LMS Integrations

by Guido Kovalskys

Dear Integration Deliberation,

This is an important decision you are facing and will continue to face again and again as you grow. Let’s first take a look at the Learning Management System playing field, then dive into the learnings we’ve taken away from our LMS integration decisions.

The LMS universe is relatively consolidated around a few key players. In recent years, we’ve seen the decline of traditional LMS leaders and the rise of new contributors. The LMS market is anything but stagnant, and you can expect the landscape to continue shifting. Now more than ever, adaptability is the name of the game.

As a startup founder with limited resources, you only want to invest in integrations that are going to make a big impact. Find out whether a few integrations can make life easier for a majority of your users and invest in those.

Why integrate with this LMS? Is there a pressing need from a current customer or significant prospect? This is the first question we ask of any possible LMS integration.

Learning Management Systems are becoming more and more central to the edtech architecture of schools & districts. Increasingly, we find that schools and districts are bringing requests and LMS integration questions to us. Given the frequency of these conversations, at Nearpod our approach to LMS integrations has not involved proactively seeking out new LMS integrations. Instead, we meet the needs as they arise.

For edtech companies, LMS integration is more about customer engagement and retention than marketing. Integrating with an LMS is not likely to cause those who were previously uninterested in your product to suddenly become interested. What it can do is improve the user experience for overlapping users of your product and the LMS, plus open doors to certain districts that require LMS integration of their purchases.

Here are some of the benefits Nearpod has seen as a result of LMS integrations:

Strong communication on every front is key to building successful LMS integrations. We recommend that edtech companies:

There are a number of challenges in pursuing LMS integrations that should be acknowledged early and considered:

The decision to integrate with Learning Management Systems should be made thoughtfully given the resources required for launch and continual upkeep. However, the LMS market is consolidated enough in both K-12 and Higher Ed that a few key integrations go a long way. The key to building successful LMS integrations is identifying the specific functionality that your customers and prospective customers seek. Maintaining open conversations with customers that involve Sales, Customer Success, and Product teams in a continuous loop is essential to identifying these needs. Return on investments in LMS integrations will depend largely on your success in building what your users are asking for.

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