As an organization, you need to make some tough decisions every day. What should your marketing budget be, which company should be acquired, the short-term objectives, etc.

One of these decisions is designing your online training program on a cloud-based LMS or a self-hosted system. Every company has its own set of reasons, needs, and biases to make this decision.

But, if you have already chosen the cloud-based LMS and are getting any of these warning signs, it is time to switch to self-hosted learning management systems. So, let's dive in to know more.

You have Sensitive Data

With the increasing scope of online employee training, the use of LMS is increasing rapidly. These LMS capture information about your employee, suppliers, stakeholders, learning goals, performance, and other sensitive information, and this information needs to be protected at any cost.

So, choosing an LMS hosting service on your local server is a better option in this case. These self-hosted LMS are safer because you own the database and the data.

This means that you can choose some extra security measures in the form of high-level encryptions and many other factors. You can have control over reporting and data portability services.

Your organization will be in charge of the LMS you are using data security. So, when you choose a self-hosted LMS, ensure that your company is well-equipped and capable of taking full responsibility for all its sensitive data.

Having Strict Branding Guidelines

Consistent branding is an indispensable part of their marketing strategy and employer branding for most enterprises. Like, you may want to Integrate branding from some campaign of yours with the user interface of your LMS. For instance, you need to feature a company values tag, like "relationships matter," on all the learning modules.

This kind of branding and high-level customizations are possible with self-hosted LMS. You can modify different platform elements, like the dashboard, etc. Many cloud-based LMS also offer these customization options, but not even close to what these self-hosted LMS provide.

You are a Growing and Changing Company

Using a cloud-based LMS limits the functionality of your enterprise as it scales. Perhaps you need to make specific changes in your learning and development strategy.

For instance, your L&D team might want to Integrate your learning management system with webinars and other social platforms. Maybe, they need detailed reporting. So, there can be countless such demands that might surge as your organization grows.

Growth involves frequent changes, and these cloud-based LMS limit those changes. Using self-hosted LMS makes building adaptable learning platforms that can accommodate growing users and courses easier.

Need of LMS integration with other Systems

Learning management systems are not the only software system your organization depends upon. Various HR systems, Project Management Systems, tracking software, communication systems, and tens of different applications are used.

The problem is that you can not run all of these independently all the time. So, choosing a self-hosted LMS enables you to Integrate your online training software with your IT infrastructure.

For instance, new users you add to HCM(Human Capital Management) applications can be automatically added to the LMS.

Furthermore, you can schedule training completion and other performance data to your HR software system for KPI tracking. This streamlined approach is indispensable for any organization's success and further improves its reporting capacities.

The Bottom Line

You may have been biting your fingers while reading through these warning signs. This implies that you immediately need to switch to a self-hosted learning management system.

All you have to do is be fully aware of your needs and then find a trusted LMS solution with the necessary features to meet those needs.

I hope this article threw some light on the need to switch to self-hosted LMS. Thank you for reading.