This is it! The Top 10 Awards of Learning Systems 2023-24, that are one part fully independent, one part global in reach, one part in-depth analysis and one part analytics based upon everything you can imagine and more (not Gen AI though, it’s way too new, into the space). 

The way I started out, was monitoring close to 900 systems that align with corporate, NPOs (non-profits), associations and even government. If they were a vendor who played in EdTech (K-12, HE) but also played into corporate and did so, not just by having clients find them, but actively through marketing, they were considered too. Strictly EdTech? No. If the vendor was a custom shop building a system, off say Moodle or whatever code they are using that is open source? No. Moodle? No. Any open-source solution? No. Any system whereas the main focus of business is custom development with less than 15% learning and or training systems? No. 

From that monitored list, I put together a group of 150 systems, and then from there, began to segment down, with various weights and data that I was able to see. That brought me into 100. Next, I reached out to all the 100 vendors to request to see a full demo (live and not videotaped ahead of time), with me asking a lot of questions, asking to see various items, drilling down when they mentioned they had whatever – and if it was Gen AI, I did dive – but this was more for my information – and was not a factor in the rankings.

The demo told me the story of their approach and audience(s) – whether internal, external, combo. Because I have been doing this a long time, I had other factors that I looked at, that the vendor was unaware of. Next, it is time to get into the nitty and gritty. I pulled back from relying way too much on the template this year – although I did use it for specifics such as best system for skills. Why the change?

I found, just as I usually do, that there are vendors who state they have XAZ, then in reality it is either not live (vapor as we say), or what they have done is a workaround saying that qualifies as them doing it. How to ensure it is actually true? Show me in the demo. Equally, I have vendors who misunderstand what a term or statement of features mean, so they either respond in a way, that shows they have no idea OR they do a workaround. Hence, the importance of a demo first – as I say – and tell everyone else. If you like, then RFP it. Not the other way around. 

People always ask how did you calculate this? Why is ABC not in your top 10, when with other analysts and analyst firms they are? Why are they rated as a leader or best on G2 and similar sites and not yours? Why haven’t I heard of this system on your list? Does a vendor pay you to be on this list – or some other type of angling that pay for play is here.

Lastly, the approach of 23-24, represents how the system fared from May to Dec of this year, and forecasted into the first months of 2024. Thus, a vendor could be ranked high going into 2023, for example, but didn’t continue to achieve or some other vendor came out of nowhere and surpassed them (more often the case). I used to do a pre-year as in 20XX ahead of time, but decided to overhaul it. New systems come out, and who knows - maybe that system skyrockets right away. They should be recognized for that – assuming they score high on all the items I look at.

Responses to each of these questions

a. Demo drives it. Again, these are not your simple, quick questions and move on, these is an in-depth level that required those vendors to have multiple people (often) on their calls. And if they didn’t know the answer, they got back to me within 24 hrs. business time. I saw mobile capabilities – asked a lot of questions. There is no doubt, people left feeling drained after the experience, but it has to be this way. I’m not here for cookies and a carrot (That’s the red nose reindeer guy), I’m here to find out way more than people ask or seek or want to know – although honestly you should want to know. Why do people end up saying I made a mistake after they bought the system? They didn’t ask the right questions in the demo. It starts right there, even before the bugs/issues, support failures and so on. And yes, I looked at with criteria in mind, literally in my mind, but depending on how they responded, I went there. Every question asked to them was for a reason. I never ask things that doesn’t factor into some calculation/analysis. I blame this on my critical analyst perspective. I can’t help myself. Although dark chocolate cookies would solve that – yuck.

b. I have no idea, nor do I care (putting it bluntly) how another analyst firm or some analyst does their calculations. Plus, nobody should be doing the exact same thing, anyway. Each of us has different experiences in the industry (mine – corporate wise has been since 2000), my experiences also included running training in numerous companies and verticals which always included e-learning, and thus a learning system involved. Each of us use I surmise a different methodology. I’m totally cool with that. This is my approach. 

c. G2 and similar ilk are fantastic for vendors from a marketing standpoint, but I would never rely on them for making an informed decision about which system to purchase or which to consider. There are way too many variables at play, and the whole comments thing shouldn’t be taken for granted. Think this way – why does Amazon and Trip Advisor which are heavy around comments, are trying to stray away from them – in the standpoint of say AI to clean it up (Amazon), or to tell people to look only at three stars (Amazon)? I have purchased products on Amazon that send you a card and ask positive feedback in return for a gift card or something product. 

