BizLibrary is a corporate-focused learning management software solution. The vendor provides a searchable library of prebuilt courses and materials that are mobile-accessible and include assessment and gamification capabilities.
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LMS365
Score 8.3 out of 10
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ELEARNINGFORCE in Edgewater brings learning management to Office 365 and SharePoint. LMS365 blends with the Microsoft infrastructure and is designed to eliminate expensive integration, time-consuming development, and unwanted complexity. Learners access learning plans, courses, personal progress reports, and certificates from within the SharePoint business process.
Since I only use BizLibrary as a source for content, I cannot speak to the program's suitability as an LMS, but it is an excellent solution for obtaining content that can be used in your own LMS. They offer a wide range of topics, the courses are just the right length, and the files never give me any issues exporting, loading into our LMS, and users rarely have trouble viewing the files. If you are looking for content to be added to your own LMS, BizLibrary is the way to go. What I know of it as an LMS, it seems like there would be content overload for a student. With so much content, it might be hard for a student to narrow down what they would like to take.
If a customer does not have SharePoint the entry in that kind of solution is a bit harder as the use of SharePoint can be so broad. It does not mean it is not the right solution as a company can use SharePoint LMS to start with and then expand to other functions and features. I strongly recommend to use SharePoint Standard or Enterprise and forgo the "free" SharePoint version as a) SharePoint's core functions and features are greatly enhanced in these two premium versions and b) more and more SharePoint LMS functions make use of these core Standard and Enterprise features in the future, like taxonomy, user profiles, etc. In general with all project it is as well recommended to have the full buy in by upper management and that the project initiative is fully supported. Adding such a solution (SharePoint LMS or any other LMS solution) will require the team not only to have a good plan on how the requirements can be achieved from a technical point of view, but how a training program can be rolled out to an organization of 5, 500, 5.000 or 50.000. The technical deployment of SharePoint LMS is measurable (I would say between 1-4 weeks based on the complexity, scale of the environment). 1-2 weeks of training (depending on the base knowledge of SharePoint in the company and the need to add knowledge of SharePoint LMS). That's it. Technically you are ready. If needed, any custom work, integration and development work comes on top. Where customer struggle is the availability and dedication of their own teams. Course content needs to be created, how should a course look like, what are the parameters, what are top ten things needed moving a course which was taught in a class room, but now to be delivered online. Buying the licenses is one thing, getting the solution up and running form a technical point of view is another, making it YOURS is the challenge!
The reporting options changed when the program was updated. You have to go through more steps to find the data to download. I would like more canned reports.
Adding a new learner is easy, but it takes more time to get them into the right group. We segment learners by company and role to make assigning topics easier for us.
When reaching out for support, BL is quick to respond. Even if they do not have a solution - such as when lessons were retired without a replacement - they are always thoughtful and informed.
The few times we actually needed support generally were during major upgrades of the system and getting a quick handle on how the configuration changed were the primary reasons.
It was so easy, the tech that worked with me and my client success rep were beyond helpful. If I had questions they responded immediately and were very instrumental in our success.
We selected BizLibrary because it had the most robust system that pertained to our employee base. We have found that that has resulted in users engaging in several areas in addition to those required. The price was better that some and worse that some, but we felt that it provided the best value and that has proven to be the case.
Throughout my career I came across many different solutions for Knowledge and Collaboration and LMS systems. This includes Lotus Notes, Documentum, Live Link, LMS solutions from Oracle, ADP, another SharePoint based solution. Many years back, with the intro of Microsoft SharePoint, I was drawn to that product and solutions based on SharePoint. SharePoint is very powerful and in it current version, 2013, it is the without a doubt the most feature rich and broad solution platform out there. SharePoint LMS is in my eyes a killer application and if a company, institution or educational entity looks to create, expand, change up their training efforts for employees, customer, partners, students, SharePoint LMS is the tool to look at. If you have SharePoint already installed, it is a must look at, period. SharePoint LMS became the tool of choice, I recommended when I was a consultant, when I worked as a Director for Learning Management Systems at a local University. I am now part of a team which not only sells, but as well consults around SharePoint LMS.
Employee engagement feedback related to the need for learning & development has already seen an uptick. Many express alot of gratitude/appreciation for the JIT learning opportunity.
1st year ROI achieved with first half-dozen employees who participated in courses which were otherwise budgeted to be taken as one-day, offsite sessions from other (classroom) vendors.
Broad-based management support was at first a struggle, to be candid, but as employees have completed courses and then we've followed up, managers are now providing positive feedback from their perspective.
