SumTotal runs on integrations. It exchanges data with your ERP and HR platforms and every learning source you use, and the success of your learning and talent development operations depends on accurate, timely data flow.
Capturing and Sharing Learning Data in SumTotal
Since high-quality data storage and transfer are essential to learning effectiveness, SumTotal spends a great deal of time and effort on making sure you have effective integrations for all your needs.
Partner Integrations
SumTotal develops integration with its partners. For complex integrations with enterprise systems such as Salesforce and LinkedIn Learning, SumTotal provides connector tools in the LMS and provides administrator guides to setting them up.
Since SumTotal and its partners update their tools frequently, SumTotal keeps you informed with its three annual updates and administrator notifications.
Marketplace Connectors
Many SumTotal partners, provide integrations in the SumTotal Marketplace, where you can download connectors to core HR platforms, talent management solutions, talent acquisition platforms, and many add-on productivity tools.
You'll find add-on tools that expand your capability, such as SumTotal Skills Blueprint by Lightcast, which powers your transition to skills-based talent management.
Integration Tools
If you need to create custom integrations, the SumTotal repositories on GitHub contain widgets and editors for AngularJS, NodeBB, and other open-source resources. They can help you build integrations using SumTotal Web Services.
Learning Integration Methods
SumTotal is compatible with all three most widely used learning integration methods.
AICC
Software Advice calls the Aviation Industry’s technical standard of the Defunct Dinosaur. Developed in 1993, it uses HTML forms and simple text strings to transmit data. It’s still widely used because of its compatibility, but is no longer supported. Its capability will not keep up with changing methods and technologies.
SCORM
The U.S. government created the Sharable Content Object Reference Model in 2000 to overcome the limitations of AICC.
It comprises three components built on JavaScript and XML:
- Content Packaging outputs learning courses in a self-contained ZIP file.
- Run-time launches learning courses in a web browser.
- Sequencing dictates how learners navigate through the course.
It is still the most popular technical standard in the learning industry. According to Software Advice, SCORM is popular because of its LMS compatibility and because, like AICC, it’s what many organizations have always used.
SCORM is easy to use and widely supported. However, it doesn’t support offline learning, can only be tracked in an LMS, and can track only a few limited metrics.
Tin Can (xAPI)
Project Tin Can released the Experience API in 2013. It is a flexible technology that works by defining learning activities using JavaScript Object Notation (JSON), which is like XML.
The advantages of Experience API include:
- Freedom from the limitations of SCORM;
- Ability to record and transmit any learning experience, including informal learning like peer learning on the job;
- Freedom from the LMS, a valuable feature for smaller, less complex organizations that don’t need an LMS; and
- Ability to correlate job performance to measure learning effectiveness.
XAPI stores data in a Learning Record Store (LRS). SumTotal contains an LRS and is fully compatible with xAPI. It will continue to update its capabilities as xAPI grows.
How an Application Management Service can Improve Your Data Flow
- If you’ve engaged an AMS, your partner will have all the resources and capability you need to optimize your learning and talent data. You can rely on your AMS to manage complex integrations to streamline your data delivery wherever needed.
- Well-managed data integration can have a significant impact on your operations. You can enjoy higher productivity and lower risk, with the benefits of having the correct data at the right place and time.
- Your AMS will assist you with data governance, so you can stop data errors at the source and create a single source of truth for each dataset. That function will include integration support, which will help you improve all your data flows.
- It will make it easier for you to improve compliance with data monitoring and reporting.
- You can add new tools as needed and deliver data to your decision-makers and people managers so they can make better and faster decisions.
Application Management Services can potentially modernize your business operations. Automating and managing data movement can help you streamline operations and make them more reliable. It also allows you to focus on factors that help increase the quality of your data by assisting you with governance processes and compliance assurance.
The cost of application management services is usually significantly lower than doing it yourself, and it frees you up to focus on service improvement. Investing in AMS is a great way to ensure your organization is well-equipped for the digital age.
Explore Phenom eCloud's application management services for SumTotal
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