Just as I have received stuff from Trust Radius to leave feedback on a system (I never used or purchased), in return for a gift card. Readers have said they get this from other similar sites. How did TR find me with the vendors? I had requested to schedule a demo via the vendor’s web site. Thus, I would never consider these sites to be 100% independent. Again, if I was a vendor on there, and I got listed as Leader of Quadrant X, or best of blah blah, I’d use it to my advantage for marketing purposes. It’s brand awareness – and that drives any industry – including ours.

Oh, and those Top 10 lists you find on the web, whereas the writer has zero experience in the industry, but presents the best systems for whatever category or audience you are looking for? That is called affiliate marketing. Vendors pay to be listed in those top three and the top 10 for that matter. Next time you click on one of those, take a look quickly at the URL – often it has a UTM at the end (which is similar to a referrer) or a referrer text in it. Honestly, if someone has a background in cooking and traveling, why would you take their word for the best LMS?

d. I go global. I seek out systems nobody has heard of – well the masses at least. I mean they all have clients, and sometimes they are really big names – even though the system may be in appearance from 1999. Regardless, if there is a system of interest to me, I have them on my list and I will explore. There always gems out there – and why nobody has heard of them outside say their region (and even there, nobody really knows who they are) – marketing. Brand awareness. 

You can have the greatest system in the world, but if your brand awareness and marketing strategy to achieve that is poor, you are not going to far – in terms of what or where you could be. Our industry as a whole, is awful with marketing in general – including product marketing (crucial, often ignored), and targeted. The best ones, get a lot of coverage – which is why you know of them – as a whole. 

e. ABSOLUTELY NOT. There is no pay for play here. No money changes hand. The vendors on all my lists, deserve it. Which is why it isn’t’ an easy process, and why it has to be and always will be 100% independent. Again, the demo thing was rigorous. It is not meant to be easy, like you buy Baltic Avenue and adding a hotel as fast as you can, because it is the property is the cheapest to purchase. 

Screenshots are provided in the top three. I did receive screenshots from many of the vendors in this list, but after consideration, decided to just show some from the top three. As with anything, and again, 1005 STRESS THIS, vendors do not have to be in my FindAnLMS platform to be considered for the awards. My goal though is to get the best systems out there in the world on the platform. It is a long process, and takes time. For this year’s top 10, every vendor is on FindAnLMS – which benefits you -becase you can compare them – take a look at the materials/videos and much more. Due diligence at your fingertips or mouse click – you choose!

Please note that sometimes I will go list – bullet wise, other times I won’t. No reason, why. Isn’t unpredictable great?

The Top 10 (In order, from 10 down to one) 

Acorn PLMS – Peformance LMS – (FAL) (L&D focus)

I’d recommend it to anyone in the L&D space seeking a system that angles the capabilities approach they use, and not the competencies (which is a legacy and old school term) or skills (which I understand the switch, here).

They do sell a system for an external audience – think customer training – but I looked at the one that is truly for L&D, which I see as a stronger fit.

I know but trust me this isn’t as nutty as it may sound. Acorn PLMS really gets you thinking differently, by changing out competencies or skill development for that matter and replacing them with capabilities. It’s a different vernacular but the way it is presented makes sense. 

Big Wins

• Clearly spells out to the learner what each capability level means – there is no ambiguity on what a one or two is. I also liked that a person could be say between a two and a three, rather than just a specific number. 
• Reports are pretty strong – lots to pick from and they can go granular. I like how they give the report initial options as widgets. Visual and simple to understand. Plus, you get a reporting dashboard – again, visual and works.
• The admin has a widget option too – for the front side, plus each sub-tenant (so yes, you could do internal/external or internal/internal with different biz units). There are a lot of widget options, again, while I would prefer it to be learner by learner option, at least there is quite a bit here to choose from, beyond just the usual stuff I see as options for the home page of the learners.
• Learners are able to do a self-assessment around their capabilities and levels – this goes far beyond what I typically see, and it identifies the ones you have and the ones you do not need – although for me, while I understand that, I would like it to say – optional – because who knows – capabilities can change, just like a job role.
• The capability library is by far the biggest win here – this is a metric if you will – Loved it.
• Easy to select what you want, and what you want turned off. Simple click and go – on the admin side.

  Three-Way Tie

Biz LMS + Biz Skills + Biz Academy (FAL) (L&D focus)

To see each solution, click on “Products,” and select each one. The link above (Which is where their name is – goes right to their home page)

When you purchase the LMS, you can get the Skills and Academy as add-ons – I strongly recommend this, because all together packs a wallop. The Skills system, I’ve always been a huge fan of, I just think from the skill and job role mapping to the content ahead of time (without you having to do it) is such a huge win.

