September 21, 2021

Based on the deployment mode, LMS can be divided into cloud-based LMS and self-hosted LMS and this deployment model can greatly affect a lot of factors including the security, cost and availability of the system. Unlike cloud-based LMS, the locally installed self-hosted systems are hosted on the company server which has its own advantages. Often the benefits of a self-hosted LMS gets overlooked as it has more upfront cost than the cloud-based LMS. However, these benefits are massive and long term which is why they are worth the investment.

 

As the learning management systems are becoming more niche than universal, there are certain sectors that can benefit the most from self-hosted systems such as, companies that are conscious about their security, larger enterprises or companies that need to teach a very specific and unique course about an equally specific skill.

 

Choosing between an online, cloud-based LMS and a self-hosted LMS can be a difficult task and thus below are some underestimated benefits of self-hosted systems so that you can make an informed choice.

 

More Customizable

 

In a cloud-based LMS, features are pretty rigid as the control is still in the hands of the vendor. The incapability of being flexible becomes even more noticeable when the vendor updates features which may also cause disruption in the initial features.

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However, unlike the cloud-based online systems, a self-hosted LMS is way more flexible as it has a lot of customization options. It allows you to customize and personalize your training program so that it maintains a consistent brand image throughout. You can also use your training software as an employee training tracking software to keep tabs on how your employees are interacting with your training material.

 

Highly secure

 

Even though the security risks of cloud-based systems are fairly low, the self-hosted LMS proves to be more secure and is perfect for companies and organizations that are concerned about the security of their data. Often implementing a lot of security features isn’t possible in a common server, which is typically true for cloud-based systems. However, there are no such limiting factors for a self-hosted system that exclusively runs on your server.

 

Softwares that run on a common server are exposed to the same threats and as no software is completely unbreakable, security breaches can affect all the people on the cloud-based LMS which doesn’t really happen in the case of self-hosted systems that can be hosted on a server that doesn’t need internet which eradicates almost all security concerns.

 

One time purchase 

 

self-hosted LMS software are one time purchasing as they are supposed to be installed on a private server and can be used offline unlike a cloud-based online LMS where you pay money as a monthly or yearly subscription. However, this factor makes the upfront charges of a self-hosted system way more than an online one. For a self-hosted software you pay for the licensing which gives you unlimited access to it.

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More control and better integrations 

 

A self-hosted learning management system provides a lot of in-house control. As the system is already in the server, the in-house organization members can control, customize and change any aspect of the course to make it more suitable and relevant.

 

Similarly, self-hosted systems also offer much flexibility when it comes to integrating the systems. Integrating the systems from different departments of an organization is pretty important as such integrations make the eLearning more relevant and implementable as the issues are understood better by the learners.

 

Independence from the Vendor 

 

Unlike online cloud-based LMS softwares, the self-hosted systems are much more independent from the vendor after the purchase of the software. An online learning system will obviously disappear completely if the vendor goes out of business. However, self-hosted systems are always there no matter even if the vendor has gone into an ugly ‘no-business’ phase.

 

Conclusion: 

 

self-hosted LMS can be a bit costlier and can have problems when the company decides to finally upgrade it, as in a self-hosted system you need to ‘buy’ the upgrade which is why a lot of companies are still sceptical about choosing between a cloud-based system and a self-hosted one. But the security and agility make up for it.

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The best way to find out which self-hosted software will be the best for your organization is to read the reviews of the LMS hosts and compare them which will not just give you a better and clearer picture of these systems but it will also help you choose a platform that precisely fulfils your requirements.

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