How it started (for Administrate)
Unlike the imposed slowdown of a global pandemic, sometimes you have to choose to slow down in order to speed up. This was the decision we made at Administrate in 2017. It took us slowing down so that we could focus on developing the best API-first platform available in learning technology. The choice was simple: a comprehensive, publicly available API was the only way to enable our customers to have the true learning technology ecosystem that enterprise training operations require.
Now, in 2021, it’s time to speed up again and we’re so excited about addressing some of the trends in today’s market. In this post, I want to touch on three emerging trends we’re seeing and challenge you to think about them a bit.
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
In his 1934 book, The Rock, T.S. Eliot famously posed the questions, “Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge? Where is the knowledge we have lost in information?”
We’ve been writing a lot lately about Business Intelligence for Training so you know we’re big on organizing your data into being a trusted source of knowledge. And the next step is the analysis, giving you that key advantage to make wise decisions. We’re excited about adding some Artificial Intelligence (AI) to help supercharge your ability to make those great decisions and save you loads of time in the process.
Buzzword bingo, clickbait, etc. Yep, we’ve all heard the term artificial intelligence being thrown around a lot lately. However, AI can only deliver leveraged value for learning and development if it is connected to a rich data model. By rich data model, I mean your data is organized into components that interrelate in a way that is applicable to your daily workflow, in an accessible format for interrogation and reporting.
Most training teams don’t have this readily available. Even if they are using a training management platform, data accessibility is usually limited. Unless you’re an Administrate customer. Because Administrate provides this singular, rich data model for all training data within your ecosystem, we can now let you unleash the power of AI to solve complex logistical and scheduling problems, automatically.
This not only saves you exponential amounts of time but optimizes outcomes in a matter of seconds, outcomes that would take humans (you) many valuable hours to compute. All you have to do is set the rules and make a few screen clicks. Our early efforts here have been described as “jaw-dropping” and it’s only the beginning.
Content recommendation engine
Should the organization be driving a better learning experience or should learner experience be driving a better organization? Yeah, the answer is both. But how do you do this well?
This is something we’ve been thinking about at Administrate and I’ll briefly touch on our approach. Just like AI, you can have amazing content and the flashiest LXP or LMS, but if you don’t have this connected to a rich data model, you’re wasting your efforts to automate with intelligence. Facebook, Google, Netflix, and Amazon didn’t become some of the largest tech companies because of their content. They hold this spot because of their rich data model and their ability to serve up the most relevant content. It’s not just the data; it’s the complex model organizing it, and analyzing it for key insights.
The most effective training organizations are focused on serving up the most relevant content to the learner instantly. With our platform’s rich data model organizing your data, we’re thrilled to enable you to serve up the most relevant training content to your employees and customers automatically, providing immediate, continuous value from your curriculum.
With the Content Recommendation engine, you’ll be able to offer your learners the kind of experience they’ve come to expect from other content sources like Netflix, Spotify, and more. None of this is possible to replicate manually. Let our content recommendation engine take this off your plate and do it for you.
Subscription-based training
Subscription-based training is precisely what it says on the label, but why is this a trend and why do we see every major software company shifting their training to this model? It’s because their CFO is pushing for it.
Think about it, if you are a CFO and your organization has changed its core offering from one-off software licenses to Software as a Service (SaaS), wouldn’t you want everything your organization sells also to be on a subscription model, just to make your financial statements, reporting, and valuation easier? Many training directors are being asked to convert over to a subscription-based model and we want to help them.
Not only does a subscription-based model work better for the CFO, but it’s better for business. Whether you are a software company or not, a training subscription model allows the buyer to pay a steady amount in return for a steady stream of value (fresh content, learning paths, certifications, etc) from the seller. This keeps you, the training provider, relevant and a crucial link in the value chain for the buyer while providing the buyer with predictability.
Just as you would only cancel Netflix if they stopped providing you with new content, your buyer will only cancel the subscription if you stop providing value. And as mentioned above, the more relevant and targeted the content, the better the value. With customer perception of value secured through relevant and targeted content, you can focus your Sales resource on growth opportunities versus retention-required transactional sales, saving you and your buyer both time and effort.
Where are you speeding up in 2021?
These are just three of the trends we are seeing and discussing here at Administrate. We love talking about this stuff. If you do too, get in touch. Let’s have a conversation.