Oh, I should have noted that when you purchase the content library you get the LMS OR you can just buy the LMS and Skills and Academy as separate units. However, with Skills you need to purchase the content from Biz, otherwise the skills mapping capability isn’t doable. 

This is an affordable system, and I hope they just go suite here and package them all three in one. Anyway, Academy is truly what someone would want, using cohort-based learning. The experts who present the sessions (which last weeks or longer) are vetted by Biz Library (and they are legit experts in their chose fields), a learner is in a cohort and goes thru the session – think syllabus with synchronous based learning (which is how you would learn a uni for example) with checks and balances by the expert – think of them as the leader/instructor of the “virtual class.” I see an ideal fit here with leadership and development programs – and that is really the core here. For folks who are “we need a better leadership development program, that is rigid and not easy, but with a legit expert and over a period of time, and with a select group of individuals, and we see the pricing on DDI, and are like – YOWSA,” then this is the way to go. Nothing against, DDI, but when I saw Academy, I honestly asked myself, why would I use another solution for a leadership development program.

I did wish that the learner could be in multiple sessions at one time (a feature you will see with a few cohort-based focused systems – and a plus IMO), but I understand why they didn’t choose that.

The entire solution is strong UI/UX and you can clearly see the commitment here for Biz Library. Sweet.

Absorb LMS (FAL) (Combo – Employees and Customers/Client/Partners, etc.)

One thing that always bothers me is when a vendor says their system is for customer training and also for internal employees. Totally fine with that. But don’t say L&D only. Training is not the same as L&D. I know I am a repeat record here, however, over and over again, vendors fail to realize this. It actually hurts when they ignore that, because if I am looking for customer training, and you are messaging or saying Learning and Development or HR (I’ve seen that too), I’m not looking at you.

Absorb does the above, sans the HR part, which is a shame, because what they system offers is quite a lot on the customer side, on top of the employee side. 

One item I like is Absorb Amplify – which is an additional cost. It is a library of around 300 micro courses/content, that you can edit – thus modify to your liking, without any authoring knowledge needed. It’s perfect for your audience to get up and going. 

I also like their new connectors approach – super easy to use and do. The days of having to connect one at a time, thru communicating back and forth between you and the vendors are gone. What you can do with each connection is easily identified too.

Analyze is by far the stronger of the analytics for the system. Way better than what comes with the system, and the one that truly tells you – the learning and training story – or as I refer to it as learning intelligence. 

The downer? They are all add-ons, and I wish they were all included as one set fee. They will show it as such, clearly with a breakdown in price, but I do wish, they would say it’s a suite and you get it all for just ZTA!

The LMS has come a long way, since the previous year. And there is a lot more to come, with a refresh UI/UX soon to be released. Strong strong system! 

Skilljar (Customer Training)

There is a lot to like about Skilljar, but before diving into that, what still baffles me is why a system that is focused specifically on customer training (B2B, old legacy term – Extended Enterprise, client training/partner training, and yes, associations would slide in here to) plays heavy around assigned learning? And worse, completions? The first metrics you see is all around completions. If I am offering my customers the ability to learn how to use my product, why would I need them to start at the beginning and complete the whole thing? Maybe as a customer I am only interested on how to develop video gen AI using a paper clip. Skilljar states that the reasoning is that many of their clients, want to assign the learning which thus is really training people, for certification programs Or validation that they know whatever. 

The odd of all this, is that it takes a bit of shine off the system, because the majority of people providing customer training, especially those in the association space – is to generate revenue – i.e. make money. Certification programs? Huge revenue opportunities. Take a look at ATD. How much of their stuff is free? Exactly.

This takes away from the really beneficial metrics that are available, but not available on that first screen you see. One is strategic insights – such as benchmark – but again, the first thing you see? Completion percentage. Another is analytics around ILT or vILT – they note this as live events. This is something I thought worked really well. The UI/UX is good, and overall, the system is worthy of being #9. But, yeah, the completion thing? I’m lost.

Eurekos (FAL) (Customer Training)

There is a reason that Eurekos continues to impress when it comes to customer training. From a flexibility standpoint, they are one of only a few vendors that can do a bit more customization, than others in the space. They are equally, one of only a handful of vendors in the industry, whereas they bill monthly – that means you truly pay for only the number of learners per month. This to me, is a huge win – because when it comes to customer training, the numbers will fluctuate. 

