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What is a Customizable LMS?

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What is a Customizable LMS?

Any Color You Want...

I designed my first Software as a Service (SaaS) application two years before the term was first published in a white paper in 2001.  Back in those days, having a software application accessed through a web browser was novel.  For many years web applications were standalone systems that didn’t offer much in the way of customization.  You could have any color you wanted, so long as it was black.

A lot has changed. A modern cloud based LMS can now be accessed anywhere from any web browser on any device. In addition, it can be integrated both functionally and visually into a dynamic ecosystem of business applications.  In order to achieve a truly seamless fit, you need a customizable LMS.

 

"Any customer can have a car painted any color that he wants so long as it is black."
-Henry Ford


What are the Components of a Customizable LMS?

A truly customizable LMS will support tight integration with your existing software applications, the user interface can be tailored to your specific training needs, and the feature set can be extended to include both unique LMS and CMS requirements. Our team has worked hard to ensure that the Accord LMS is uniquely qualified to meet and exceed almost any challenge you may have and stands alone as one of the most customizable LMS available.  Here's why:

 

Complete Web Site Design

The Accord LMS incorporates an enterprise class Content Management System (CMS).  This allows our clients to implement a complete company web site where the LMS is just a part of a broad set of features.

Companies can present one experience to their internal staff and a completely different experience to their customers.  The experience isn’t limited to e-learning content, but actually extends to look, feel, and functionality.  For example, in addition to courses, the sales team could be presented with the opportunity to browse product collateral materials and an industry news feed. Customers could access technical documentation and a store finder.  Another company selling training content could build a complete marketing site and online community features right into their LMS platform.

 


Breaking the LMS mold

Customized LMS sites...


These sites were all built with the Accord LMS Platform



Role Based Permissions

The Accord LMS custom elearning solutions come PACKED with functionality. In fact, not every user or learner needs access to every feature.  Having access to user roles allows the system to be configured to hide or present any feature in the system based on who is using the system.  If Gamification fits into the training plan, turn it on.  If not, hide it. Perhaps you’d like social learning groups for internal learners, but would rather not offer it to the customers that you’re training.  No problem.  Role based permissions give administrators the ability to offer exactly what each learner type needs, and nothing that they don’t.

Extensibility

The integrated CMS has hundreds of modules, skins, and other plugin extensions.  Many of these can be added to your Accord LMS to change its look or enhance its functionality. For example, new pages with Photo Galleries, Custom Forms, or Job Boards can easily be added to your site.  Imagine having stock quotes or RSS feeds built right into your LMS.  That's extensibility.

Single Sign-On
Single Sign-On (SSO) is the ability to sign on to your LMS automatically using the authentication of your internal network or primary company portal.  Organizations using a Microsoft Windows based infrastructure can use Microsoft’s Active Directory Service.  Accord LMS supports both Active Directory and our API drawn from the secure Amazon S3 web service.

 

Easy Access to Data

Data Transfer between applications is often a critical step in seamlessly integrating your LMS into your existing infrastructure.  Having a robust API (Application Program Interface) is like a Rosetta stone that allows two systems to speak the same language.  

In addition to API integration, the Accord LMS supports highly configurable automatic bulk import via FTP drop. Many clients use this features to synchronize employee data and role memberships from their HRIS.

Data Export is another piece in the puzzle.  The Accord LMS offers a robust suite of built in reports that can be configured to meet almost any foreseeable requirements, including automatic scheduled delivery to different Team managers, with each of their reports filtered to only show their respective team members.  All reports can also be exported to CSV (a generic file format) for any additional processing requirements.

 

Unlimited Registered Users 

Even the Accord LMS Active Learner Pricing supports customized systems.  Customers can build so much into their LMS platform that we made the decision to not charge for logins or registered users.  Think about that. One web experience with customized resources serving unlimited users.  The only users that you pay for are the ones who are actually accessing tracked learning resources.  
 

How Hard is all of this Customization?

car

Most of the Accord LMS customization options available can be easily set by the administrator or configured by the Accord LMS implementation team during the initial launch.

Some things, for example extensive web design or additional plugin extensions may require modest setup fees.  Accord is happy to discuss
your project ideas with you without obligation.
 

If you’re already a customer, I hope that this post has inspired you to consider useful ways to get even more from your Accord LMS. If you’re considering the purchase of a Learning Management System, please contact a sales person or solution specialist to learn how you can put the power of a customizable LMS to work for you at a budget friendly price.
 
| Categories: eLearning, Feature Focus, Tech Talk

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