Enterprise Learning Management System Development Guide for Your Business
In dynamic work environments, where teams continuously expand, roles diversify, and priorities shift, scaling employee training can become a real challenge. That’s when enterprises start looking into enterprise-level LMS as solutions that can finally bring order to the chaos.
Tailored to business needs, such learning management systems can provide the structure needed to deliver strategically aligned training.
With 86% of employees reporting job training is important to them, we can conclude that high-quality education in the workplace improves employee engagement. And according to the 2024 Gallup report, highly engaged business units and teams see an 18% boost in productivity in terms of sales and 23% in overall profitability.
Enterprise-oriented LMS solutions help ensure employees get the training relevant to their roles, managers see exactly what’s working (and what isn’t), and the business gets a team ready to contribute.
At Brights, that’s the kind of enterprise LMS development we specialize in.From LMS for consultants at corporations like Samsung to niche platforms like BeProfi, we help organizations implement LMS platforms that build stronger teams and better processes.
Brights creates solutions that integrate with the tools you already use and make training easy to embrace for employees. That’s what this article is about — sharing insights from our experience to help you choose the best enterprise LMS possible.
BeProfi. Developed by Brights
Key takeaways
Enterprise learning management systems go beyond course delivery — they support organizational goals through features like compliance tracking, leadership development, role-specific training, and more to support large, complex organizations.
When planning an LMS, it’s important to consider long-term scalability plans to avoid costly overhauls later and choose between off-the-shelf or custom solutions that grow with your business.
Integrating your ELMS with existing systems can help automate processes and enhance reporting, but extensive integrations may strain off-the-shelf solutions, making a custom LMS a better choice for complex needs.
Among the most promising emerging trends in enterprise LMS development are AI-powered personalized learning, microlearning, immersive AR/VR training, and cohort-based learning.
Enterprise learning management and its primary objectives
An LMS, or learning management system, is a platform for delivering, managing, and tracking training programs. But what exactly, then, sets enterprise learning management systems apart from traditional LMSs? Better still, how can your particular business benefit from such solutions?
Well, these platforms are used to manage the learning requirements of large, complex organizations. Typically, an ELMS supports diverse teams and multiple departments, sometimes even a global workforce, providing a wide range of solutions for various roles and skills.
While traditional LMS platforms are usually focused on course delivery, enterprise LMSs integrate more diverse features. Depending on the specifics of your organization, these may include compliance tracking, leadership development, role-specific training, etc. ELMS is built not only to teach but also to uplift productivity, streamline processes, and align training with the business's goals.
Now, let’s take a closer look at the specific objectives LMS development for enterprises can help achieve.
Onboarding support
For companies that hire dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of people yearly, automating the onboarding is a must to free up resources and make sure the process goes smoothly. After all, it should be more than just about handing over a laptop and an employee handbook.
The onboarding process sets the tone for an employee’s experience with your company. A well-designed enterprise LMS can help you create structured learning paths that will guide new hires through company policies, tools, and workflows without wasting precious time of the company’s managers.
Just one example to learn from is Zapier, where the onboarding workflows are automatically launched from the recruiting platform, which eliminates the manual process of adding new employees to the system, saving around 30 minutes per new hire. Also, at Zapier, new team members automatically match with experienced employees as their mentors.
Role- and skill-specific training
Not all employees need the same training, and an enterprise LMS can ensure everyone gets exactly what they require. Role- and skill-specific training offers content tailored to individual responsibilities so that employees gain the skills most relevant to their work.
Siemens, for example, approaches skill training and upskilling in manufacturing through digital platforms that employ virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR). This way, employees can practice operating machinery or troubleshoot issues in simulated, risk-free factory environments.
Source: Siemens
Scalable corporate training programs
Training consistency can become a challenge when your organization has multiple locations and thousands of employees. However, since enterprise LMSs are designed for complex organizations, they provide scalable solutions that maintain quality across teams and departments.
Talking about enterprises with huge workforces, Walmart employs 2+ million people, and its solution to training is once again VR. The company has adopted an open VR training ecosystem with ArborXR, which reduced costs by integrating VR with their LMS for advanced reporting and personalized learning. This approach has enabled the training of over 1 million employees in customer service, store operations, and other roles.