Their content creator tool continues to evolve and while it is wonderful for those not familiar with building a course (as most of these are), it does offer someone with a bit more experience to push further (not common with system content creator solutions). 

Big Wins

• Adaptive learning via an extensive rules capabilities. If you really want to take rules to a whole new level, beyond what is typically available – you can. Or if you want to just do a few or one, you can too.
• E-mail tracker capability – You know what I am referring to. How often do you sent out e-mail notification or surveys or questionnaires and have no idea on whether they are opened or not? Sure, tools like Survey Monkey and similar can tell you, but sytems in the customer training side? Anyway, I like that it offers data such as a response rate and responses and you can go granular.
• Analytics include – NPS (Net Promoter Score) – Rare to find in customer training systems or any system for that matter, Financial Insight, Transactions and even drilling down on the content, beyond the usual (views – which is pretty worthless, as it tells me nothing). Again, granular plays a big role here.
• UI/UX is solid (they are working on a new version)
• The system just has so much going for it – oh it is very affordable – rare, in this industry for such a robust system

NovoEd (FAL) (Combo – L&D (employees) and Training (Could be internal, usually external)

NovoEd first and foremost is a cohort-based learning platform, that has the legit capabilities you expect to see for the corporate world. However, what you may not know is that the system focuses more on the deskless workers/frontline workers.

A lot of systems pitch that, but in reality, very few truly deliver it. NovoEd is definitely one of those. The ?UI/UX is quite strong, and the whole angle from cohorts that can belong to multiple courses/content/sessions in various topics, and with different folks in those cohorts – making up say different departments and not just lumped all together (if it is going to be used say, for internal, but not only deskless, then the mix would be a couple of frontline workers with say a person who is in accounting and so forth). I love the option of having the multiple “we can belong too,” sessions – they follow the standard synchronous-based BUT can be designed for asynchronous – which I see as the future for growth, especially with deskless/frontline workers.

Metrics tie all around this, and the system taps into both coaching and mentoring (which is not the same thing – and the system recognizes this). Lots of options here with the system as well.

Learning Pool (FAL) (Combo)

The last time I saw Learning Pool, I was intrigued but nothing stood out to me. However, in this latest version, I was blown away by the system. The UI/UX works well here. The features and functionality really delivered.

The system skews towards L&D so Mandatory or Assigned Learning is shown – you can always change the labels. What stood out the most to me, was the ability to use “promoted.” This was interesting, because let’s say you are selling your content – certification for example – which some companies will do within their business structure, or you go customer training – the content gets promoted is a nice way to really angle it as a must to get.

Their LXP is now part of the system, which I’m glad. I was tired of seeing it as a separate piece, and the LMS as another standalone if you choose. 

The MONSTER win though that just made my eyeballs pop out of my head and my brain to do internal calculations like a roller coaster minus the nausea, was the themes approach – which when you think themes, you are like, well lots of systems do this. And you are 100% right.

But what they do is say okay, what is your use case, and then the theme removes the items that you do not need or want and keeps the ones you do need. 

This is not only functionality but also metrics. Thus, a system whereas you are doing compliance only, doesn’t need say e-commerce or certain data. If the system is for customer training – whereas it, is you selling or offering a product/service to your customers – and thus they only need to learn what they need or want to learn – then you wouldn’t need say mandatory and certain functionality on the back end. Whammo! It’s done. The days of one size fits all, under the guise of themes or turn this off, and see, it will personalize you, is lackluster when you compare it to what Learning Pool does. I readily admit that I am not doing full justice on how this works. You just have to see it to believe and understand it.

The Final Five

Whew, we are nearly done. There is one tie at #5, then we go right into #4 (which received it’s highest ranking ever). Afterwards, the big three. Will we see an upset with Juno Journey – a legit full-blown LXP, with LMS and skills/interests and far more? Or will it be Thought Industries – the 22-23 winner, going for a repeat – which would place them in rare air (only two others achieved it, and the last was 2016). OR will it be Learn Amp, with a powerful solution, that hits a home run with the enterprise crowd? 

Tune in tomorrow – ha, I’m kidding, the finals are down below.

A tie (three-way)

D2L for Business (FAL) (Combo – but skews more to customer training. #1 learning system for Associations. 

Recently penetrated the market on the internal side both for office workers and frontline/deskless workers.

