How do you define LMS?
You may have heard someone in your employment community talk about LMS or Learning Management System before, you might have also heard of an LMS being compared to a SaaS which stands for Software As A Service. While both of these in all general aspects are different in many ways at the logistics standpoint, many companies and Learning Management Systems are turning their focus to more of a Software As A Service or SaaS type of solution.
To really understand what a SaaS is you can compare this to one of the most popular SaaS providers now to date which would be Microsoft and their O365 or Office 365 service. SaaS are generally softwares and applications that are hosted out in the wonderful world of the CLOUD. These are managed and maintained by the Service Provider and you as the consumer have a general level of administration that are you able to accomplish to manage your users. SaaS providers will typically handle breakfix issues, software updates, server updates, etc.
In the past an LMS would be something that is hosted on servers in house, completely managed by the I.T. staff, and now a days would be considered not as robust as what the SaaS providers are developing and introducing to the current state of technology. LMS have now adapted their platforms to become a total SaaS provider or a blend between the two. Most of the popular LMS vendors out there are generally just considered SaaS providers in theory.
When you are researching an LMS make sure you get details on what type of services they are providing to you. Will you need to host this on-site and eat up your precious server real estate or are you going to be paying for more of a SAAS service?
