Selling courses or training: two tools, two needs
A course-selling platform sells to individuals, an LMS tracks and evidences group training. Here is how to choose according to your need.
Read the articleYour current platform is holding you back. Contracts are getting heavier, tracking is hard to read, or your learners complain about the phone experience. You know you need to leave, but you keep putting it off: where is the content, who has the administration passwords, what happens to the results of the session in progress? These fears are legitimate. They are dealt with using a list.
1. Take stock of what you really have
Before choosing anything, open your platform and count. Many training providers discover at this stage that half their learning paths have not been used for two years.
For each learning path, note four things: its name, its state (active, dormant, to archive), where the source file is, and who wrote it. Add the quizzes, assignments, case studies, uploaded resources and grading settings.
2. Retrieve your data before you need it
This is the step people regret doing too late. Ask your current supplier, in writing, what you can export, in what format and how quickly.
A useful benchmark comes from the rights of individuals (Article 20 of the GDPR, the European regulation). In France, the CNIL specifies that portable data must be handed over in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format, such as CSV, JSON or XML, and it advises against images and PDFs.
This right concerns individuals, your learners: for your own content and your group results, your contract is what counts. But the format criterion applies to you too: a results export as a usable spreadsheet is worth more than a hundred screenshots.
| Item | What to obtain | Format to request |
|---|---|---|
| Content | Texts, videos, source documents | Original files, not just the display |
| Assessments | Questions, expected answers, mark schemes | Spreadsheet or structured file |
| Results | Progress, scores, assignments submitted | CSV or equivalent |
| Learners | List, groups, enrolment dates | CSV or equivalent |
| Certificates and records | What you have already issued | Archivable files |
3. Choose a timetable that spares the sessions in progress
Our firm view: never migrate in the middle of a session. A learner halfway through a path who changes tool loses their bearings, and you lose control of their results.
Aim for the gap between two cohorts. Set three dates: the one when you stop adding new content to the old platform, the one for testing the new one with a small group, and the one for the switch. Leave some margin. A timetable that allows for no surprises is a false timetable.
4. Warn your learners, in everyday words
Your learners do not care about the name of your old or new supplier. They want to know three things: what changes for them, what does not change, and what they have to do.
Send a message in two stages. The first, two to three weeks before: the date, the reason in one sentence, the login address. The second, the day before: the link, the procedure in a few lines, a contact in case of trouble. We also recommend a short help page kept within reach, with a screenshot of the first login.
Do not promise that everything will be identical. Say what will be simpler, and be honest about the rest.
5. Keep both tools running side by side for a few weeks
This is the overlap period. During it, the old platform stays accessible read-only and the new one carries the activity. You check that results are complete, that certificates come out, and that nobody has lost access.
This step also serves your quality approach. In France, for distance training, the decree of 20 August 2014 retains three elements to establish attendance: evidence that the requested work was carried out, tracking and support data, and specific assessments.
These records must remain available after the change, for past sessions as well as future ones. Check this before closing the old account, not after. Our article on Qualiopi evidence in e-learning details what to keep for this French certification.
The mistakes that keep coming back
- Migrating everything on principle. A sort is worth more than a copy.
- Discovering the export formats on the last day. Ask the question from the start.
- Forgetting the small settings: grading, trainer rights, certificate templates, notifications.
- Warning learners the day before. They drop off, and you pay for it in support messages.
- Switching the old tool off too quickly, before comparing the results.
On choosing the new platform, two criteria come up more than any others: the exit from the contract, which we cover in What is an LMS?, and how the licence is calculated, detailed in the licence comparison.
And outside France?
