Modular LMS for Multi-Domain Learning: SwissMentor’s Enterprise-Grade Online Platform

The client’s journey began 20 years ago with a clear mission: to provide educational institutions with a powerful tool that allows them to focus on what truly matters — delivering excellent education. With time, they launched an online learning platform, and in 2021, SwissMentor asked for our help to modernize and expand the system properly.

Our task was to correctly scale the system’s orientation in both didactic and administrative aspects, move the solution from on-premise to the cloud, as well as develop a versatile framework to be a go-to solution for many ways and areas of learning.

SwissMentor offers a learning management system (LMS), software for managing all sides of the educational process. The main features include course management, invoicing, room management, document management, and e-learning. The platform combines all the necessary functions for lessons, time planning, billing, and communication. This is all that is needed to deliver a seamless customer experience and management.

The cross-functional team consisted of a .NET developer, an Angular developer, a DevOps engineer, a QA specialist, and a dedicated project manager. In total, there were 6 roles and 6 people.

SwissMentor needed to update and scale its complex LMS architecture, moving it to the cloud to effectively serve multiple use cases, including schools, corporate, and professional training. However, the following pitfalls were waiting:

• Modernizing a complex LMS architecture into microservices,
• Achieving SCORM (Sharable Content Object Reference Model) compliance,
• Refining multiple learning and administrative features, like invoicing, salary accounting, event management, and adding separate courses,
• Building an architecture flexible enough to support schools, corporate training, and associations,
• Moving from the desktop version to cloud services.

As a platform, SwissMentor is divided into 3 main use areas: for educational facilities (schools, universities, platforms); for professional development and continuing education; for associations and clubs. That’s why we’ve revamped the system significantly.

Smart Re-Architecture

SwissMentor’s updated architecture is based on a contemporary, multi-layered framework that distinguishes between layers for data, business logic, and presentation. This redesign allowed the system to scale easily across various user groups and learning formats, in addition to improving performance and maintainability.

SwissMentor is a robust and future-ready LMS solution thanks to these deep advancements, which integrates Azure cloud services, containerization with Docker and Kubernetes, and sturdy modular components to guarantee high availability, improved security, and seamless interaction with third-party systems.

Desktop-to-Azure Cloud Migration

As part of the modernization, we also facilitated a seamless migration from a legacy desktop-based infrastructure to the Azure cloud environment. This strategic shift not only eliminated the restrictions of on-premise systems but also unlocked a wide range of benefits:

• secure, low-latency access from anywhere,
• on-demand scalability to support growing user bases,
• centralized system management for easier maintenance and updates.

With Azure-native services, we ensured reinforced system’s uptime, data protection, and operational efficiency, laying a solid foundation for SwissMentor’s long-term growth and adaptability in the digital education space.

SCORM Compliance

For SwissMentor, achieving SCORM compliance was a key requirement to ensure reliable content exchange between the learning platform and e-learning elements. SwissMentor is compatible with its various versions, meaning there is a reliable exchange between the learning platform and the respective e-learning element. Both the students themselves and the teacher can check the learning progress at any time, and the system controls the various sub-files in the correct order.

Enhanced Access Security

The ACL rights system enables precise control over access to individual data, allowing for the implementation of complex access rules. Even complex access rules, e.g., only to one object type systemically in one hierarchy level, can be easily mapped.

Personal data is protected by individual data, like a mobile phone number. A higher-level system of rights rules is user-friendly, so managers can easily document the rights within course construction. Thanks to this implementation, even complex requirements for the legal system can be mapped with just a few clicks.

Renewed Modules and Systems

The modules optimize processes and resources, record and store information, and make it accessible in a clear and user-specific manner.

• People Management Module: The system manages learners’ data and tracks their achievements, such as addresses, CVs, skills, and affiliations. Additional CRM features facilitate the search, grouping, management, and engagement of people with specific characteristics.
• Document Management Module: SwissMentor’s system efficiently stores, manages, and searches office files, images, videos, and other documents.
• Media Streaming Module: It compresses, saves, and plays media such as videos and audio files in streaming mode, allowing playback while downloading. While the Reporting Module helps to create standardized and customer-specific reports, available as PDF files or tabular reports in Excel.
• E-learning Module: E-learning facilitates online learning units, transmitting the learning progress to make it comprehensible for each participant.
• Communication System: The communication module supports sending and receiving messages with file attachments and SMS, both within and outside the platform.
• Course Management Module: SwissMentor allows the mapping of single or multi-semester courses, assigning groups of teachers and learners to these courses. This module incorporates SwissMentor’s curriculum system that organizes training content into modules, further divided across several semesters.
• Event Management Modules: The system combines non-lesson-associated events with spatial, human, and material resources.
• Content Management System (CMS): This system lets users edit texts with tables and high-resolution images as XHTML files.
• Exams and Certificates (Qualification) Module: The qualification module enables the predefinition of course exams, with grades being collated on report cards and printed as reports or certificates.
• Timetable Module: Supporting the creation of course timetables, SwissMentor offers manual, semi-manual, and automatic scheduling modes. Above that, the Accounting Module allows for the performance-based remuneration of teaching activities. While the Invoicing feature issues bills for course visits, individual or custom products.