LMS Integrations: What They Are and Why You Need Them

A learning management system (LMS) can open doors to all kinds of positive business outcomes. By investing in online education, you’re investing in the success of your customers, employees, partners and gig workers. 

However, for learning management systems to be fully effective, they need to be fully integrated into your technology stack, otherwise, inefficiencies will run rampant.  

Easier said than done.

Historically, LMS integrations have presented quite a challenge.

Learning management systems are extremely complicated pieces of software and the process of integrating them seamlessly with the best of your business systems is equally complex. Not only is there a huge variety of learning management systems, but there are also all kinds of different LMS integrations. 

Because there’s no one-size-fits-all solution, companies have their work cut out for them when trying to figure out how to integrate on a case-by-case basis, resulting in the idea that LMS integration isn’t expected when choosing learning management system software. 

Northpass brings numerous LMS integrations to the table, making learning easier and more streamlined for your business. 

Northpass provides built-in LMS integrations for leading business tools, including HubSpot, Salesforce, Paypal, Zoom, Slack and many more. 

On top of the integrations, Northpass offers a suite of LMS features that brings the experience of seamlessly creating and delivering original online training content that is engaging and improves business outcomes. 

API vs Integrations

It’s impossible to talk about integration without talking about APIs. However, the term API is not synonymous with the term integration. Let’s take a closer look at the definition of API vs integration and how these two terms differ from one another. 

API stands for an application programming interface. An application programming interface is a kind of software interface that enables two separate software applications to communicate. An API is kind of like a point of entry into a system. For example, APIs are what enable the communication between banking systems and point-of-sale systems when you swipe a payment card at the store.

Integrations are very similar, but the term conveys a more big-picture meaning than API does. Integration is the process of making two systems compatible with one another, whereas an API is a piece of code that facilitates that compatibility. APIs make collaboration between two different applications possible, but the API isn’t the same as the actual state of being integrated.

It’s apparent why these two terms are so closely related. While API and integration do not mean the same thing, APIs are an essential component of modern digital integrations. 

An API basically serves as an interface between applications, facilitating connectivity, which can bring great conveniences and enable the use of many other features. The most common API-related tasks are adding course enrollments, managing course progress by the user, and grouping users by the categories you have created. 

It is important to note that a vendor that sells a software service dubbed an API doesn’t necessarily offer any smooth integrations. Merely hearing that a service provides APIs isn’t enough — it’s always a good idea to perform due diligence on the software and platforms you’re considering using so you have a good idea of what you’re getting.  

What's an LMS Integration?

When discussing the topic of how a learning management system can help you, it’s natural to ask what is an LMS integration, since compatibility between platforms and apps you’re already using is so important in the modern bid toward bigger, faster, easier.

LMS integrations are basically a common way to connect tools from an existing technology stack with your LMS platform.

These integrations allow learning data to flow seamlessly from the SaaS learning management system you’re using to existing tools. They help break down frustrating silos between your learning, sales, marketing and service teams. Even better is when these integrations break down invisible silos that you might not even have been aware of before. 

Northpass already provides features that aim to help you bring all your training initiatives to life with cohesion, confidence and convenience. 

The additional integrations with a large number of other business applications mean that you could truly gain total control over your program and the direction it is going in. 

Types of LMS Integrations

There are many different types of LMS integrations that exist, which can help you streamline and facilitate your business operations and your teaching and learning efforts within the company.

Depending on what type of learning management system you’re using and what kind of industry your organization exists within, you might find certain specific kinds of integrations useful. 

Northpass makes it simple to integrate with the rest of your tech stack with built-in integration capabilities for some of the most widely-used business applications.

Here are some examples of the different integration categories that Northpass offers :

• Analytics 
• Authentication
• Certification
• Commerce
• Communication
• Community
• Content Authoring
• CRM
• Customer Success
• Help Desk
• Human Resources
• Marketing Automation
• Product Adoption
• Workflows

This extensive list of possible integrations shows how far the benefits of a learning management system can truly extend. By integrating your user education program with the rest of your tech stack, you can get your training technology working in tandem with everything from your CRM, to your customer support efforts, to your marketing strategy and more.

Examples of LMS Integrations

Northpass offers certain LMS integrations that could be greatly convenient and beneficial to your business's success. Details for configuring, authorizing and uninstalling each integration that has been built and provided thus far can be found on the Northpass Apps & Integrations page. 

Let’s dive deeper and take a look at some of the examples of LMS integrations that are offered by Northpass and how they may improve your business outcomes and facilitate training. 

HubSpot LMS 

HubSpot is a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) platform, which means that it aims to help you manage your company’s pipeline, store customer data and log activities in one convenient place.

It’s a great platform that many businesses are already familiar with, since HubSpot’s marketing, sales and service platform is great for scaling companies that are working towards a better customer experience. HubSpot helps companies generate leads, close customers and more. 

Now, imagine the convenience of bringing together LMS and CRM. Your business can enjoy the benefits of a CRM alongside the advantages of using Northpass at the same time. 

It’s here, and it’s the groundbreaking HubSpot LMS integration offered by Northpass. By bringing these operations closer together, Northpass may be able to improve your company’s training and customer relationship management in one system.

Salesforce

Salesforce is a leading provider of cloud-based CRM services. It helps businesses make better connections and forge stronger relationships with partners, customers as well as potential customers. Since Northpass seeks to help you positively impact your business metrics for teams, customers and partners alike, it is reasonable to want integration with Salesforce, which has a similar purpose except for CRM instead of LMS. 

The good news is that Northpass does have Salesforce integration. With LMS Salesforce integration available, Northpass allows you to set up Salesforce within your Northpass account. The process for enabling the integration and connecting Salesforce to your Northpass is simple and doesn’t require many complex steps. 

Other LMS integrations 

Other than these popularly used example LMS integrations, Northpass also offers plenty of others, including Slack, Shopify, Instructor Training and more. 

With Northpass’ handy integrations, you can use all the useful features from other apps that you don’t want to lose and take your business’ personalized learning experiences to the next level, positively transforming your business as a whole and transcending old limitations. 

Learning management system compatibility with widely used business applications can save you a lot of time and boost your efficiency across your business when it comes to learning management. Integrations offer you more freedom in moving data between systems, making more connections and improving the quality of your teaching and learning.