Someone is trying to sell me an online learning platform, do I really need one of these systems?

Most of the time, agencies just take an open-source template slap your logo on it, and bill you 3,500 euro. Plus the 150 euro monthly maintenance on top. When your total annual revenue is around 54,000 euro spending nearly 10% of your income on an unproven automation setup is a massive risk.

SCORM is a packaging standard from the early 2000s. Companies use it when buying off-the-shelf modules to assign to their staff internally. If you sell your training directly to clients, you do not need to create SCORM files at all; providing access to videos and documents is plenty.

There are ready-made cloud learning platforms out there for around 30 to 40 euro a month. No setup fees zero maintenance. You can upload all three of your modules yourself in a weekend. Scale up as you get more clients, cancel if it doesn't work out. Don't lock up 3,500 euro with an agency.

I run finance courses at a similar scale. Two years ago, I paid an agency to build a custom platform, and most users kept messaging me because they forgot their passwords, which basically doubled my workload. I ended up shutting it down and moving to an off-the-shelf cloud service, haven't had a headache since.

But if we keep sending videos as links over email, how do we stop people from sharing them with others? Do those off-the-shelf platforms you mentioned actually prevent people from copying and redistributing content?

In B2B sales training, corporate clients aren't paying for your tech stack; they're paying for measurable improvements in their teams' performance. Your live sessions and direct feedback are your strongest selling points. If you switch to completely automated videos, you risk diluting the value that allows you to charge 450 euro per head.

tbh the agency's quote sounds way over the top to me too... like spending that kind of cash for just 3 modules makes zero sense, you're definitely better off focusing on current corporate clients.

The general consensus here is pretty clear: 1) The LMS and SCORM setup quoted by the agency is overkill and overpriced for this scale, 2) If you need a portal, stick to an off-the-shelf monthly subscription service, 3) Corporate clients care about the quality of live coaching, not the underlying software.

Let me speak from the other side; Im on the supplier side. like every "well look at it later" in a meeting means unbilled work.

Correct me if I'm wrong.

If you're going this route sort this out first. The answer varies greatly by industry; there is no one-size-fits-all rule.

That's all, sorry if I went on too long.

I completely agree. I mean when you try to change everything at once nothing settles.

The discussion got scattered, let me summarize. If acceptance criteria aren't written, when the work is done is open to debate.

Most time waste accumulates in tasks waiting for approval. If you post the result here, it will help others too.

Let me summarize the topic, since several different answers were given. The harder it is to reverse a decision, the slower you should make it.

If code ownership isn't in the contract, you have no bargaining power when leaving.

Thanks, that was the answer I was looking for. The real issue isn't the number, but what it's based on.

This is my opinion, I'm not claiming it's absolute truth.

You're right. If you don't write this down from the start, it leads to arguments later.

Looking at it as a process, the picture changes. If code ownership isn't in the contract, you have no bargaining power when leaving.

If you have questions, write them; I'll answer as best I can.

Thanks for posting. Everyone rushing into online learning platform gets stuck at the same point.

When we decide without measuring, we always end up in the same place. Just leaving this note, it might be useful.

I'd say don't rush. When we decide without measuring, we always end up in the same place.

Hope this helps.