E Learning Stats

The Indian e-learning market is still in its infancy at just $4 million as per the 2002 estimates, with an expected 4-year CAGR of 20-25 per cent, the apex body pointed out

The worldwide corporate e-learning market is expected to reach revenues of $23 billion by 2005, with a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 25 per cent, said National Association of Software and Services Companies (Nasscom) in its latest survey

Nasscom said that there will be a significant shift in demand for e-learning content. It is expected that by 2004, non-IT content will be the larger market, accounting for over 54 per cent of total revenues.

In terms of e-learning solutions, it is estimated that two-thirds of the global market is for off-the-shelf products and the main markets are the US and the UK. North America holds the maximum opportunity with two-thirds of worldwide revenues through 2005. However, Western Europe is the fastest growing market.

At the height of the dotcom madness, some forecasters were predicting the e-learning market might be worth as much as £7bn by 2005. The reality will be more like £2bn to £3bn, suggests Mr Horseman. This, though, is a sizeable market and demand is still growing. Just last month, Jobs & Money reported how the NHS is embracing e-learning to encourage its 500,000 staff to become more computer literate. Walk into most big name organisations and you'll probably find some sort of e-learning offering. In many areas, e-learning does have an edge over conventional training. Its flexibility, if managed right, can be an advantage. The fact you can test yourself and assess what you are learning as you go, and then go back to update your learning regularly, are other plus points

"Live" or recorded broadcasts of lectures are "dead" compared to edited, bite-sized modules which distil the essence of lessons and make them more fun by using tools such as Macromedia Flash animations, audio-on-demand and Web links.