Performance management integration
Training programs can directly impact employee growth and performance reviews — if you get the LMS solution right. Businesses can align learning with career advancement by linking training outcomes to performance metrics.
In fact, that’s what we at Brights helped our clients do. The custom educational software we built for consultants at Samsung provided both online lectures and self-study courses. The results of this training influenced employee bonuses and performance reviews.
LMS for Samsung Smart School. Developed by Brights
Compliance and certification tracking
In heavily regulated industries, compliance training isn’t optional but critical. An enterprise LMS can automate this process and ensure employees meet industry standards, thus avoiding costly penalties.
Hospitals use LMS platforms to ensure HIPAA compliance and safeguard patient data. Another example is the finance industry, where banks implement targeted compliance programs to educate employees on anti-money laundering regulations, reduce risks, and protect their organizations from regulatory fines.
Leadership development programs
Last but not least, EMLS platforms are used to offer targeted training for future leaders, focusing on skills like decision-making, communication, and strategic thinking. Such programs usually focus on decision-making, strategic thinking, and communication.
Let’s take Spotify as an example. The company provides two main leadership development courses: a management app program and a leadership app program, focusing on topics like inclusive leadership, managing distributed teams, and leading during crises. Leaders can also access a library of 40+ curated, self-led workshops and participate in 90-minute booster sessions on themes like overcoming leadership mind traps and fostering psychological safety.
Global workforce training
For large corporations that operate in different markets, an LMS can simplify global workforce management by providing a centralized platform to deliver consistent training across multiple regions. It can support multi-language content, accommodate local regulatory requirements, and allow regional administrators to manage their teams while maintaining global oversight.
Here is a glimpse of how the Brights team worked with this specific task when developing an LMS for Philip Morris International:
“PMI operates in many countries, and different markets have unique training materials, regulatory requirements, and career paths for employees. We developed an LMS that allows each market to independently manage its programs, courses, and reports while ensuring data security and confidentiality. With a flexible structure, an intuitive admin panel, and support for single sign-on, the system we developed meets the needs of both local markets and global administrative tasks, enabling easy addition of new markets or updates to existing ones.”
— Anastasiia G., delivery manager at Brights
Some enterprise learning management systems focus on specific tasks, while others combine multiple functionalities. If you need a solution that supports all the objectives mentioned above, we recommend going for custom enterprise LMS solutions.
Key features of enterprise learning management systems
57% of employees engage in learning initiatives outside their workplace. The reason is simple: over half of the respondents are driven by the desire to improve their career opportunities. For businesses, it’s a sign to invest in proper employee training — not just to close skill gaps and boost profitability but also to retain talented and motivated employees.
If you intend to build a learning solution not just as a way of ticking the boxes but of providing effective training initiatives for your team, here are the essential features of an enterprise LMS we suggest considering.
