Spotlight

Report:

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

How does Forrester define the Learning Management Systems And Experience Platforms market in 2024?

Learning platforms are essential tools facilitating skill development for critical business use cases. The market has matured significantly beyond early compliance-focused iterations. Two primary forces drive innovation: business leaders demanding the ability to connect learning to business outcomes, and the opportunity to enhance content creation and curation through generative AI. This 29-criterion evaluation identifies the most significant learning management system and experience platform providers to help learning professionals select the right solution for their needs.

Key Facts for The Forrester Wave™: Learning Management Systems And Experience Platforms, Q1 2024 in 2024

How did the Learning Management Systems And Experience Platforms market evolve in 2024?

What product features are required to be included in this year's evaluation?

What are the common features of top products in the Learning Management Systems And Experience Platforms space?

No common features specified.

Scope Exclusions

Inclusion Criteria

Vendors must, among other requirements:

Offering Strengths — Relative Weighting

Strategy Strength — Relative Weighting

FAQs

Q: What does this research cover?

A: This research evaluates 11 leading learning management system and experience platform providers using 29 criteria across three categories: current offering (50% weight), strategy (50% weight), and market presence. The evaluation focuses on platforms sold as standalone products (not HCM modules) that are primarily valued for the platform rather than content, with significant market share and client interest. Vendors are assessed on technology capabilities, administrator and learner experience, content creation tools, strategic vision, innovation (particularly GenAI integration), partner ecosystem, adoption support, and market position.

Q: Who should use this research?

A: Learning professionals, HR technology leaders, and business decision-makers should use this research to evaluate and select learning platform vendors that best fit their organizational needs. The report helps buyers understand vendor strengths and weaknesses, compare offerings across key criteria, and make informed decisions based on specific use cases such as employee learning, customer training, partner education, compliance requirements, or deskless worker support. The downloadable Excel-based vendor comparison tool allows customization of criteria weightings to align with individual organizational priorities and requirements.

Q: What are the mandatory features of vendors included in this market?

A: Learning management systems and experience platforms must: 1) Be primarily valued for the platform's ability to create, deliver, and report on learning activities rather than for included content, 2) Be sold as standalone products rather than modules within HCM or other suites, 3) Have significant market share and be of interest to Forrester clients, and 4) Focus on corporate/business learning rather than higher education use cases.

Q: What are some reasons for not being included in this report?

A:

  • Platform primarily valued for content library rather than platform capabilities
  • Sold only as module within HCM or workforce management suite
  • Insufficient market share or client interest
  • Primary focus on higher education rather than corporate learning
  • Declined to participate in evaluation process
  • Only partial participation in evaluation process

Q: What should buyers consider when evaluating products in this market?

A:

  • Thoughtful incorporation of emerging technology like genAI with understanding of risks including plagiarism and bias
  • Robust integration capabilities with business applications beyond HR/HCM tools including CRM, marketing automation, and business intelligence
  • Support for variety of use cases including customer learning, partner learning, and learning as revenue-generating product
  • Clear understanding of both current and future learning needs
  • Involvement of broad range of stakeholders beyond HR and IT
  • Platform security and accessibility requirements
  • Administrator experience and administrative complexity
  • Learner experience grounded in adult learning theory
  • Skills intelligence and experiential learning capabilities
  • Pricing transparency and flexibility
  • Professional services and support offerings

Q: How has the Learning Management Systems And Experience Platforms market evolved in 2024?

A:

  • Demand for connecting learning to business outcomes
  • GenAI disruption in content creation and learning curation
  • Integration with business intelligence solutions for data-driven insights
  • Expansion beyond compliance to diverse business use cases
  • Deep integration requirements with broader tech ecosystem including CRM and marketing automation
  • Support for customer and partner learning beyond employee training
  • Learning as revenue-generating product
  • Vendor consolidation and platform rationalization
  • Skills intelligence and opportunity marketplace capabilities

Q: What differentiates Strength of Offering vs. Strength of Strategy?

A: Current Offering (vertical axis) evaluates the strength of each vendor's existing platform capabilities including security, accessibility, administrative features, and learner experience grounded in adult learning theory. Strategy (horizontal axis) evaluates the vendor's overall vision, partner ecosystem, innovation roadmap, and support for platform adoption - essentially their future direction and ability to execute.

Reference

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