5 Reasons Why you should choose a SaaS for your LMS

More and more people that work with enrichment programs are turning to SaaS companies for their LMS solutions. And I'm glad I did, because it's saved me a tremendous amount of hassle.

I'm running an online education company using a custom-built, white-labeled LMS system from a SaaS provider. I'm productively managing a cohort of 50 students and I employ two part-time staff. It's a small but healthy operation, and the SaaS has given me the all tools I need to grow.

If you’re part of an educational institution that supports e-learning, then here are 5 reasons why you should consider searching for a SaaS provider for your LMS and what might happen if you choose to set one up without any help.

We’re Educators, not Software Experts

Recently a friend of mine was tasked with establishing a learning management system (LMS) at an after-school learning center for K-12 students. He had previous experience with using VLEs and thought he could implement an LMS for his students and other staff.

However, it wasn’t long before he realized going at it alone was wishful thinking. He quickly ran into problems. He began complaining about things such as self-hosting, domain support, and plugins. He contacted me for assistance at this point, but as I am not an expert in LMS software either, I was unable to assist him.

The only small piece of advice I gave was “pay someone to do it for you.’ I suggested that a SaaS provider will take care of all the technical aspects of running an LMS system such as software updates and maintenance for the LMS, so he won’t have to.

Latest LMS Features

One of the pitfalls of setting up your own LMS system is that you’ll likely download an outdated version. Many companies continue to offer software that hasn't been updated and comes without live support. Would you pay for a sandwich that has been in the fridge for a month? No, so why would you download software that hasn’t been upgraded in years?

If someone chooses to use SaaS, they can ensure that their LMS is efficient and equipped with all the necessary tools for modern administrators and teachers. Using SaaS is the only way to make sure your LMS is streamlined.

Easy to Enroll and Scale

I'm confident that your enrichment center offers enjoyable, worthwhile, and affordable courses, so your students will be progressing through them in no time. Afterward, your current clients will tell their friends about your classes, and before you know it, your door will be flooded with enthusiastic students who are interested in enrolling.

An LMS system makes it easy to manually enroll batches of new students, and assign them to the correct level and course. An asynchronous LMS even enables students to self-enroll at home. Eventually, using a SaaS-provided LMS, you’ll be able to access and edit hundreds of learner profiles at the touch of a button.

Scaling is Cost-Effective

Just because you're scaling up doesn't necessarily mean the cost is going higher. You can scale your LMS subscription or plan with SaaS providers to meet the needs of your educational institution. SaaS providers provide basic subscriptions that provide you total access to and management over your LMS, regardless of whether you manage a small learning center or a large enterprise. And it would be affordable to do so if you were to increase your enrollment numbers since the more pupils you have, the more affordable it gets. SaaS suppliers allow flexible payment options, which makes it easier on the accounting department.

A Team will Guide you through the Process

‘That’s a great question, I’m not sure of the answer right now, but I’ll get back to you soon.’ Is this something your administrative staff would say? Clients, especially the tech-savvy ones, are likely to ask your staff puzzling questions about the LMS that can't be answered on the spot. And when you’re operating a business, questions about the LMS will occur with increasing frequency.

Not having all the answers in moments like these can be frustrating and even costly, but don't worry, SaaS providers offer round-the-clock support if you need help. A team of experts not only guides you through the onboarding process, but we'll stay in close communication with you until your business becomes LMS fluent. So, when clients, employees, and parents ask you about your LMS functionalities, you’ll be sure to have the right answer.

Final Thoughts

Luckily for my friend, he took my advice and reached out to OOOLAB. OOOLAB is a SaaS that offers an innovative Learning Management System. After a quick meeting to find out his requirements, they built a customized learning platform for his learning center. His staff and students now think of him as some IT specialist…we won’t tell them he needed a little help from a SaaS and a friend in the know.