said, this is a system, who has achieved impressive results in the NexGen rankings (#2).  In my LMS RFP template, Cornerstone LS scored a perfect 100 in the machine learning category, as well as mobile, including built-in scan for badges – but it requires the Tribridge Attendance Integration Module (AIM).  I’ve never been a fan of module extras, and Cornerstone does offer this, understandable, for a system that contains a performance management component (as a mod).  That said, competencies/skill management in the system is quite good, and they have built-in an LXP.  

I wish their calendar offered different views including grids, but that is on the roadmap for 2019.  They also support crowdsourcing for content, which personally I’m not a fan of it, but it is something an administrator could do if they wanted (you are not forced to). 

As you can see they support playlists – which I believe every system should offer/include. Oh, any of the items you see above can be hidden or removed, if you so choose. 

#12 Workday Learning – First off you need the Workday HCM in order to use Workday Learning. The system was one of the first to have that Netflix experience you see with so many vendors in today’s learning system world.  On the content side, they scored 95% and frankly the lack of system crowdsourcing wasn’t an issue to me, because well, I’m not a fan of it anyway.  Machine learning is quite good, but they do not allow administrators to change weights or points, thus data is skewed in my opinion.  Video plays a big role in the system and some of the terminology can confuse (it is not universal compared to most systems, for example, lessons doesn’t mean what you think it means).  Big wins include support for multiple catalogs, the ability for development paths or curriculum/learning paths to have contents placed in a specific order/hierarchy of learning and video sharing where a learner can share video content to another learner or multiple learners.   Minus is the lack of digital signature, a surprise honestly, and the inability for managers to monitor learning paths for each team member.

#11 Spoke – Vendor to watch in 2019.  While I could go into everything this system has to offer and it has quite a bit, two big wins right out of the gate for me are

a. A built-in BI tool for reporting and analytical data.  I am a big believer that the feature to watch for in 2019 is the increase in BI tools in an LMS whether it is built-in as it is with Spoke or as an add-on.   BI stands for business intelligence. 

b. In the coaching component a manager can watch the video and provide coaching feedback on user generated content to improve skills. If the video is a success, the manager can approve the video and it post to the Spoke community where the learner can get peer feedback and earn Spoke coins. 

Overall the system scored 100% on my learning environment and 98% of administration, with the only item lacking – the inability to batch upload courses (likely to be fixed before the end of the year).  Has a built-in LRS and supports multi-tenant. Gamification is outstanding especially with the Spoke Reward Store.  Video management supports auto detection of frames per second. 

Bottom Line

There you have it, numbers 29 to number 11 in the top 50 2019 Rankings for learning systems.  Up next, in terms of next week that is, the Top 10 for 2019. And remember every vendor in these rankings are ready to be compared, viewed and researched on FindAnLMS. 

Lastly on a side note, I will be speaking at ATDTK on Friday the 8th at 8 a.m. on buying an LMS.  Hope to see you there. Bring food (j/k, don’t bring me food).

E-Learning 24/7

For those who want my LMS RFP template, find it here.   For LEP/LXP template, here.