Simulation in the Enterprise:
Report #2

The Gravity of the Situation: The Assimilation of eLearning by Enterprise Applications

Summary | Table of Contents | Index

68 pages. 24 graphics and tables. $250 single-reader subscription.

Summary

The second report highlights the vision of a wide range of enterprise application vendors including the large global enterprise software vendors like SAP, IBM, Oracle, Microsoft, PeopleSoft, Siebel and Sun. IBM has been an elearning leader for many years. The others have all added elearning functionality to their ebusiness product suites in the last year.

The dominant theme in their marketing positioning and product strategy is the clear message to customers that integrated business applications suites are superior to point solutions. Those integrated suites contain not only elearning but business process management, business intelligence, content management and, increasingly, live collaboration.

This integration message is being positioned against pure-play vendors that are characterized by the enterprise vendors as disconnected point solutions, or islands of automation, or worse, silos. Pure-plays have countered by sending customers the message that highly specialized platforms are easily integrated and offer best-of-breed functionality and value. They maintain that the mega-players will never have the business focus or the expertise to provide robust learning products.

The second report discusses the potential outcomes of the brutal competition in the market. Some elearning analysts believe that the entrenched elearning vendors have a “headstart” on the enterprise application vendors. The rationale is that pure-play elearning deployments in entrenched customer-bases will be hard to dislodge.

The intersection of the assimilation of learning technology into enterprise applications and the customer demand for second-generation learning products has created a profound Innovation Vector.

There are three primary reactions from the elearning vendors in response to the encroachment by enterprise vendors. Vendors are:

§          Building out their brands as a best-of-breed solution.

§          Upgrading their learning product suites to facilitate integration.

§          Upgrading their products with Workforce Analytics.

RWD has established itself as a system integrator. Their ebusiness/elearning division does both system integration and elearning deployments. They have a significant Siebel practice and integrate Siebel technology with other enterprise platforms. They have developed integrated solutions combining their products with Documentum, Saba, IBM and Centra (in other words, content management, learning technology, enterprise technology and collaboration).

Large content vendors face the daunting task of migrating product-based and courseware-based libraries to solution-centric reference content and granular, workflow simulations. Their content must adapt to the realities of the Real-time Extended Enterprise.

Many of the larger content houses have embarked on the transition to performance and simulation products. For example, SkillSoft has new simulation-based product lines and has integrated the Books24x7 reference assets into their content catalog.

The most unique (and aggressive) pure-plays will survive as best-of-breed integrated solutions. Web Services is one of the latest innovations in enterprise application integration technology. Element K and VCampus are the first two elearning companies to upgrade their platforms with Web Services.

Docent, Saba and Hyperwave have integrated analytics and business process management into their suites. THINQ has begun to educate customers on the benefits of enterprise application integration.  These tactical maneuvers are efforts to achieve best-of-breed status and will help all these vendors position their solutions as “integration-friendly” platforms. 

Customers are steadily migrating away from courseware-based elearning products and enthusiastically adopting next-generation, real-time, embedded workflow products. Even at the height of the recession, vendors of these new products experienced unprecedented revenue growth.

Best-of-breed vendors will need to develop performance-based products and support extensive integration with workflow processes across the enterprise.  They will need to migrate away from courseware-based product models. At all costs they must downplay the “point solution” status of their products. Topics covered in the second report include:

§          Web Services and eLearning

§          The Emergence of Workflow

§          The Assimilation of Elearning into Enterprise Point Solutions

§          The Assimilation of Elearning into Integrated eBusiness Suites

§          The Impact on the eLearning Industry

§          The Emergence of Best-of-Breed Workflow Products

§          Systems Thinking and Situated Learning: Workflow Trumps Courseware

Table of Contents

The Gravity of the Situation: The Assimilation of Elearning by Enterprise Applications

Executive Overview

The Gravity of the Situation: The Assimilation of Elearning by Enterprise Applications           

Learning is now a Core Business Process in the Value Chain

Business Process Automation, Integration and Collaboration

Business Rules and Portals: Integrated Trans-Applications    

Web Services, Enterprise Integration and eLearning 

Overview of Workflow Modeling, Automation and Simulation 

Workforce Performance Management: The Assimilation of Elearning into Expanding Enterprise Point Solutions           

