Key steps for a Successful Switch from Moodle to Docebo LMS

• 4 min read

Lean-MoodleRecently we’ve been asked (a lot!) about comparing Moodle with Docebo or how easy it is to switch from an existing Moodle to Docebo LMS (which is considered in the top 3 best LMSs in the world for B2B by industry experts). Though both products have their own attributes and do represent great value, I thought it would be a good idea to present some key tips for our esteemed customers who are considering the shift from Moodle to a proven, world-class SaaS LMS – Docebo.

Earlier this year we wrote about Docebo vs. Moodle and helped many of our readers to understand the difference between Docebo and Moodle.  In this article, we assume that the reader has already made up his/her mind to shift from Moodle to Docebo so I am going to share some key steps to be considered when actually making the shift. I hope this helps make the decision-making process easier!


Doing a Gap Analysis and Defining Problem Areas

As mentioned above, both Moodle and Docebo are great products, however, for Moodle, since it’s open source, the evolution of the product depends on the communities and activities that support it. So although it appears to be open source and cost-free it will not necessarily satisfy all your L&D requirements from the software product perspective. There may be many gaps which exist between the way your organisation functions and the way Moodle supports it. This obviously calls for some modifications, customisations (and therefore cost as well).  There may be many major new learning concepts missing from the solution for example: Gamification, ILT management, high end software security features, readily available integration API’s with third-party software for SSO, etc. So if you are already using Moodle in your organisation, it is advisable to do the gap analysis and identify your needs and gaps present in Moodle. This will allow you to come to a conclusion as to which features are missing, and what the key pain areas are which you will want to address.  Prioritise those key requirements and map those with the Docebo LMS feature list (download the list here).

Connecting the dots

Once the gap analysis has been done, compare it with the Docebo feature list and map to that list. I am sure you will find 90% to 95% of your requirements already taken care of by the Docebo LMS, if not you will certainly find it on our product road map. While doing this you must consider the following functionalities as a part of this exercise:

  1. Identifying the key  modules required based on your organisational goals
  2. Identify the infrastructure arrangement and additional costs (if any)
  3. Identify the compliance of Docebo with your IT policies
  4. Understand the Terms and Conditions of support and upgrades
  5. Identify and compare the TCO ( Total Cost of Ownership)

Often even though Moodle appears to be cost-free, it proves to be untrue. There are ‘hidden’ costs such as: hosting, infrastructure, additional customisation (if any) etc. and therefore it is important to know the TCO (Total Cost of Ownership) of having Moodle implemented. At Docebo, the pricing is very transparent and it gives you a clear understanding of your TCO from day one.


Comparing IT infrastructure

IT infrastructure is one of the key components in a software implementation. If you are using Moodle and have hosted it with some third-party vendor or in-house and planning to switch to Docebo LMS, then you can surely save on the cost of hosting and other additional infrastructure.  Docebo LMS is a true SAAS (Cloud) platform and it takes care of infrastructure. So you won’t have to worry about things like hosting, support etc.  From day one you can rest assured about your hosting arrangements, security of your content and other enhancements even as the platform scales within your organization. Docebo’s highly efficient product engineering team is always working on these aspects to ensure uninterrupted service to end users. Once you decide on switching from Moodle to Docebo, you just need to scope and plan out the data migration activities.


Plan and Scope data migration activities and Integration with Third-Party Software

This is one of the most important and critical phases during the migration from Moodle to Docebo.  Once the decision to switch from Moodle to Docebo LMS has been made, then a decision needs to be made on what data needs to be migrated from Moodle to Docebo. The data can be categorised in:

  1. Training Records (Status of learners, history, reports, archives, etc)
  2. Course and Curriculum Content (Catalogs, Learning paths, courses, videos,documents, etc)
  3. User Generated Content (Forums, Wikis, Chats, etc)

Docebo’s ready to use APIs make this process simpler to execute and you can rest assured about your data migration. However, it is always easier said than done so I advise you plan and scope the data migration activities well in advance. There may be some data present in Moodle which may be redundant and you may not wish to bring or migrate that in the Docebo LMS. Such data, and data fields, need to be identified and eliminated during the migration process.  The best way to avoid any hassles will be to prepare a data migration chart and describe the various content elements to be migrated and their relationship with each other. At Docebo we do offer an extended consulting for data migration activities to our customers to ensure that they do not lose their critical data during the switching process.


Check for new releases and product road map

Switching from Moodle to Docebo LMS is a great decision and a step towards implementing a successful learning environment to support all your future learning needs, we advise you to check our Feature List and product road map frequently. This will allow you to be up to date with new features as they arise, and understand the direction vis a vis your requirements.

At Docebo, we do understand the fast changing landscapes of both the learning workflows and the technologies related to the LMS and we endeavour to give our customers the latest features required. Our product engineering team along with the sales team work together to meet market/ customer/ end user needs and ensure that we keep delivering new features before the end user even thinks of them!

In case if you have any additional  questions about switching from Moodle to Docebo, please comment here or contact us to discuss it further!

 

Regards,
Amol Shinde
Solution Consultant-Docebo