Before bouncing into why the system packs a punch, I am going to hit on something that I really do not like – that they and yes, so many others, including a few in the final five, and those in the top 20 and more do – add-ons, which are an additional fee. An add-on (and this is for all systems out there, that do it) is actually already in the system. You pay, and it goes live.

Creator+ is D2L for Business (Associations, etc.) their content creator tool. It’s really good – for those who are new to creating courses/content or have limited knowledge or experience. It should be included at zero charge – are you listening D2L?

Performance+ is not what you think it is. It’s actually their advanced metrics. Not just advanced that other vendors offer (usually as add-ons), but it tells the learning story – your story of learning and training. Advanced metrics – or metrics in general that truly tell your story – I call learning intelligence. I always say if you look at your metrics and can’t figure out or say, “I truly know what is going on, succeeding or not, what my learners are achieving,” and then be able to extrapolate that (not as a downloaded report, but by using your brain) – then you do not have the right metrics. With D2L for Business (Performance+) you do, and visually stunning.

D2L Course Merchant is another add-on, that is a store front tied into e-commerce, ideal for customer training, associations, and others who want to sell on the e-commerce side, or give it away for free, but seek a more modern store like front (like you would see on platforms like Shopify). I get here the add-on angle, but if this is in my use case, external audience, then toss it in for free.

Integrations – A must add-on if you are connecting to anything that you need – from an HCM to ERP to HRIS to BI (Business Intelligence) and the list goes on. The challenge is that the underlying infrastructure that is used here, requires a pay approach – that said, toss in a few for free I say.

The system itself – robust is an understatement. Some of the system has the new UI/UX, other areas are still being worked on. The Bongo Learn integration is a must for anyone who is into skills development, scenarios, role-playing, even skill assessments – plus it ties with an AI coach and other AI functionality (using both 3.5 Turbo and 4). The Bongo Learn (a learning tech product) is my product of the year for 23-24. So, this is a must to have. And D2L offers it.

I am always amazed at how many people think this is solely an EdTech system (K-12, Higher Ed). Yes, they started in that segment. Yes, they still are strong in that segment, but the business solution is not the same (as all pieces) as the EdTech offering. I am glad they went this route, because two of their top competitors on the EdTech side, who jumped into corporate, have the exact same system in both segments – just pitched another way.

I would recommend this system – D2L for Business (which again, the association works in here too, but you can get D2L for Associations), any day of the week. 

Degreed (FAL) (Employees – skews heavy on L&D)

Before diving in (and I know you know where this is going) the whole upskilling – wait it is now skills first, no wait, LXP, no wait LXP+ thing isn’t working for me. Pick something for your spin and stay with it. I guess it is skills first. Ok, no more changes for the year. 

Degreed is a legit, and I mean legit by all standards for the base and on-going LXP. It has it all, and yes, it has plenty of LMS functionality too – in fact, any LXP has it – despite them saying not true – because the argument that an LMS always had assigned learning or only offered it (a myth btw), an LXP has it. They have become ubiquitous to each other. 

Thus the whole skills angle, which is the base essential of an LXP, is obvious here. The marketing angle no longer works because everyone nowadays pushes upskilling. I’d go reskilling myself – that AI thing, you know, might eradicate your job you are upskilling for, but hey, no worries!

Degreed Intelligence is still a rock and roll solution – another add-on that is learning intelligence, with power. It should be included in the system, yet Degreed refuses to budge on this idea. I’m lost, because their out of the box metrics (as with nearly all systems) is not great, better than most, but you can’t tell the learning intelligence here (again, this is different that business intelligence).

What I like (and trust me, I do)

• Learning Academies – again, an add-on (feel frustration here) – lots of categories here including the ability to get a bachelor’s or master’s degree – although honestly, if you are only taking a course or two or three that last one year, that shouldn’t be a BA or master’s degree. I am unaware of any of their clients going that way – but this makes the University of Phoenix look like an Ivy school (no offense to anyone who went to UoP). 
• In the Academies, you are getting a cohort capability, which I like, and it can go synchronous – the majority of the time. but synchronous approach, and I did like the other category options. 
• As a client - there is what is called “content marketplace” – you, you have a virtual credit card which you fill up with your $$$$, and then your end-users can pick the content they want, which has a fee tied to it, and the money you put in, covers it. 
• UI/UX continues to be strong – although a refresh is needed. Still a winner.
• Integrations/connections is extensive. I love it!
• Skills – always has been the strength of Degreed and continues to be. They finished #2 in my skills management – i.e. full-blown skills capabilities for 2023. 
• If you go the LXP+ route (which I really liked) you get Skills Review, Advanced Analytics and what they refer to as Experiential Learning. I saw it, I liked it. Plus, you get all the other features you see in LXP. 
• LXP includes Core LXP, Skills coach (for managers), the metrics out of the box which includes visualizations and the automations (integrations piece).
• I should note that depending on the use case, you can swap out Advanced Analytics and add The Academies offering – just one example. This BTW is available only in LXP Plus.
• Their newest integrations are SAP and Workday, which is a huge plus.

