I am trying to budget for an LMS in next years budget, but don't have the time to do thorough research. Does anyone have a ballpark figure of the cost of implementing a new LMS? We are a small company with 200+ employees, we would be primarily monitoring about 80-100 employees.

What are other (budget) issues do I need to consider? Do I need someone to manage it, or can this be added to the coordinator's role (realistically some of her duties would be easier with an LMS, thus freeing up time).

Appreciate any help!

training qn:

I'll go beyond the stock "it depends" response and note that it widely varies based on vendor and features (not to mention the obvious cost of staffing, unless you plan to outsource parts or whole LMS admin services).

On the lowest end is Moodle- open source, freeware- all you pay is your web hosting costs and sweat equity (and after being through major LMS implementations with several LMS vendors, I can assure you, it's actually NOT much different than the amount you will invest in man hours with very costly tools).

For usage levels you note, I have seen costs as low as $400/month (a few lower, but not sure of the true validity as an LMS- again "it depends" on what you really need it to do).

I strongly encourage you to ensure that you get as clear a picture of the needs for your LMS and buy the right features and usage level, because changing at later stages in the game costs MUCH more money (and, the integration with systems needs to be determined early and managed carefully).

That's some starting info. Been through this many times at different sized organizations (sub-100 to over 10,000), and the issues are the same.

Any questions, feel free contact me.

Hi-
I've done the research and implemented an LMS. It can get expensive. I would not recommend a "freeware" product, go with something that has the capacity to grow with your company and the size of it. You may pay more up front, but the advantages and capabilities will outweigh anything "freeware" can offer.

Go with a name product. You're looking to start around $55-125k. Since you're small, it could work in your favor now to get on board with a vendor. There are other fees associated depending on who hosts the LMS content. And you need to determine who will maintain it and the costs for the Administrators salary.

Ideally, you really need to do your homework and find a product that matches your needs. Finding a product to match your budget is backwards.

Respectfully,

LS-

There are less expensive options out there. Trivantis has CourseMill which costs 15K if you host/maintain it yourself, and 8K plus monthly mothly fees if they host it. Could work for you either way.

Good luck!

I would suggest you sit down with a large cup of coffee and start looking at some of the information that is out there:

Choosing an LMS links

More LMS info

Elearning Guild Research

Good luck.

scott