The CNIL, the 2014 decree and Qualiopi are French. For you in England, what applies to the contract with your platform supplier is the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018, which the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 has amended. The EU rows below (GDPR and Data Act) concern you only if you also operate in the EU, which the UK has left. We have not verified a British equivalent of the French 2014 distance-learning decree, so we do not cite one.
| Country | Equivalent or rule | Reference | Key takeaway |
|---|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom (England) | Processor contract and data protection | UK GDPR, art. 28; Data Protection Act 2018; ICO guidance on processors; Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 | Art. 28 follows the structure of the EU article: the processor acts on documented instructions under a contract setting subject, duration, nature, purpose and data types. The ICO adds that a processor must notify breaches to the controller without undue delay and that transfers outside the UK must be authorised by the controller. The 2025 Act amends the UK GDPR and the 2018 Act; the ICO states (19 June 2026) that all its data protection provisions are in force. Draft your exit clauses with reference to the UK GDPR, not only the EU GDPR |
| European Union | Data portability and return | GDPR, art. 20 and art. 28(3) | Structured, commonly used and machine-readable format. At the end of the service: deletion or return of the data, at the controller's choice |
| European Union | Switching data processing service provider | Regulation (EU) 2023/2854 (Data Act), art. 23, 25 and 29 | Applicable since 12 September 2025: transition period of 30 days at most, switching charges abolished on 12 January 2027. Classification of a SaaS LMS to be validated |
| Germany | Works council co-determination | § 87 Abs. 1 Nr. 6 BetrVG; § 26 BDSG | A new employee-monitoring tool is discussed with the Betriebsrat (usual reading, to be confirmed). Prudent: update the Betriebsvereinbarung |
| Spain | Distance training | Real Decreto 694/2017, art. 4 and 18.2 | Platform with continuous tracking and assessment; subsidised-training records kept four years (art. 18.2, to be confirmed). Check that the new tool reproduces these records |
| Italy | E-learning in health and safety | Accordo Stato-Regioni of 17 April 2025, part IV; Ministry FAQ of 27 March 2026 | The LMS traces every activity (SCORM or equivalent); course file kept at least ten years by the trainer: the export must contain it |
These rules change: have your case validated by local advice.
Frequently asked questions
How long should I allow to change platform?
It depends on the number of learning paths and the state of your sources. For a small catalogue, allow a few weeks of preparation and a switch between two cohorts. The more you have sorted, the shorter it is.
Can I retrieve my learners' results?
Ask your current supplier in writing, stating the format you expect. An export as a usable spreadsheet is the baseline. If you are only offered screenshots or PDFs, insist.
Do I have to rebuild the learning paths in the new platform?
Not all of them. Source files (texts, videos, documents) are carried over. Quizzes and layout often need to be rebuilt, and that is a good opportunity to simplify.
What should I tell learners who are mid-session?
If possible, nothing: finish the session on the old tool. If you have to switch partway through, explain what changes, give a contact, and keep their access to past results.
In summary
Changing LMS is prepared like a house move: you sort, you pack your data, you pick the right date, you warn the neighbours and you keep the keys to the old home for a few weeks. Start with the inventory of your learning paths, it is the most useful step. Then look at the Kognisia platform with this list in hand.
Sources
- CNIL: how to respond to a data portability request, accessed 13 October 2026.
- Centre Inffo: FOAD, first decree published in the Journal officiel (decree no. 2014-935 of 20 August 2014), accessed 13 October 2026.
- United Kingdom: UK GDPR, article 28, Data Protection Act 2018, ICO: what does it mean if you are a processor and Data (Use and Access) Act 2025, accessed 13 October 2026.
- European Union: GDPR and Data Act, Official Journal texts, accessed 13 October 2026.
- Germany: § 87 BetrVG and § 26 BDSG, accessed 13 October 2026.
- Spain: Real Decreto 694/2017 (BOE), accessed 13 October 2026.
- Italy: Accordo Stato-Regioni and Ministry FAQ, accessed 13 October 2026.
The Kognisia team
Kognisia designs a SaaS learning platform, with a training catalogue and white label as options.
Kognisia designs a SaaS learning platform, with a training catalogue and white label as options.