A robust LMS business case necessary for buying approval

CANBERRA, Australia, 2022-Jun-01 — /EPR Network/ — A business case is essentially a document that can be used to explain and sell the reasoning behind an enterprise software purchase. In the case of an LMS, it’s about selling your pitch for a learning management system purchase. A strong LMS business case addresses four key areas: current challenges and how an LMS helps, due diligence of the vendor market, total project costs, and a justified ROI. The Acorn subject matter experts dive into these four points in their latest article and provide a comprehensive framework for those looking to write a robust LMS business case.

The LMS business case starts with an executive summary. This summary needs to state the business need, succinctly describe the problem and explain how the LMS in question solves this problem. Ultimately, the executive summary needs to sell the vision. Succinctness and brevity are key in helping decision makers understand the problem and solution.

The business case also needs to address budgetary considerations. Some companies pay up to 59% more than they expect for an LMS. The biggest factor affecting price is the form of deployment, with the two main contenders being cloud-based systems and self-hosted systems. Hidden costs need to be factored in as well.

Like all enterprise technology investments, prior thought needs to be given to what a good return on investment, or ROI, for an LMS solution looks like. Having a clearly defined ROI increases the chances of approval for purchase. The Acorn experts address some ideas on what a potential LMS ROI could be. They consider training time required, enhanced customer training, increased productivity and increased sales. 

“An LMS can’t be seen as simply a nice-to-have – you need to frame it as a business need,” said Blake Proberts (Co-Founder and Managing Director). “It lays out the indisputable reasons an LMS will alleviate pain points or bring benefits for all stakeholders, so everyone knows what’s in scope, too.”

Building a business case is about more than just deciding which LMS to procure. It should also include information from the vendor themselves to support the implementation process, ensuring it’s smooth.

You can read the Acorn experts’ full article about writing an LMS business case on their Acorn Resources blog: https://hubs.ly/Q01bqXlX0

Pursuit Technology is one of Australia’s fastest growing HR technology companies. Pursuit, via Acorn LMS, takes a different view to strategically enabling HR and L&D teams compared to traditional providers. Rather than focusing on analytics after learning experience, their products use workforce planning and capability frameworks prior to any learning. By linking to a company’s strategy, Pursuit products can inform organisational capability gaps and suggest education, deliver this education, then measure the impact – proving business impact by the HR and L&D team in a quantifiable way.