| Feature | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Personalized learning paths | Each employee has their own role, skill set, goals, preferred learning style, etc. Personalized learning ensures they get from corporate training exactly what they need. This can be achieved through AI tools, such as adaptive learning algorithms that analyze individual progress and tailor content or recommendation engines that suggest relevant training. |
| Mobile learning | raining should adapt to the realities of a modern workforce. With mobile-friendly platforms, employees can access learning resources at times that fit their schedules, whether it’s during focused work hours or when they have a quiet moment to engage. |
| Advanced analytics and reporting | With detailed insights into performance and engagement, advanced analytics allows companies to understand the impact of their training programs better. They can identify top performers, pinpoint employees who may need support, and uncover specific skill gaps across teams. |
| Training impact analysis | To improve your learning initiatives, you need to know what impact the current ones are making. We recommend implementing tools to measure the ROI of training programs, which link learning initiatives to key business outcomes like productivity improvement or revenue growth. |
| Gamification | Turning training into a game can make all the difference, but motivation in workplace training often requires more than just badges and points. These classic gamification elements can still encourage participation, but they’re more effective when paired with tangible benefits like performance-based bonuses, professional growth opportunities, etc. |
| Integration with work tools | Let’s be honest, no one likes juggling dozens of apps, especially work-related ones. LMS platforms that integrate with tools like Microsoft Teams or Slack allow employees to access training from their daily workflows. |
| Compliance management | Keeping up with certifications and regulations can be a nightmare, especially in industries like healthcare or finance, where compliance is critical. LMS platforms can simplify the process by automatically tracking compliance requirements, sending reminders, and ensuring employees meet necessary standards. |
| Social learning features | Learning in isolation isn’t equally effective for everyone. That’s why advanced LMS should provide features like discussion forums, peer reviews, and collaborative tasks. This functionality can foster interaction and allow employees to share insights, ask questions, and solve problems together, as a team. |
| Microlearning modules | Not everyone has the time for lengthy courses — and that’s why microlearning is on the rise. With this approach, information can be broken down into bite-sized sessions, making it easier to fit learning into a busy schedule without feeling overwhelmed. |
| Multi-language support | For corporations with global teams, it’s vital to ensure corporate training speaks their employees’ language — quite literally. LMS platforms with multi-language options provide everyone, no matter where they are, with the same quality learning experiences. |
How to choose the right enterprise learning management system
“When implementing an LMS for large-scale companies, you have to consider three most essential factors: scalability, integration capabilities with other systems, and a flexible system for managing learning materials and users.”
— Anastasiia G., delivery manager at Brights
When the ELM system is at the stage of being just an idea, there are probably a ton of questions and concerns going through your mind. It’s natural to want the enterprise learning management software you invest in to fit your organizational needs like a glove. The step-by-step guide below will walk you through the decision-making process, helping you choose the right solution.
Step 1. Define objectives and understand requirements
Let’s say you know that your company requires an efficient ELM system. But what kind? What do you plan to achieve with it? Does it need to automate the onboarding process, ensure compliance, close skill gaps, or all of the abovementioned?
These questions are where you should start. Involve stakeholders to determine critical factors like workforce size, geographic spread, the types of training required, the KPIs of the project, etc. This will help you get clarity and focus on solutions that align with your organization’s goals.
Step 2. Develop a scalable strategy
“Both enterprises that have thousands of employees and growing organizations need a system that can adapt to an increasing number of users, courses, and functionalities. A modern LMS must be designed with dynamic scalability in mind to meet the needs of rapidly expanding businesses.”
— Anastasiia G., delivery manager at Brights
Your immediate plans might be limited to just one aspect of training, like onboarding or leadership development. But when developing an implementation strategy, be sure to consider long-term plans as well — otherwise, what seems like a good solution now might require costly overhauls down the road.
Your strategy needs to include long-term scalability plans, budget considerations, and alignment with industry-specific needs. This will help you choose between an off-the-shelf LMS and a custom solution. A well-thought-out strategy ensures you invest in a platform that evolves alongside your business.
Step 3. Prioritize user experience
No matter how advanced the features are, you’ll have a hard time encouraging employees to adopt the LMS if it’s difficult to use. Employees shouldn’t need a manual to navigate the platform, and administrators shouldn’t feel overwhelmed managing it.
A proper LMS prioritizes simplicity and clarity. For example, a dashboard that highlights assigned courses and progress at a glance can save employees from unnecessary confusion. Similarly, drag-and-drop tools for creating or editing courses make life easier for administrators. Long story short, a well-designed interface ensures learners focus on the content rather than the tool, and UX is the thing we recommend never skimping on.
Step 4. Focus on integration and reporting
“Large companies already have ERP, CRM, and HRM systems in place. An LMS should become part of this ecosystem, not an isolated solution. For large enterprises, an LMS is not just a platform but an integral element of the corporate ecosystem that must seamlessly interact with other business tools.”
— Anastasiia G., delivery manager at Brights
Integrating it with HR systems, collaboration tools, performance management platforms, and other software allows you to easily automate processes like onboarding, performance tracking, managing mandatory compliance training, generating certification reports, and syncing employee data.
