Reports from your LMS are good for viewing detailed lists of activity or perhaps a summary of data, but most people find them limiting. If you want to look at different segments of your learning population or different courses, you’ll probably have to get a completely new report. This takes time and costs money. Reports are also relatively flat. Today’s managers want a quick and versatile way to view the data. Is viewing report data alone really a sufficient basis for making important decisions within an organization? My answer is probably not.

We're all search engine junkies. How can we not be? In order to wade your way through the sheer volume of data on the Internet, the help of a search engine is pretty much a given. In fact, in the vast jungle that is the World Wide Web, a good search engine is like a machete, hacking its way through the overgrowth to clear a path for you to the treasure you seek.

Let's face it: Training programs cost money. In a time of belt-tightening and budget-axing, costs need to be justified and ROIs are being scrutinized for size and accuracy.

In this down economy, CFOs are understandably looking to cut budgets as close to the bone as possible. But there needs to be care taken so they don't make decisions that are penny wise and pound foolish. Just as slashing PR and Marketing dollars can hurt a company in the long term, so too can cutting training budgets.

[Except from CLO Magazine, May 2011] 

By Christopher Moore and Ronald J. Kantor, Ph.D.

Data rich, information poor – it's been one of the universal shortcomings of off-the-shelf learning and talent management systems of the past and still is currently. Even though these systems are vital to the strategic alignment, readiness, compliance, and operational efficiency of the business, it’s a rarity when these systems give clear and useful insight to progress and outcomes on key initiatives using their built-in reporting. ....