Alvaria Workforce vs. Blackboard Learn by Anthology

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Alvaria Workforce
Score 7.4 out of 10
N/A
Alvaria Workforce (formerly Aspect Workforce Management), is a suite of software which combines call center workforce management with advanced analytics features like call recording, speech analytics, eLearning for training, data sharing for schedule optimization across call center or branch locations, and desktop analytics for monitoring and analyzing discrete actions like employee keystrokes and application usage. The Basic, Advanced, and Enterprise tiers include…N/A
Blackboard Learn by Anthology
Score 7.7 out of 10
N/A
Blackboard Inc. is an enterprise learning management systems vendor. Blackboard was founded in 1997 and became a public company in 2004. The company provides education, mobile, communication, and commerce software and related services to clients including education providers, corporations and government organizations. As of December 2010, Blackboard software and services are used by over 9,300 institutions in more than 60 countries. Blackboard Learn is the company's flagship LMS, supporting…N/A
Pricing
Alvaria WorkforceBlackboard Learn by Anthology
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Alvaria WorkforceBlackboard Learn by Anthology
Free Trial
NoYes
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeOptional
Additional DetailsMust contact vendor for pricing information.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Alvaria WorkforceBlackboard Learn by Anthology
Top Pros
Top Cons
Features
Alvaria WorkforceBlackboard Learn by Anthology
Learning Management
Comparison of Learning Management features of Product A and Product B
Alvaria Workforce
-
Ratings
Blackboard Learn by Anthology
8.6
30 Ratings
4% above category average
Course authoring00 Ratings8.924 Ratings
Course catalog or library00 Ratings8.924 Ratings
Player/Portal00 Ratings8.021 Ratings
Learning content00 Ratings6.127 Ratings
Mobile friendly00 Ratings8.930 Ratings
Progress tracking & certifications00 Ratings7.024 Ratings
Assignments00 Ratings9.030 Ratings
Compliance management00 Ratings9.017 Ratings
Learning administration00 Ratings9.925 Ratings
Learning reporting & analytics00 Ratings8.926 Ratings
Social learning00 Ratings9.022 Ratings
Single Sign On (SSO) Enabled Learning00 Ratings9.01 Ratings
Best Alternatives
Alvaria WorkforceBlackboard Learn by Anthology
Small Businesses
8x8 Contact Center
8x8 Contact Center
Score 7.6 out of 10
Tovuti LMS
Tovuti LMS
Score 9.5 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Eleveo
Eleveo
Score 9.2 out of 10
Jenzabar ONE
Jenzabar ONE
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Enterprises
Calabrio Teleopti WFM
Calabrio Teleopti WFM
Score 7.8 out of 10
Schoology Learning
Schoology Learning
Score 9.2 out of 10
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User Ratings
Alvaria WorkforceBlackboard Learn by Anthology
Likelihood to Recommend
9.0
(8 ratings)
9.8
(58 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
8.6
(5 ratings)
4.6
(11 ratings)
Usability
8.0
(1 ratings)
10.0
(5 ratings)
Support Rating
8.0
(1 ratings)
7.7
(14 ratings)
Online Training
-
(0 ratings)
7.0
(1 ratings)
Implementation Rating
9.0
(1 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
User Testimonials
Alvaria WorkforceBlackboard Learn by Anthology
Likelihood to Recommend
Alvaria, Inc (Aspect Software + Noble Systems)
Easy workforce management tool and the dashboard is well designed with multiple accessible functionalities. This platform allows easy data collection across other project management systems and the analytics which the tool provides are excellent and very reliable project planning and easy scheduling with effective and excellent management functionalities and initial implementing is also an easy process.
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Anthology, Inc
A school with a well-established technology imprint with their students (for example, ours is a BYOB school where every student has their own laptop and must bring it to school every day and where over 99% of our families have reliable broadband at home) is a reasonable scenario for using The arrogance and intransigence of the sales force is quite disconcerting… They are no longer the only game in town and don't yet realize it. Less well-off schools/families may find it a challenge if students must be on campus or at a public library in order to use the technology. Obviously, during the pandemic, this became problematic for some districts.
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Pros
Alvaria, Inc (Aspect Software + Noble Systems)
  • easy and quick to use- you don't have to waste hours explaining how to use WFM with your employees
  • reliable- multiple employees can be making changes and testing staffing changes without the site crashing
  • easy to balance employee scheduling with your business needs
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Anthology, Inc
  • Blackboard Learn makes submitting assignments electronically simple and provides a variety of built-in Web-based tools like e-portfolios, wikis, and blogs that our students use to create their own content.
  • Blackboard Learn is intuitive and easy to navigate from a students perspective
  • Blackboard Learn has many integrations available for connecting this LMS to other tools we use at our institution.
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Cons
Alvaria, Inc (Aspect Software + Noble Systems)
  • The configuration of the system is quite complex and very difficult to administer.
  • Initial training on the product is simply focused on the product and it typically not done using a customers real data. Since many customers do not have a strong background in WFM to begin with, the training should focus more on the fundamental of WFM before it dives into how to use the tool. You have to learn more about how it is best to use the tool for real world environments and not just how to click here and go there.
  • RTA has not been updated in years. It does not offer real-time schedule adherence scores and the reporting is terrible. Reporting is specific to each workspace and you lose data each time you close a workspace.
  • The shrinkage calculator feature that was added a few years ago is a great feature but very difficult to reconcile. If you are not an extreme expert with the very confusing superstate philosophy in eWFM it can be disastrous.
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Anthology, Inc
  • Blackboard Learn has some limitations when it comes to submissions
  • It is not that user friendly, I had to spend some time to get a hang of it in the beginning
  • I have been struggling a bit with deletion of manually added courses
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Likelihood to Renew
Alvaria, Inc (Aspect Software + Noble Systems)
While I support other customers who utilize the software, the response from our customers is over-whelmingly positive. Many customers who have not had any type of workforce management software in the past use spreadsheets to schedule and forecast agents. This can be extremely complicated and a nightmare to control. The time saved by having a product that can quickly complete these functions for you is worth the investment. Also, we have several customers who had no way to track what their agents are doing and have found many problems in their call-center with the software. After rolling out a program where their adherence was tracked and actually 'mattered', they were able to see increased efficency from their agents.
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Anthology, Inc
There are several aspects of Desire2Learn that outweigh the benefits of using Blackboard. I find that the Desire2Learn system is a bit more user friendly and looks more up-to-date. However, the decision to renew systems is not up to me because the entire University uses the same system. Regardless, I think I would choose Desire2Learn over Blackboard because of its improved user interface.
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Usability
Alvaria, Inc (Aspect Software + Noble Systems)
Once the initial set up of the software is complete and/or you are familiar with the software, it is easy to use and runs like a dream. However, if you are unfamiliar with the software or have used a competitor's product, some features can seem difficult to learn or get used to.
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Anthology, Inc
It is very usable for both faculty and students. The interface is pretty intuitive and most students can use it without a lot of additional training. Faculty do need some training to effectively use the interface, but they usually get it pretty quickly. We have had to create some additional programming to give faculty a way to delve deeper into the content.
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Support Rating
Alvaria, Inc (Aspect Software + Noble Systems)
I was impressed with the support I received. There were never any long delays when I had issues and the representatives that I worked with were always patient and eager to fully understand not only my problem but our business processes surrounding the problem.
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Anthology, Inc
My Blackboard support comes from the university I work with. They are responsive--eventually... but it takes them sometimes a week to respond to a reported issue. For example, I reported 2 issues last week and one was resolved and I was contacted about one still open option today. That is too long for a tech issue. I have not contacted any support offered directly by Blackboard, which may be a completely different experience altogether.
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Implementation Rating
Alvaria, Inc (Aspect Software + Noble Systems)
Implementation of the software was not difficult but it was tedious for us due to the fact that our processes had not kept up with the times and we had to make a large number of process changes along with setting up the software.
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Anthology, Inc
Blackboard's Managed Hosting was top-notch in getting us up and running quickly.
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Alternatives Considered
Alvaria, Inc (Aspect Software + Noble Systems)
I have used NICE IEX Workforce Management in addition to Aspect Workforce Management, both tools are great at what they do. Aspect however builds its forecast model continuously, adding more information to the model everyday, where are with IEX, the model has to be built each and every time from used selections each week. IEX does not have a historical base model to reference, where Aspect does.
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Anthology, Inc
Coursera offers a variety of modules in which a team is able to work on then, but [Blackboard Learn] offers more options to understand how are the team members developing and which tasks have offered a harder challenger for them. [Blackboard Learn] also offers a variety of reports that can be generate by a team lead.
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Return on Investment
Alvaria, Inc (Aspect Software + Noble Systems)
  • The workforce management team was able to decrease the cycle time forecasting, staffing and scheduling staff; resulted in higher employee engagement
  • The scenario based planning enabled us to develop a more accurate call volume forecast thus staffing the contact centers appropriately; approximately $500k savings realized in labor expenses (reduced FTE headcount, while meeting the same level of service level measures)
  • Improved customer experience due to staffing the call center properly (answered 80 percent of our calls within 20 seconds)
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Anthology, Inc
  • At one of the institutions that I worked for, the ROI was excellent for the number of users we were serving; however, I could not speak to other instances as I was not aware of the overall cost of the contract.
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ScreenShots

