Open source products are not a good idea when implementing an enterprise application, especially when implementing online learning systems!
This is an unsurprising view held by the company, SkillCentric, promoting its own proprietary system. “Please allow us to explain,” says MD, Shaun Lake. “There is an important argument here that could save you time and money.”
As a first comment, just to get that cost issue out of the way: it is not a foregone conclusion that a decision to implement an open source system is necessarily going to be at a lesser cost than acquiring the services of a proprietary platform.
Also, the “dangers” of being locked in promoted by open source pundits are often more emotional than rational.
“There are many ways in which deals can be structured to allay these fears,” says Lake. There are similarly many good reasons to be in a formal service agreement with a proprietary service provider, who by their very existence, have self interest to support and further develop their own technology. The business model underpinning open source platforms is vulnerable, to say the least! Even the much-loved Wikipedia had funding problems last year, and survived only by the generosity of volunteers. The sustainability of this into the future is not sure.
“Just to demonstrate that I am not anti-open source,” says Lake, “we use a Linux operating system, a mySQL data base, our platform is programmed in the PHP programming language, and we use an Apache Web server.”
These are all well-know open source products that have made significant in-roads in their respective technological areas. Lake is, however, questioning the value of open source products where the approach and strategy to obtain end-user engagement is critical. It's a “soft”, not a “software” issue, says Lake. The open source products mentioned all have one thing in common, and that is that they are essentially back-end systems. The average user does not even know they are there! Their workability is not dependant on general user acceptance, but more a function of programming and server management. This point is borne out by the relatively limited success of the PC (desktop) version of the Linux operating system, which does require general user acceptance. It is less prevalent (less than 5% of PCs), and would not have been a significant alternative had it not been for IBM, and a few other large vendors supporting it.
“I still don't see millions of people opting out of their Windows despite Linux being free,” notes Lake.
In the learning space, the most popular open source e-learning platform is “Moodle”. On being questioned about its apparent success, Lake contends, “remember that well over 90% of their user base are universities and there is a very good reason for this”.
Lake goes on to explain that universities need a relatively simple solution around document/assignment management, which is easily done by most systems, and requires no particular implementation approach. Students are self-driven, relatively tech-savvy, and universities are not concerned by the training issues experienced in companies.
The problem for companies is that training management is very much a “soft issue”. There needs to be a clear plan backed up by policies and a learner management strategy. “What you are really buying from a service provider is not their software, but their proven approach to implementing and managing online training programmes suited for the corporate environment,” says Lake.
Anyone can download an open source platform for free, but that's not where the challenge lies. How are you going to create a sustainable and successful online training programme? What strategies do you have in place to ensure uptake and completion? How are you going to measure performance? How are you going to report that performance? How are you going to make sure that actual skills transfer takes place? Once armed with your strategic and operational plan, the retreading of your free open source platform begins! The risks associated with this are high, with a possible programming “black hole”.
“Having been in the business of developing online learning platforms for a decade, I know very well that what sounds great as an idea does not always turn out that way when expressed in software. It is the finer details that make the difference and these are not obvious,” says Lake.
Lake's parting advice: “If you want to get your online training project off to a quick start, within a relatively short timeframe, with a high chance of success, go with those who have been there before, and focus on your core business which is managing and training your staff.”
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