Resource Management Solutions        

Collaboration Management Solutions

Process Management Solutions

Product Management Solutions          

The Assimilation of eLearning into Integrated eBusiness Suites        

The Impact on the eLeaming Industry: The Acceleration of Innovation          

elearning Vendors Adapt to Enterprise Integration and Workflow     

The Rise of Systems Thinking and Situated Learning: Workflow Trumps Courseware

A Silver Lining: Learning Objects Evolve to Workflow Objects

Index  

Index

NET, 28, 70, 71, 73

Accenture, 34

AIM, 44

Alessi and Trollip, 52

AskMe, 44, 46, 48, 50

Aspect Communications, 66, 67

Autonomy, 40, 46, 48, 63

BAM, 7, 32, 36, 52, 54, 55

BEA, 25, 32, 78

BearingPoint, 43

BI, 7, 36, 52, 70

Blackboard, 28

blogging, 48

BPM, 7, 13, 16, 17, 19, 22, 23, 24, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 36, 49, 51, 52, 53, 54, 56, 58, 70, 71, 72, 75, 76

Broadvision, 67

Business Activity Monitoring, 7, 32, 52, 54, 58

Business Intelligence, 7, 52, 55, 57, 78

business models, 13, 14

Business Process Automation, 21, 36

Business Process Management, 8, 9, 16, 17, 19, 23, 24, 32, 34, 36, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 71

Business Process Modeling Language, 31

Cadpo, 60, 61, 62

Call centers, 67

Centra, 46, 50, 51, 67, 73

Chordiant Software, 67

Click2learn, 12, 28, 46, 64

Coach, 54

Cognos, 7, 26, 44, 55, 56, 57

Collaboration, 3, 8, 9, 21, 22, 30, 31, 35, 36, 37, 46, 47, 49, 50, 51, 62, 69, 70, 75

competency management, 5, 19, 43, 44

Content, 8, 9, 10, 11, 19, 23, 25, 34, 35, 36, 38, 39, 45, 46, 48, 49, 62, 70, 75, 77, 78

Content management, 11, 25

Continuous Workflow Performance Improvement, 2

Convergys, 67

Courseware, 3, 10, 22, 33, 75, 78

CRM, 4, 8, 13, 14, 15, 20, 21, 34, 36, 42, 43, 45, 59, 62, 65, 67, 70, 73, 74

CyberU, 39, 45

Dashboard, 55, 58

dashboards, 26, 32, 52, 54, 56, 57, 62

Dassault, 60

Docent, 7, 12, 14, 28, 44, 49, 52, 73, 74

Documentum, 40, 48, 49, 61

E.piphany, 67

EAI, 10, 15, 22, 23, 26, 28, 37, 68, 70, 71, 78

EDS, 60, 61, 62, 69

elearning, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 16, 17, 19, 20, 21, 26, 27, 28, 31, 32, 33, 34, 39, 40, 43, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 53, 54, 55, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 64, 66, 67, 69, 70, 72, 73, 75, 77

eLearning, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 26, 27, 35, 36, 68, 72

Element K, 11, 12, 28, 73

Embedded, 9, 19, 36, 75

Employee Relationship Management, 34, 36, 39, 40, 42, 43

Enterprise Application Integration, 15, 21, 22, 23, 26, 27, 28, 32, 68

Epiance, 7, 53

eRoom, 61

ERP, 4, 13, 14, 15, 20, 28, 36, 39, 42, 43, 45, 59, 67, 70, 73, 74

FileNet, 7, 40, 48, 49, 53, 69

Gagne, 22

Genesys, 39, 43, 66

HP, 32, 53, 56, 78

Hyperwave, 7, 11, 32, 40, 49, 50, 69, 73, 74, 75

IBM, 2, 7, 10, 11, 12, 14, 22, 23, 24, 25, 28, 31, 32, 40, 43, 46, 48, 50, 51, 53, 54, 56, 60, 62, 69, 70, 71, 78

ILOG, 7, 32, 40, 49, 53, 74

Indeliq, 7, 32, 74

InfoPath, 41

Innovation, 3, 9, 13, 22, 36, 72

Instant Messaging, 46, 50

Interwoven, 40, 48, 49

Intraspect, 51

J2EE, 23, 28, 70, 71, 73

Javelin Technologies, 60

Key Performance Indicator, 10, 55

Key Performance Indicators, 55

KM, 13, 14, 15, 20, 36, 40, 46

Knowledge Impact, 7, 11

Knowledge Management, 39, 40, 42, 46, 47, 50

Knowledge Products, 7, 11, 12, 14, 17

KnowledgeNet, 14, 75

KnowledgePlanet, 46

KnowledgePool, 44

LCMS, 15, 19, 36, 38, 39, 40, 46, 67, 75

Learning, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13, 16, 17, 19, 21, 23, 31, 36, 38, 39, 43, 45, 46, 54, 58, 61, 62, 68, 72, 73, 74, 76, 77