Blackboard Learn by Anthology Screenshots

Screenshot of A modern and intuitive learning management system (LMS) designed in collaboration with the global education community, providing students and faculty with a more inclusive, flexible, and insightful experience.Screenshot of Fostering a sense of belonging is essential to student success. To truly create an inclusive learning environment requires a holistic approach, and Blackboard Learn leads the market in many critical areas which allow your institution to meet students of all backgrounds where they are. Built to be mobile-first, Blackboard Learn is the only LMS that provides the same great experience on PC, tablet, and smartphone. And we're proud that Blackboard Learn was the First LMS to achieve accessibility Certification from the National Federation of the Blind and all of our interfaces undergo rigorous accessibility testing. Learn also has the best integration with our market-leading accessibility product, Ally, of any LMS. Learn also ensures that every user has an experience which reflects – and celebrates – their unique identity. To take just one example, users can record their name pronunciation, and choose their preferred pronouns.Screenshot of Blackboard Learn supports instructors with multiple formative and summative assessment methods, and features capabilities that reduce stress for students. For example, we’ve recently released features that allow students to use different test-taking strategies and understand their progress through assessments – including a timer that can be hidden – to maximize their result and minimize anxiety. Grading workflows have been designed to increase efficiency for instructors and give more insightful feedback to students. For instance, we’ve recently revamped the overall grade functionality to make it easier for instructors to change weightings between tasks and tailor to individual students. Blackboard Learn also offers deep integrations with hundreds of partners to create even more interactive and engaging courses, including the deepest interaction of any LMS with Microsoft Teams.Screenshot of Blackboard Learn presents insights embedded right into instructor and student workflows - making useful information readily available, and making it easier for instructors to help students where and when they need it most. Learn's progress tracking tools help students and instructors always know how they're tracking to achieve their goals - and where there is opportunity for improvement. Quick actions are tied to these insights, like following up with students in groups or individually. Blackboard Learn also provides built-in value with Blackboard Data Reporting to help leaders understand how the LMS is being used, student performance, and surfacing opportunities for continuous improvement.