LMS With AD/LDAP Integration: Benefits And 6 Must-Have Features That Secure Your Sensitive Data
Single Sign-On (SSO) can make a big difference in LMS adoption, as well as security. Active Directory, or the open-source version, LDAP, are key enablers to SSO. Why is all of this technical jargon important to you when choosing an LMS? Simple. AD/LDAP integration means your users only need to sign in to your AD environment once, giving easy and secure access across your systems. This matters because it impacts how freely your corporate learners are able to interact with your LMS. The fewer barriers to participation, the higher the adoption. Your Learning Management System is packed with sensitive user data. Protect it with an LMS with AD/LDAP integration.
Benefits Of An LMS With AD/LDAP Integration
There are countless reasons why an LMS with AD/LDAP integration makes sense. You will, naturally, focus your priorities on security and ease-of-access considerations.
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Online Learners Only Have To Remember One Password
Since access is via SSO, online learners don't have to enter a new password to access an LMS with AD/LDAP integration. Learner access is easier, and the administrative burden from password resets and access requests is reduced. LMS admins can then focus on learner and stakeholder experience. You don’t want your online learners to have one more thing to stress about when they’re accessing online training. An LMS with AD/LDAP integration makes it easier for them to get the information they need without having to worry about lost passwords.
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User Data Is Centrally Maintained
With an LMS with AD/LDAP integration, user data becomes a centrally held resource. LMS administrators are not responsible for additions, moves, and leavers. This leads to better quality of data and, therefore, more reliable reporting. Any user issues can be resolved by the Active Directory team, across all systems.
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Allows For Easily Identifying Users And Roles
The benefit of an AD/LDAP environment is that user data becomes structured. An LMS with AD/LDAP integration means that you can easily identify user groups. This allows for setting permissions to allocate online training by demographic.
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Allows For Cleaner Integration With Other Systems
With unified user data across all systems, integration across the AD/LDAP environment becomes smoother. Your software suite can work together, instead of causing incompatibility issues that slow down the development and maintenance process.
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Makes LMS More Familiar To The User
Thanks to SSO, the LMS can be accessed in the same way as all other integrated systems. Therefore, it doesn’t feel like another “new” system to learn and navigate, increasing uptake. No steep learning curve standing in the way of actively participating in the online training course and achieving the goals.
Choosing An LMS That Supports AD/LDAP Integration
Your LMS vendor should be able to describe to you, in detail, how your system will integrate with your existing environment. For all the reasons outlined above, it should be a given that your user data will be AD/LDAP-integrated. Look out for the following positives during an LMS demo or sales pitch that will reassure you that this is the right system:
1. Login Welcome Page Is Customizable
Your LMS provider should demonstrate how to match the LMS welcome screen with other AD/LDAP integrated systems. This will help the LMS User Experience to blend seamlessly with the rest of the company’s online environment. Rather than creating a disjointed learning experience that feels pieced together or fragmented.
2. It Supports Single Sign-On
If your platform proudly displays SSO capability, that means you have an LMS with AD/LDAP integration. Among the many benefits is that the risks from multiple passwords evaporate. Ensure that your LMS of choice offers this feature and try it out during your LMS free demo or trial.
3. It Supports Microsoft Azure AD
If your organization wants to run a cloud-based LMS, ensure your system supports Microsoft Azure AD. This gives you the ability to integrate cloud-based LMS resources with the AD environment.
4. Capability To Support Other Integrations
Whilst we are discussing the benefits of smooth integration, ensure your LMS works seamlessly with all your key systems. Examples might be SAP or Shopify. You may also benefit from other integrated sign-on capabilities, such as Twitter or Facebook integration. Anything that is essential to your L&D strategy should be integrated, from systems to online interfaces.
5. Verify User Group And Role Support
Many LMSs with AD/LDAP integration support allow you to automatically assign users to specific groups or roles based on their ‘profile field.’ This enables you to designate specific online training materials or resources and make others off-limits. For example, a corporate LMS with AD/LDAP integration lets you automatically put your customer service employees in a separate LMS group.
6. Do A Test Round
The idea of an LMS with AD/LDAP integration support may sound amazing, but you need to test drive the tool to see if it can benefit your in-house team. Invite your eLearning developers, LMS admins, and other key stakeholders to try out the system. See how easy it is to migrate data, access the system, and assign roles. Then get their feedback and follow up with the LMS vendor. This is the time to ask questions regarding not only their AD support but also data security features and other crucial selling points.
Conclusion
There’s little doubt that integration in the LMS is key to the success of every aspect of your eLearning project. From reporting to supporting other processes such as performance management, you’ll rely on LMS integration to achieve your LMS goals. An LMS with AD/LDAP integration is the top priority when considering ease of access for your corporate learners. It also provides security and peace of mind for your administrators. The burden on your L&D team is decreased because responsibility for maintaining user data sits with the AD/LDAP team. Simply utilize the data and groups capability of AD, and maximize your opportunities for targeted online training, reporting, and communications.
How do you know which LMS solutions offer AD/LDAP? After all, there are so many platforms on the market. Thankfully, you can use our online directory to research the top LMS software based on your criteria. From use case and features to spec support and pricing model.