Cornerstone LMS (FAL) (Combo – but skews heavy towards L&D)

I’ll be frank here. I would get this system for your employees (i.e. internal audience) or where you have internal and external. However, I wouldn’t buy Cornerstone LMS if you are doing external audience only.

This system screams, I mean SCREAMS L&D – internal audience. The updated UI/UX, continues and it rocks. The downer here is that they seriously need marketing to show this off, and deliver new messaging, because if you go to their site, what the system can do, isn’t shown off in a way that you want.

First

This is not whatever people spin as a traditional LMS. I hate, despise, yuck when other vendors push this narrative – worse, I see it from folks who say we do not want a traditional LMS, or see an LMS as traditional. Google has been around since 1995. Let’s call it a traditional search engine.

Second

Skills wise, this is the best system on the market. Using my template they exceeded 90% of all the functionality for my skills tab, which is massive. Nobody, scored above 90% except them. 

Thirdly

While Gen-AI is not a consideration in this year’s rankings or calculations, Cornerstone LMS is the Gen-AI system of the year. It has not just the most, but the people behind the scenes understand all the nuances and so much more with it, and yes, it taps a bit with skills. 

Now, does your current system do all of this? Does your current system hit the forward-thinking approach or is it just new and thus you think it does?

The Administration side of Cornerstone continues to be robust, but yes, it still has a few challenges as in the previous versions – it can overwhelm someone. Even the reporting which is extremely robust with lots of choices to choose from, can overwhelm someone quickly. A streamline smooth approach is needed, even essential.

Big Wins

• Compliance – it is intense as in quite good. If you are heavy into compliance or seeking a system that delivers strong compliance features and metrics – here you go
• Their content marketplace (which nowadays nearly every system has) provides all the filters you will need, it could be spinned as an LXP – and wait, get this, in reality Cornerstone has always had full legit LXP functionality (well, since the days of LXP launching). Thus, I never understood why it was spun that EdCast was the essential LXP here…That said
• EdCast has minimal improvements, but aligns far better integrated within Cornerstone. I wasn’t overwhelmed with EdCast, but the system within the Cornerstone LMS looked sharp. Especially with integrations
• Cornerstone Connections – there integrations options are massive another win – API to API here
• The talent opportunities thing – It’s nice, and here it makes sense as an add-on (and reinforces BTW, the whole L&D and even now HR side of the house – well a bit of it)

I looked at the LMS for learning and training. Not HR, but the talent opportunities piece which ties in skills to job roles to applying for gigs (internally), I did like – but only for those who want this capability – and not something I think everyone should do or need.

Cornerstone LMS at the end of the day, is a powerful system. Ideal for Enterprise and definitely Large Enterprise. In fact, if I had an award for best system for Large Enterprise (50,000 or more users), this is it.

Docebo LMS with DCS (Discover, Coach and Share), (FAL) (Combo)

Okay, let’s go first with my usual less than thrilled angle. Docebo is another vendor that leverages heavily around add-ons. Docebo DCS which you need is an add-on to Docebo LMS. Think that coaching, sharing, curation of content and you have DCS. They plan on a revamp here with a company they acquired, so what you see now, will change. I am aware of some of the new stuff, and I think it will be a far better way to go – and I hope they just include it, rather than an add-on fee.

The metrics out of the box (this means it comes with the system) are the big downer here for them. This is a strong system, especially on the customer training (external – which makes up more of their audience, than internal – i.e. employees). Yet the metrics do not hit well here. They do better on the internal side, and even then, it is lacking. If you want the learning intelligence you need to purchase Docebo Learn Data – which is an add-on. This is the best analytics for Docebo IMO – and they work with you to identify and select the ones for you – thus it isn’t a here you go, and figure this out. Lastly, they are not the first Gen-AI learning system or LMS on the market. 

I’ve seen the system inside and out, and not only were they not the first to enter the market as Gen-AI learning system – that would be Arist (underwhelming), but from a strong standpoint, Cornerstone above delivers that. 