Moreover, if you work with a system that offers strong reporting and analytics tools, you can measure training effectiveness, identify skill gaps, and refine programs as needed, all within one platform. However, beware that integrations piling up in off-the-shelf solutions may cause performance issues, so if you anticipate needing extensive integrations — consider going for a custom LMS.
Step 5. Find a reliable tech partner
Whether you’re setting up an off-the-shelf LMS or building a custom solution, you will need an experienced tech team to handle implementation, support, customization, or development from scratch.
We recommend looking for a partner who has already worked with similar LMS projects, especially if you don’t have a big in-house team with relevant expertise. For instance, Brights has a proven track record of working with enterprise LMS projects. We’ve built solutions completely from scratch and used off-the-shelf tools for simpler projects, like The Earth Prize, which we built around Storyblok headless CMS.
Cost of custom EMS development vs. Top off-the-shelf solutions
In case you’re hesitant about whether to go custom or off-the-shelf with enterprise-level LMS development — we get you. There is a lot to consider, including customization needs, number of employees, available resources, scalability plans, and more. We are not taking sides here — both options can be viable.
At the same time, we do encourage you to explore the available options carefully and compare them to your company’s needs.
After all, while custom solutions do require higher upfront costs, in the long run, they may be more cost-effective. And vice versa, if your company has basic needs functionality-wise and no plans for significant scaling — custom enterprise LMS development may be redundant.
In the table below, we gathered some of the most popular LMS solutions for enterprises.
| Off-the-shelf LMS for enterprises | Pros | Сons | Pricing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Docebo, an AI-powered platform offering personalized learning experiences | Reliable content authoring with Docebo Shape. Extensive course library in over 45 languages. Strong social learning features like forums and leaderboards | Complex certification management. Additional features may incur extra costs | While specific pricing details require direct consultation, pricing starts at around $25.000/year based on a 3-year contract |
| TalentLMS, a cloud-based learning platform primarily for the e-learning and education management industries | User-friendly interface suitable for small to medium-sized businesses. Efficient SCORM integration. Supports blended learning approaches | Limited advanced features compared to enterprise-level LMS platforms | Offers a free tier with basic features. Paid plans start at $59 per month for up to 40 users |
| Absorb LMS, an AI-driven, easy-to-implement, comprehensive LMS | Intuitive user interface. Strong compliance management and progress tracking. Supports Single Sign-On (SSO) | Some users report challenges with reporting functionalities. Additional features may come at extra cost | Pricing details are not publicly disclosed, but the average contract is reported to be $32,000 |
| Adobe Learning Manager, a cloud-based LMS built for mid to large enterprises | Integrates seamlessly with other Adobe products. Supports personalized learning at scale. Compliant with GDPR, SOC2 TYPE 2, and FedRAMP certifications | Steeper learning curve for new users. Higher price point compared to some competitors | Free 30-day trial and pricing available upon request |
| 360 Learning, a cloud-based learning platform that combines LMS and LXP functionalities | Emphasizes collaborative learning with co-authoring features. User-friendly interface. Strong analytics and reporting capabilities | Some users experience challenges with third-party integrations. May have a steeper learning curve for certain features | Plans start at $8 per user per month. Enterprise pricing requires direct consultation. The average contract is reported to be $47,000 |
Note that the pricing here does not include additional expenses for setting up and customizing an off-the-shelf solution like tech support, integrations, multiple language support, etc.
As for custom enterprise LMS software development, the price can vary drastically depending on the complexity of your solution, the rates of your tech team, and other factors. Here is what a custom enterprise learning management system may cost you if built by a company like Brights:
The simplest LMS option — $25-35k, 2–3 months;
Basic LMS — $35-50k, 3–4 months;
Full-fledged LMS — $50-80k, 4–6 months;
Advanced LMS — $80k+, 6 months.
“Developing a product requires clarity on the problems it intends to solve. At the early stages of your project, SaaS solutions can work fine. But as you scale to 5–6 tools with constant integrations, operational challenges and detail management will pile up. Keep that in mind when choosing between custom and off-the-shelf.”
— Nata Shved, COO at Brights
For a detailed cost breakdown of each custom LMS option, along with additional expenses, be sure to check out our article on LMS development pricing.
