By: David Hand, VP of DevOps Sales at Orasi Software

Virtual application training solutions are in demand, but still seem a mystery.

Traffic was heavy in the OrasiLabs booth at Learning Solutions Orlando last week – and we were thrilled. Lots of questions, demos and “what’s next” conversations took place with HR, software and C-level execs across industries like healthcare, banking, payroll, insurance and technology. 

Orasi came away with a few key insights, but none as surprising as the fact that although companies know they need/want a virtual application training solution, how to choose and implement the right one still seems a mystery. Most commentary fell into two categories, which are consistent with what we’ve heard from others in the past 12 months:

1. “I didn’t know anything like OrasiLabs was out there.” Given COVID and the rise of eLearning, we didn’t expect to hear this as often as we did. It seems those of this perspective are using Zoom, Teams and other options independently driven by learners themselves…and none are working out well for anyone. Primary complications of cobbled together solutions are that instructors don’t have a seamless way to see student desktops; there’s no consistency, monitoring and progress tracking; and so much class time is spent setting up and onboarding that by the time teaching starts students are burnt out. In addition, those options provide no way for instructors to capture the time a learner spends training “hands on” and students lose the attention received from a solution that enables instructors to work in close collaboration via an “over the shoulder” view.

2. “We’ve been using a different training solution and we’re not happy with it.” We hear this a lot, quite frankly. Often, a company is using another option that isn’t checking enough boxes to make it cost, time or learning effective. Also, many solutions aren’t flexible enough to scale, or truly complement an in-person and/or hybrid training strategy – elements especially critical to global organizations. To this we counsel how important it is to review a vendor and its solution thoroughly prior to engagement…although that takes just a bit more time upfront, it yields huge savings all around in the end. 

A final point to note post-conference is the challenges companies still face regarding the integration of a virtual training solution into existing infrastructure. Some talked about how complicated it has been moving to AWS, or something else the IT group put together, and the reliance on IT staffers to continually service the solution impedes performance and productivity on both ends of the spectrum. In the coming weeks, look for a article from Karen Spencer, Area VP for Orasi Product Manager for OrasiLabs, on that very topic.

Orasi is available to guide you through the demystification of virtual application training solutions. Learn more about how OrasiLabs is driving software adoption and retention, increasing ROI and training/development confidence, and reducing human and technology costs associated with delivering effective virtual application training. Visit https://orasilabs.com/free-trial/ for a 14-day free trial and click here for a meeting.