Shape is now wrapped around Gen-AI (and again, I did not consider AI as part of my rankings, rather this is an FYI). The whole course/content creator with Gen-AI is the usual one that vendors dive into first. That and assessments, so it doesn’t surprise me that Docebo has it as well.

Ditto on the AI skills piece, I am seeing that a lot too. But, again, just fyi, so vendors do better than others. Docebo is one of them. This is just an FYI – because people will be like, “how come he didn’t mention their AI skills, blah blah.” I did, let’s move on.

I do like Learning Impact, it’s strong, and better than what comes out of the box with the system. Thus if you can afford it, go for it. 

Flow? A loser. Skip it. Trust me.

Skills is quite nice, I liked it. The content marketplace – the approach is a huge win. I mention it often. Because they got rid of the provider’s name – something vendors still use across the board when they show content/courses from other providers – and just went by topic/category alone – which others do, but they have the provider’s name. Here is a huge hint – Nobody cares – not a learner. Not their long lost aunt. Nobody. The people who tend to care – the folks overseeing it – although I have rarely met anyone who says, “Oh, we have Harvard Blah Blah and we want our learners to know this content is from them.” I never cared myself, I just wanted the topics/categories and then the types. 

Duration is an utter joke – but it is from the old timey days of one schoolhouse, and by golly, we have to keep it. Even though it goes against the principles and reasons why WBT was created i.e. e-learning. Oh, this has nothing to do with Docebo, rather it is a SHAME across the industry. Whew. I feel better.

Anyway, I like their content marketplace. Ditto on the integrations angle – lots to choose from, easy to do, once you learn how to – any of these things have a learning curve (i.e. even ones from other vendors). 

The UI/UX on the learner side is what really stand out for Docebo. The admin side has improved, but I want more, especially for a system at this level and time they have been in the market – more than a decade.

Mobile works here too.

The Final Three

You know where I am going with the number three. Yep, it is schoolhouse rock for those folks in America, who were kids in the 70’s. It is the magic number. I have a link to the famous song and video for those of you, who wish to spend 30 seconds of your life, seeing what I am talking about. I often wondered who the vocalist was – actually, that’s not true. I just thought about it now. And it’s Bob Dorough – thanks ChatGPT 4! And thank you Bob, your songs lasted far longer than anything Christopher Cross did – Sailing away anyone? Or that guy with Pina Coladas. I’m just saying.

Learn Amp (FAL) (L&D – Employees)

Yes, you can use Learn Amp for your customer training (external), or internal or both – internal and external, but for me, this system is made for L&D - i.e. your employees – whether it is onboarding, or development or skills building or reskilling or metrics that are close to telling you the learning story – i.e. learning intelligence.

They refer to their system as a People Development Platform.

The UI/UX is definitely different than most systems, once you dig past the inital home screen. Another vendor that goes add-ons.

That said, they have fully dived into cohort-based learning (as it was meant to be), strong LXP functionality, plus all the wonderful joys of the LMS. The checklists I liked, the smiley faces thing, well, if you are into that, it works; it’s better than a number, and to be honest, it truly gives a vibe of the person’s state more so than saying I am a three – yes, an magic number, but in your ratings, maybe not. 

The learner side impresses, the admin side is strong – and the metrics, well, for the add-on you can get the learning intelligence you truly need. Out of the box is far better than many.

The system offers a lot of flexibility and while I wish the term competencies would change (just in general), their analysis delivers the results. Pathways is really,, well the learning journey, and I found it easy to use. 

What stopped Learn Amp to getting to #2 or #1 is a few minor things, with the lack of a mobile app, still a must need. I get that their audience doesn’t seem to have an issue with that, but we are rumbling into 2024. 

That said, I really like the system. Really Like, especially for Enterprise, which is why they are the #1 Learning System for Enterprise 23-24. That’s how strong they are. 

And it comes down to this…whew (swipes sweat from brow) AT

And

It’s Juno Journey (FAL) (L&D heavy focus))

As they say, “How do you like me now?” – Another great song. Schoolhouse though has outlived it. 

In all seriousness, this is an employee development platform – with a full legit LXP – that can easily match, and I think surpass Degreed and EdCast, and an LMS, with a unique, and I mean that UI/UX that delivers actionable results – once you start to dive-in.

From the moment you start the system to the moment you switch it off for the day – you will come away impressed. Learners will like it, at least IMO, because of its structure and approach, and Admins will find it easy to use.

I should add that it has capabilities whereas you could offer it as an offering for customer training. Personally, I could see it more as an internal (primary) and external (your external customer base/clients) 0 thus two audiences, one system – the other achieved as a sub-tenant.