LearnLinc, 46, 50, 51

Liveperson, 67

LMS, 5, 15, 19, 28, 36, 38, 39, 40, 44, 45, 46, 49, 53, 61, 62, 67, 73, 74, 75

Lombardi, 7, 11, 17, 32, 54

Manugistics, 60, 64, 74

Maritz, 46, 74

Measuring, 11

Microsoft, 2, 6, 10, 11, 14, 24, 31, 32, 40, 41, 42, 50, 51, 53, 54, 56, 57, 60, 63, 64, 69, 70, 71, 78

Modeling, 3, 11, 29, 30, 31, 32, 53, 58, 75, 77

Modifying, 11

Net Perceptions, 67

Nobilis, 7, 11, 54

Open Text, 25, 40, 49, 62, 69

Oracle, 2, 7, 10, 11, 12, 14, 24, 28, 32, 39, 42, 44, 48, 54, 57, 58, 62, 64, 69, 70, 74

OutStart, 14

Partner Relationship Management, 32, 58, 59, 63, 64

PeopleSoft, 2, 5, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 14, 24, 28, 39, 42, 43, 44, 45, 56, 57, 58, 64, 68, 69, 70, 71, 73, 74

Performance, 3, 6, 10, 11, 19, 33, 34, 35, 36, 39, 42, 45, 51, 52, 53, 55, 56, 60

Performance Support, 9, 36

PlaceWare, 46, 50, 51

Plateau, 12, 14, 28, 44, 74, 75

Plumtree, 25, 69

Portal, 10, 23, 24, 26, 50, 67, 70

portals, 13, 15, 16, 23, 25, 26, 34, 44, 48, 57, 64

Portals, 3, 9, 11, 23, 36, 49

Powersim, 31, 53

Presence, 9, 36, 46, 50

Presence Awareness, 9, 36, 46, 50

Process Management, 31, 32, 35, 37, 51, 69

process models, 31

Product Lifecycle Management, 8, 9, 35, 36, 51, 58, 59, 60, 64, 69

Product Management, 12, 31, 37, 58, 60

Productivity, 32, 44, 51

Real-time Extended Enterprise, 8, 9, 10, 11, 29, 31, 35, 36, 37, 46, 57, 60, 68, 69, 73, 74

REE, 8, 29, 36, 37, 46, 68, 74

Resource Management, 31, 37, 38, 39, 40, 43, 46, 47, 62, 69

ROI, 17, 26, 33, 58, 74

RWD, 28, 73

Saba, 12, 14, 26, 28, 34, 39, 44, 46, 52, 61, 73, 74

SalesForce Automation, 36, 59, 65

Salesforce.com, 65

Salesnet, 65

SAP, 2, 5, 7, 10, 11, 12, 14, 21, 24, 28, 39, 42, 43, 48, 57, 58, 60, 62, 63, 64, 69, 70, 71, 73

SAS, 40, 45, 56, 58

SCM, 4, 8, 13, 14, 15, 20, 34, 36, 39, 42, 45, 59, 62, 63, 64, 70, 74

Siebel, 2, 7, 10, 11, 12, 14, 24, 26, 28, 34, 39, 43, 57, 58, 69, 70, 71, 73, 74

Siemens, 28, 42, 60

Simulation, 1, 2, 3, 6, 8, 9, 11, 14, 29, 31, 33, 35, 36, 59, 60, 61, 67, 72, 75, 77

Situated Learning, 3, 8, 10, 75

Situational Awareness, 7

Softscape, 40, 44

Staffware, 30, 53

Sun, 2, 7, 10, 11, 12, 14, 32, 39, 44, 45, 54, 65, 69, 70, 71, 78

Sybase, 31, 53

Tacit Knowledge, 44, 46, 48, 50, 51

Talent Management Systems, 39, 44

Teamplate, 7, 11, 54

TEDS, 39, 44, 74

THINQ, 12, 14, 28, 46, 73

Thinque, 65

TIBCO, 32, 55

Top-down, 11

Traction, 48

Ultimus, 7, 11, 32, 53

Unified Modeling Language, 31

value chain, 18, 43

Vignette, 25, 40, 49, 67

Web Services, 3, 10, 15, 16, 22, 26, 27, 28, 63, 70, 71, 73, 75, 77

WebEx, 46, 50, 51

webMethods, 32

WebSphere, 24, 70

Wizdom, 53

workflow, 2, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 13, 14, 16, 17, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 35, 36, 37, 38, 40, 43, 44, 46, 47, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 60, 62, 63, 64, 67, 68, 69, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78

Workflow, 2, 3, 7, 9, 10, 11, 17, 29, 31, 32, 33, 36, 52, 56, 58, 63, 66, 68, 70, 73, 75, 76, 78

Workflow Analysis, 32, 75

Workflow optimization, 17, 31

Workflow-based eLearning, 2, 7, 11

Workforce Analytics, 10, 36, 52, 58

XML, 27, 41, 71, 77

XStream, 7, 11