Enterprises are struggling to meet end-user training needs, which often require content that has been developed by a combination of in-house, third-party off-the-shelf and third-party custom developers. Integrating these and making them available to users seamlessly is easier said than done. Content providers have responded by introducing new licensing and pricing models for content courseware — per user, per library, per catalog and on demand. After the content aggregation of externally hosted content assets from companies such as Cornerstone OnDemand and GeoLearning, a one-stop-shop for all types of content, including third-party and custom-created, has emerged from Plateau Systems through its iContent portal.

Plateau's iContent has introduced a new e-learning content business model in the form of a portal that blends third-party pre-validated content assets with organizations' custom-made content in a single repository. This solves a big problem for enterprises, because this part of an e-learning deployment is taxing, time-consuming and very hard to construct and manage.

Prospective buyers of this type of solution should choose one that:

• Consolidates service-level agreements and resources, so that they all come from a single provider.
• Reduces the administration and overheads associated with testing and updating content.
• Enables more flexible pricing, aligned with better-customized content catalogs.

The key challenges for Plateau are to increase its customer base, continue to broaden its range of content catalog partners, and compete with the similar solutions likely to emerge from other providers in the e-learning market. Moreover, to other content providers, iContent can be seen as a collaborative commerce platform — an additional and profitable sales channel. However, because competitors' content will also be available there, it could increase competition and reduce margins.

With iContent, Plateau is in a position to compete more effectively by, first, offering a single-point solution to fulfill the more individual e-learning content needs of enterprise users and, second, providing access to an integrated repository for custom content, off-the-shelf courseware and content services from multiple providers such as SkillSoft, Element K and Ninth House. The most notable benefit to be gained from using iContent is its ability to offer an integrated solution for e-learning content and its implications, such as testing and integrating e-learning content assets. Other available products require users to engage with several different vendors to cover this functionality.

However, the capabilities and offerings introduced by Plateau need to reach a larger customer base than it does currently. Plateau needs to reach a larger customer base and to offer more content providers in its iContent portal to prove its technical and financial viability, and to be considered successful with its innovative business model.