Let’s take a look at a few screens (in no particular order)

Notice the lack of a provider name? It says “course” too. Although my preference would be online vs say ILT, but nevertheless it is pretty clear. This is part of the LXP.

They also go with the virtual wallet (aka virtual credit card) – I like the simplicity look of it, and again, the money comes from the client. The Learner can request – just as you often see with others, but it is visual, and not just text (the more common approach). Plus it is clear where is the status of it.

It may not seem like much, but the “toolkit” is a full throttle of capabilities rarely seen in systems, that have a manager view. Automation plays a role here, and while I wish the buttons were more defined and visual, for its initial look it works for me.

If you are not an “Admin” you won’t see the Admin link, nor another one or two. This though is where you get a sense of how they see channels that people can connect to, and then the titles, and time frame, and the big love – level, beginner, etc. The tags are again, easy to understand, who created this channel, and so on. Could you limit the number of members in the channel? Yes, yes you can. 

What I love in this metric screen, is where it says “number of users completion per step.” Let’s say you are doing chapters in a course. Wouldn”t you want to know how many people completed that chapter, especially if you are rumbling around with a channel or cohort? Validations is another metric I liked. 

Data visualization is fine, I would like to see more, but the metrics at least can tell me the learning intelligence story. At this is the bigger win here.

I wish I could show you the workspaces screen – because that is where the holy moly comes into play. If you want to see the uniqueness this is where it is at. And it is something I really liked. I’ve seen other vendors try a workspace angle in their system, and it looks clunky and brutal. 

Juno’s doesn’t. It pops and what you can accomplish within it, will benefit everyone. 

And

Thought Industries (FAL) (Customer Training)

The first two-time winner since, eLogic did it back in like 2016 or so. 

There is so much to digest here – but first – they now have a mobile app!! Yes, with on/off synch!! Thank you!!!

This is a rich and smooth learning system for customer training, partner training, client training, b2b, associations, and heck even if you wanted to do a bit of b2c.

A storefront capability is really impressive here – I mean, you want something that will pop with your customers, and what you can do with it, makes it pop. Other vendors have storefronts, but what this can do, is the leader. 

For those inquiring about Gen-AI (yes, they have it with their content creator offering, and are adding more in 24). That said:

• Bongo Learn – Product of the Year 2023 – is available with the system – it is an add-on, you want it!!! Especially folks doing sales training or rep training, or distributor/partner training.
• Helium- The only completely headless technology capability in the industry. A lot of vendors pitch headless technology; but only TI truly has it. It’s included at no charge. 
• Integrations – There are a lot of options to choose from
• Solid Metrics – I think they can do better with some of their metrics (they refer to it as reports), but there is plenty available for the customer training segment
• Learner side – You want something that yells – oh, that’s wow – Now you have the WOW factor.
• Admin side – Solid, can be better UI/UX wise, but functionality is strong
• They can go customization much further than many others in the space, including their competitors (excluding Eurekos, that can do the same). For those that really want to punch it with customization – this is where Helium comes into play. I would recommend that as the first route to go. 
• Their onboarding process for admins and those overseeing Training is extensive. By far the most in the industry. The downside? The fees. I get why they do it, but I disagree with the fee structure. Other vendors nowadays charge fees (as a whole, again, lots of exceptions) for onboarding. Yuck.
• Panorama Event Creation plus an admin/instructor resource library – I saw it, and loved it.
• The Panoramas are the pages you go to, think sub-tenant sites to do everything you need to do and tweak for your various client/customer pages. It’s vast and extensive. Probably the best on the market from vendors.
• A/B testing – SWEET
• Visual Editor – there course/content creator tool is really nice (it now comes with Gen-AI). I liked it even before the Gen-AI part.

Screens

This is from the reporting hub, and shows just one screen – in the sense that it offers an initial question pre-defined. Ideal for folks who are unsure what to ask to generate the data. They also offer one, where you can go your own way, and ask whatever, but I like that it at least offers this option. Every system should.

This is one way to do the rules and assign the tags with the content.

Here is an example of the Reporting options, well one with e-commerce

Excuse the fuzziness, I was using ChatGPT4 for clarity purposes. But you get an idea of the reporting options, and there are plenty more.

Here is a short storefront view, just one that is possible with Thought Industries. Some things are cutoff, just because of how I screen recorded it, but you will get the gist of it.

Bottom Line

That’s all folks! Congrats to all the Top 10 Systems for 23-24.

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