Totara launches Version 2.2
Totara Learning Solutions, provider of the powerful packaged distribution of Moodle, released Totara LMS 2.2 today.
The launch of Totara 2.2 is an important milestone for the company as it brings together the latest innovations from Totara along with all the benefits of being on the Moodle 2.x framework. Totara LMS is a distribution of Moodle, meaning that it is a package with specialized extensions and functionality designed for a specific target audience, being corporate and work-place learning.
Totara benefits from a ‘community ecosystem’ approach to innovation which encourages contribution and input to improve Totara not only from the Totara core team, but also the wider community of partners and clients. This has resulted in the rapid integration of features that partners and clients alike want from their LMS. Collaboration on new 2.2 features included working with Totara Partners’ Kineo and Webanywhere, and the extra capacity and capability from open source specialists, Catalyst IT.
As well as all the features of Moodle 2.2, the launch of Totara 2.2 also includes Totara Sync, which more easily enables integrations with 3rd party systems such as Peoplesoft, SAP or other HRIS. It enables the synchronisation of user, position and organisation hierarchies between Totara and an external source.
New collaborative innovations also include Audience Management, which enables administrators to define groups of users on the basis of rule and rule-set combinations in order to manage course and program enrolments. This functionality is particularly important for larger enterprise clients.
Richard Wyles, CEO of Totara Learning Solutions said, “Collaboration and the distribution model are really important elements to get open source technologies into new market spaces. Rather than needing to take a ‘software development kit’ approach with the general product and sell to corporates on the potential of Moodle if customized, it is much easier to present the Totara distro, which is already designed and pre-configured for the enterprise. For this reason, Totara is a game-changing LMS for the corporate sector, comprising a rich feature-set and commercial grade support but with all of the benefits and freedom open source brings to play. We’re very excited to be developing on the 2.x framework, as it provides the foundations for a new wave of innovations, and further collaboration opportunities with our clients and the wider Moodle community.”