The Forrester Wave™: Learning Management Systems And Experience Platforms, Q1 2024

Learning Management Systems And Experience Platforms Vendor Product Comparisons 2024

Key features and pros and cons of top Learning Management Systems And Experience Platforms products:

Cornerstone - Leaders

Pros:

Strategic acquisitions enhance market-leading capabilities with long history in corporate learning space
Strategy deeply rooted in the science of learning with clear understanding of adult learning theory
Undisputed market share leader in the LMS/LXP market following SumTotal acquisition in 2023
Strongly positioned to deliver market-leading learner experience through EdCast acquisition
Powerful skills intelligence tools and opportunity marketplace
Deep integration capabilities with broader HR technology ecosystem

Cons:

Must integrate multiple acquisitions into a cohesive solution that buyers can clearly understand
Lack of transparency in pricing
Significant complexity of product model allows streamlined solutions to make competitive inroads
Variances in implementation quality
Complexity of administration remains a challenge

Docebo - Leaders

Pros:

Strong core offering amplified by intentional innovation
Strong contender in all business learning use cases beyond just HR
Robust platform with significant differentiating functionality
Native authoring tool supporting SCORM-compliant content creation
Strong personalization and curation capabilities
Innovative features for social learning and communities of practice
Intelligent administrative capabilities including Flow tool for headless/stateless capability
Powerful set of native integrations to other business tools
Low-code tool for building custom integrations
Strong onboarding and support offerings appreciated by reference customers

Cons:

360Learning - Strong Performers

Pros:

Strong focus on collaborative learning with market-forward social-learning features
Strong set of in-person and blended learning tools
Native skills ontology
Thoughtful use of AI for personalization
Well-designed learner experience appreciated by reference customers

Cons:

Lacks functionality for connecting learning to on-the-job experience
Limited ability to extend beyond platform to meet learners in flow of work
Gaps in accessibility
Limited geographic hosting options
Reference customers looking for more reporting and integration capabilities
Lack of support for product features outside core learning delivery necessitates aggressive innovation

Absorb - Strong Performers

Pros:

Strong focus on destination platform learner experience
Differentiated administrator experience using natural language to support administration
Strong on extended enterprise and customer learning use cases
Native cloud platform since 2002

Cons:

Behind market in features key to internal use case
Skills integration still on roadmap
Limited support for learning in flow of work
No experiential capabilities
Lacks support for user-generated content - all authoring done by administrators
Needs to increase pace of innovation to succeed with broader vision

Adobe - Strong Performers

Pros:

Strong on customer learning use cases
Powerful and thoughtfully designed platform
Strong UX focus and deep analytics
Strong extended enterprise capabilities including connectors for marketing campaign measurement
Low-code integrations
Fluidic player delivers seamless experience outside of platform

Cons:

Room for growth in integration with HR ecosystem
Limited support for experiential learning
Reference customers looking for more classroom learning support
Relatively new entrant to learning platform space (launched 2013)

D2L - Strong Performers

Pros:

Market-leading authoring capabilities
Thoughtfully designed learner and administrator experiences
Unique personalization features
Transparent about roadmap with detailed public information
Strong understanding of science of learning
Clear view of how learning drives business outcomes
Robust professional services and support
Extensive migration and support options for platform adoption
Strong for high-consequence learning needs

Cons:

Behind market in native integration with HR tech ecosystem
No project or opportunity marketplace functionality
Originally focused on higher education, expanding to corporate space in past five years

LearnUpon - Strong Performers

Pros:

Well-designed core platform with solid functionality for many use cases
Particularly strong in classroom and hybrid learning
Strong extended enterprise capabilities
Strong mobile experience for deskless workers
Responsive support and ability to respond to business challenges
Well suited for midmarket and growing firms

Cons:

Lacks integrated skills management functionality such as opportunity marketplaces
No native on-the-job learning support may limit enterprise reach
Overly broad vision creates differentiation challenges
Originally SMB-focused, moving upmarket brings increased competition

Litmos - Strong Performers

Pros:

Modern, easy-to-use interface
Market-forward authoring capabilities
Positive experience for learners and administrators
Particularly strong support for classroom-based and hybrid learning
Good fit for rapidly deploying platform serving cross-section of use cases

Cons:

Less robust when applying learning to work
No opportunity marketplace support
Limited social learning
Reference customers report integration challenges with larger technology ecosystem
Multiple ownership transitions (CallidusCloud 2011, SAP 2018, Francisco Partners 2022)
Overly broad vision creates challenges in competitive space

Degreed - Contenders

Pros:

Robust integration and analytics platform
Brings together learning signals from around organization to form holistic picture
Delivers curated learning recommendations
Best-in-class integration capabilities
Reference customers value ability to consolidate information from multiple platforms

Cons:

Under significant competitive threat as other vendors developed robust LXP functionality
Reference customers report they'd consider elimination if core learning platform can support needs
Lags in other functional areas beyond integration and analytics
Risks being edged out by competition
Was a Leader in 2021 Wave but has fallen to Contender status

Meridian - Contenders

Pros:

Long history in learning platform space (founded 1997)
Highly secure platform architecture
Robust features for compliance use cases
Made significant UX/UI improvements - current interface on par with market
Well suited to highly regulated industries and government learning use cases

Cons:

Remains primarily niche player focused on government and highly regulated industries
Primarily of interest for compliance use cases
Limited traction developing advanced organizational capabilities
Declined to participate in full Forrester Wave evaluation process

Microsoft - Contenders

Pros:

Outstanding potential with unique data layer strategy
Deep integration with Microsoft product stack
Embedded directly into flow of work through Teams
Significant potential to make learning seamless part of work
Remarkably robust given recent market entry (November 2021)
Heavily investing to rapidly increase capabilities

Cons:

Still maturing functionality - most recent entrant to market
Many standard features still on roadmap including content authoring, content management, classroom support, and extended enterprise capabilities
Not yet up to par with existing solutions in terms of feature completeness

FAQs

Q: Which vendors are Leaders in 2024?

A: Cornerstone, Docebo

Q: What does "Leader" mean in Forrester Wave terms?

A: Leaders demonstrate strong current offerings and robust strategies. In the context of Learning Management Systems and Experience Platforms, Leaders have extensive experience with learning platforms, strategies deeply rooted in the science of learning, strong connections to business needs, powerful tools for administrators across various use cases, market-leading learner experiences, and the ability to deliver across a wide range of learning applications. They combine proven capabilities with strategic acquisitions or innovations that enhance their market position.

Q: How do I interpret a Forrester Wave?

A: https://www.forrester.com/policies/forrester-wave-methodology/

Report:

Top Vendor Products for Learning Management Systems And Experience Platforms in 2024

Learning Management Systems And Experience Platforms Vendor Product Comparisons 2024

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FAQs

Q: Which vendors are Leaders in 2024?

Q: What does "Leader" mean in Forrester Wave terms?

Q: How do I interpret a Forrester Wave?

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