Research

Report: Cloud Eases LMS Migration, Leads to Market Change

• By Rhea Kelly
• 07/27/17

A shift to the cloud is causing market change for learning management systems, according to a new report from education technology research firm e-Literate. As part of the organization's LMS Market Dynamics series, researchers Phil Hill and Michael Feldstein review LMS usage, implementation and decommissions at higher ed institutions across the globe.

The report identified an increase in new LMS implementations — "attributable to Pearson's sunsetting of their LearningStudio LMS" — as well as voluntary migrations in Spring 2017. Ease of migration and integration has been a key factor in the growth, according to Hill: "The improved reliability and interoperability of cloud-based solutions are enabling easier migrations," he explained in a statement. "But despite chatter about market disruption by emerging product categories, the LMS will continue to serve as the primary hub for learning technologies. Ease of LMS integration, in turn, is still a critical factor in the success of new technologies within higher education."

Some of the report's findings include:

• Canvas is the fastest growing LMS worldwide, while Blackboard is the second-most used system globally.
• D2L Brightspace saw the same number of implementations in 2017 as Canvas, thanks to a growing presence in North America.
• Moodle is the dominant LMS for institutions outside North America.
• Faculty demand for "improved system usability" is leading to an increase in voluntary migrations.
• Large-scale migrations, such as the California Community College System's implementation of Canvas and the University of Phoenix's move to Blackboard, are impacting the market.

"Although there is lot speculation about the future of ed tech today, one thing is certain: There is an oligopoly emerging. We're seeing smaller, more regionally focused LMSes decrease and a few dominant players emerge globally," commented Feldstein in a statement.

The full report is available to subscribers on the e-Literate site.