How to Choose the Right Software Development Vendor for Your eLearning Business
Your level of success in implementing online learning solutions will be dependent on your vendors. To help your clients get outstanding results, there is a need to choose your suppliers meticulously. Read on to learn how to select the best digital learning vendor.
Did you know that the eLearning industry has grown by more than 900% since 2000? Thanks to massive advancements in technology. eLearning has proven to be an effective method to learn with maximum convenience without sacrificing efficiency and quality of education. The global eLearning market is expected to reach $320 billion by 2025.
In the academic field, eLearning solutions have been very useful in solving some of the learning challenges created by the pandemic. Electronic learning improves learning processes, helps students to learn faster, grants easy access to materials, and streamlines the teaching process for teachers. In the United States, 64% of middle school children use digital learning solutions regularly. In another report, 81% of students admitted that eLearning solutions help them to enhance their grades.
If you are still reading this article, chances are that you run a digital education business and you are looking for ways to work with the right vendor.
7 Tips to Choose the Right eLearning Vendor
To ensure you make the right choice of digital learning tools suppliers, there are important factors you need to consider. A thorough and strategic evaluation of these factors will help you work with the vendor that can efficiently meet your business needs.
7 Tips to Choose the Right eLearning Vendor
1. Business Needs Analysis
The first step toward selecting the best vendor is to analyze your business to understand what makes it unique and the tools you need to achieve your goals. Your business is unique and requires certain types of vendors. Running an eLearning business does not necessarily mean that you will need to work with the same vendors as your competitors.
For instance, if you are focusing on providing digital learning solutions for primary schools, you will likely need a vendor with tools specially made for school kids. Digital learning tools for universities and organizations will be more sophisticated and probably more expensive. Once you analyze your customer base and your offers, you will be able to know the suppliers capable of providing all you need
2. Affordability
One of the downsides of eLearning is that it can be expensive, especially for students. Unlike when learning was mainly based in the classroom, students now need to buy devices and pay for data subscriptions to access and use digital learning programs. This explains the need to consider affordable options when choosing a business partner.
As a business, you need to consider profitability; when you partner with an expensive vendor, it directly impacts your bottom line negatively. Your goal should be to strike the balance between high quality and affordability. Affordability and durability can coexist. Your responsibility is to take your time to find a vendor that offers both.
3. Area of Expertise
Due to the recent COVID-19 induced acceleration in digital transformation, the demand for digital learning tools is high. This is because organizations and schools are transitioning to online learning. Consequently, many technology solution developers leveraged the growth of the digital education industry to expand their offerings to include eLearning solutions.
Even though this is considered a smart business move, not all of them are great at providing high-quality online education materials. You have to consider area of expertise before working with a vendor. Generally, a company that specializes in online education tools is expected to be more efficient and focused than an organization that produces digital education products alongside other solutions.
4. Years of Experience
As part of the background check, ascertain the number of years a company has been rolling out eLearning tools before working with them. The longer a company is in business, the higher the expertise it will have. This does not mean that new vendors can not deliver great products; however, a provider that has been in business for 15 years is expected to have more expertise and experience than a new one. If you are considering settling for a new provider, make sure they have people with many years of experience within their workforce and leadership.
5. Check Samples of their Work
Checking samples of projects a company has executed is a proven way to know if its results match its promises. Beyond the testimonials you see online, you have to request samples of works a provider has completed. Taking a thorough look at project examples will give a comprehensive idea of what to expect from them. Two things are important here, quality of work and expertise in the type of product you need. It is not enough to ascertain quality, take a step further to ensure they have the capability to deliver on your own project.
6. Company Reputation
This is probably the factor that reveals where a provider stands on other criteria. Knowing what past and existing clients think about a company will help you decide if they are a good fit. Do everything possible to speak to existing clients. This is to establish a reliable source of testimonials instead of relying on what the testimonial section of the vendor’s website says.
7. Flexibility & Scalability
Do not partner with an online education solution provider if they lack flexibility and scalability. In the electronic learning industry, demands fluctuate. Consequently, you need a vendor that can scale up or down based on demand. In addition, consider multi-device access. People no longer rely on one device. Selling a tool that is responsive on one device or OS is a recipe for failure.
Conclusion: Where to Find the Best eLearning Tools Provider?
Being strategic and patient when choosing a digital education vendor is the way to go if you want to avoid grave mistakes. Changing a provider is not easy and cost-effective. It is advisable to consider every crucial factor before taking the big leap. That said, Aristek Systems have got everything you need to provide.
We provide custom-tailored education software development services for K-12, Primary, Secondary education, universities, and corporate training. Wherever you are, in North America, Europe, or the Middle East, you will get a personalized digital learning experience for your students or employees via next-generation EdTech solutions.
