Read this before making deciding to design and develop your own RTO Software solution. Achieving the right balance of functionality and personality that define your business doesn't have to be a risky and expensive affair.
We've become pretty used to the idea that custom designed anything is bound to be too risky and too expensive. But it doesn't have to be.
Recent developments in web design and software technology make it possible to deliver a personalised experience to your clients and at the same time implement functionality, workflows, reports and notifications that are unique to your business. Let's face it, if you and your competitors all adopt exactly the same software solutions, with the same style and branding what would be your point of difference?
As a registered training provider (RTO), you already have an important contribution to offer the VET sector. Training and assessing people who want to develop and improve their skills plays a vital role in our economy and culture. You've already proven that you're good at it. The unique aspects of how and why you're different need to be embedded and reinforced in all your systems and processes, because that's where your unique advantages lie. On the other hand, developing and maintaining complex software and websites requires a very different set of skills, expertise, time and money that you may not happen to have lying around. So how do we strike a balance between branding and functionality that uniquely positions your business without the crazy risks, interminable delays and the hefty price tag generally associated with custom design?
Here at Bluegem we build in options and flexibility that enable you to express the unique qualities of your business.
- Web API - lets you decide your public and student interfaces to Bluegem using your own corporate website, or another website of your choice.
- HTML editors - if you decide to continue using our web pages you can self-customise them
- Student Dashboard - decide what features you want to make available to your clients and how you want them to present.
- Templates - certificate, email and report templates that you can create and customise at will
- Neatly categorised settings - that enable you to set business rules and workflows for your training management system
- A library - where you can set quality procedures, and decide what information you want to make available to your clients
- Multiple delivery modes - including face-to-face, eLearning and online assessments
- Integration - enables functionality in one software application to become available to another application
- A sandbox environment - where you can try out your ideas before committing them to your production server
But it doesn't stop there. Course design, schedules, timetables, enrolment processes, invoicing, payment options and reporting; all include features that enable you to present your brand and your business rules.
In a nutshell, most of the things you might typically want to customise are already customisable at no additional cost. But they're also risk free, because you can implement and test them in a sandbox in minutes. Then when you're satisfied you can implement them on your production server.
That just leaves the non-typical features and aspects you might want to change. For those, Bluegem will have to implement them, but we've designed the product so that it is also easy for us to customise. We use a layered design consisting of the database, business logic, web services and User Interface. That way changes can be isolated to one layer at a time, making them easier to change without significantly and unexpectedly affecting other layers. Each layer can be independently tested and verified, assuring better quality and minimising risk. We also use modern styling and branding technologies that make styling attractive, easy and consistent.