By: David Hand, VP of DevOps Sales at Orasi Software
It is remarkable how quickly the virtual training market is expanding. The pervasiveness of virtual tools is staggering, but it also points to a significant gap that the industry has struggled with. Whether it is instructors looking for speed, wider reach, and better retention rates, or users who want to have flexibility in when they learn, where they learn, and how they learn – both sides were struggling with attaining desired benefits from online learning. Until now!
Growing to a new height
The IT training market is slated to grow by $6.26 billion during 2020-2024, according to a market report by Technavio. The availability of training modules online has added to this exponential growth. The jump in productivity seen by employers coupled with the leap in engagement from learners is leading to an overall rise in the effectiveness of training programs. That’s precisely what is helping organizations to cut down IT training costs and increase profit.
The report points at a gradual shift from structured and scheduled IT training events to virtual classrooms. The significant benefits that are outlined include: a non-restricting environment, cost-efficiency, and broader geographical accessibility – all staples of a virtual classroom.
Drivers of virtual models
Let us understand what makes these virtual training software solutions stand apart and deliver this impact. What makes them so distinct from the tools that were prevalent till now?
Here are the top features of virtual training software that makes learning easy and effective:
- Availability of hands-on training
- Quick set-up ease and presence of infrastructure-agnostic platforms
- Consistency with convenience
- Visual and audio aids – that can be customized and scaled up/down as needed
- Conferencing support
- Over-the-shoulder views for real-time corrections and trainer guidance
- Multi-channel chats and interactions
- Peer-to-peer interface
- Trainee-to-instructor communication
- Better knowledge retention
- Whiteboards and other aids to enrich the session with clarity and creativity
- Ability to chart self-driven schedules
- Design templates that are creative and reusable
- High-level course design
- Scalability to accommodate any size, requirement, or need
- Configurable policies and delivery modes
- The module can be deployed for small teams or big ones – as per the requirement
Broader gains
These are just a few elements that virtual training software is equipped with. There is also ample room for instant and real-time feedback, which is actionable. These courses can be designed and supported with a very high personalization.
The significant factor is cloud enablement – because of cloud-native and elastic environments that underpin these courses. These courses achieve instructors’ goals of engagement, speed, reach, and productivity. But they also serve learners by helping them with proper tools for self-learning, blended learning, anytime learning, and lifelong learning. Indeed, now the training is done for real-world scenarios and which is hands-on in the truest sense.
If you are also considering virtual sessions for your next software training program, take a moment to check if that tool has these areas well-covered. Pick a solution that serves your primary goals without compromising on speed, quality, and cost-effectiveness. Choose a virtual training solution that’s great on agility and engagement and smooth on personalization, time management, and final impact.
With some research on what you intend to achieve with your training, you could shortlist the right tools for your training endeavors. Be prudent and demanding in what a tool can deliver.