The future of enterprise learning management
Industry trends usually come from user requests, so before investing in any new functionality, it makes sense to study what your core audience wants.
For instance, based on SHRM data, modern employees prefer online, self-paced learning (70%). Among popular requests are also online, instructor-led learning and learning in person with an instructor (both 63%), and hybrid learning (62%). Here are other up-and-coming e-learning trends we recommend looking into when building your enterprise-level LMS.
Immersive learning
Some skills can’t be properly developed without realistic simulations, especially in industries like manufacturing, construction, defense, aviation, and healthcare. That’s why immersive technologies such as virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) continue to be a massive trend in e-learning, enterprise training specifically.
AR and VR offer immersive and interactive learning experiences, allowing employees to practice skills in realistic virtual environments, as well as scenario-based training modules.
In manufacturing, VR is used to help workers practice operating complex machinery in a risk-free virtual environment, which reduces both training costs and errors. Similarly, in healthcare, AR brings surgical training to the next level by overlaying digital information onto real-world scenarios, helping medical professionals refine their skills with precision.
Cohort learning
SHRM data shows that 32% of employees today want training to have a social element, so it’s no wonder cohort-based learning models are gaining traction, especially in remote and hybrid work environments.
This method involves grouping learners into smaller communities, which facilitates stronger collaboration and peer learning, increases accountability, and positively impacts social interactions in the workplace.
For better results, this trend can be combined with collaboration tools integration like Microsoft Teams and Slack to encourage joint learning experiences and knowledge sharing even more.
AI-powered personalized learning
Artificial Intelligence enables LMS platforms to deliver tailored learning experiences by analyzing individual learner data, identifying skill gaps, and recommending specific content to enhance engagement and retention.
Generative AI is changing enterprise learning and development (L&D) by streamlining content creation, automating personalized learning paths, and generating real-time feedback. These innovations enable organizations to deliver dynamic and scalable training programs.
Since Brights has been working with AI solutions for over a decade, we are especially excited about AI being used in the EdTech sector.
Learning in the workflow
Effective learning processes don’t happen in a vacuum. For new skills to really stick, learners need context — and what better context is there than real work environments? AI tools already enable learning to be integrated into daily work tasks, enhancing both workplace productivity and the accessibility of learning content.
This way, employees get access to relevant information and support at the exact moment they need it. Besides, it eliminates the need to step away from work for separate training sessions. As a result, your teams can engage in continuous, adaptive learning that builds their competency over time.
Microlearning
With the importance of a healthy work-life balance, it’s unreasonable to expect your employees to finish ten online courses a year or read two dozen professional books in their spare time. That’s where microlearning comes in. This approach involves short, focused learning sessions that fit into busy schedules and are ideal for quick knowledge updates.
Headway, a microlearning app, helps over 100 million users achieve their self-development goals through concise educational content formats, including summaries, courses, games, and infographics. By the way, this EdTech leader is also Brights’ client: our team built a website for Headway that has further enhanced the accessibility of the platform’s learning materials.
A website for Headway. Developed by Brights
Not all of these trends may apply to your specific case. After all, the answer to the question of how to develop an LMS for enterprise training lies in the requirements of your end users. To figure out what they are and how to address them, feel free to turn to Brights for a consultation.
Conclusion
The secret to building an effective enterprise learning management system lies in creating a strategy that aligns with your organization’s vision, considers your strategic plans, and enables your team to grow. A proper LMS for enterprise operations can simplify numerous tasks, from onboarding and skill development to compliance management and leadership programs.
By considering insights and steps shared in this enterprise LMS development guide, you can transform training from a challenge into a strategic advantage.
At Brights, we know that no two organizations are alike, and neither are their learning requirements. Whether you need to quickly set up a simple but scalable solution or develop an advanced custom LMS for large-scale enterprise operations, our team can build an LMS that fits your goals, evolves with your business, and drives meaningful change.
FAQ.
Engagement starts with making learning relevant and accessible. We at Brights recommend using personalized learning paths, gamification features, and real-world scenarios to keep employees invested in the educational journey. Regular feedback, progress tracking, and tying learning outcomes to career growth also motivate employees greatly.
