Today I learnt something about LMS and LCMS.
Learning management systems (LMS) and learning content management systems (LCMS) really have two very different functions. It’s unfortunate that both have such similar names and a shared acronym, which only serves to confuse e-learning buyers even more.
The primary objective of a learning management system is to manage learners, keeping track of their progress and performance across all types of training activities. By contrast, a learning content management system manages content or learning objects that are served up to the right learner at the right time.
Understanding the difference can be very confusing because most of the LCMS systems also have built-in LMS functionality. In fact, 74 percent of the systems in our LCMS Research include LMS functionality as part of their system. Many of these LCMSs have also performed interoperability tests with leading LMS products.
Besides the embedded learning management system functionality, there can also be significant overlap between LCMS and LMS capabilities and purpose. The following chart is based on what we’ve observed by analyzing both LMS and LCMS products. While some products have functionality that crosses the boundaries, we found most systems generally focused on their own domain, as follows:
| LMS | LCMS | |
| Primary target users | Training managers, instructors, administrators | Content developers, instructional designers, project managers |
| Provides primary management of… | Learners | Learning content |
| Management of classroom, instructor-led training | Yes (but not always) | No |
| Performance reporting of training results | Primary focus | Secondary focus |
| Learner collaboration | Yes | Yes |
| Keeping learner profile data | Yes | No |
| Sharing learner data with an ERP system | Yes | No |
| Event scheduling | Yes | No |
| Competency mapping – skill gap analysis | Yes | Yes (in some cases) |
| Content creation capabilities | No | Yes |
| Organizing reusable content | No | Yes |
| Creation of test questions and test administration | Yes | Yes |
| Dynamic pre-testing and adaptive learning | No | Yes |
| Workflow tools to manage the content development process | No | Yes |
| Delivery of content by providing navigational controls and learner interface | No | Yes |
resource from :http://www.brandon-hall.com/free_resources/lms_and_lcms.shtml