E-Learning Is Popular AgainE-Learning Is Popular Again

Consolidation is happening once more among E-learning vendors. Saba Software Inc., which makes software designed to help companies manage training, has unveiled plans to acquire Centra Software Inc., which offers online learning apps for about $60 million in a stock and cash swap.

The two say their combined software will create an end-to-end learning-management suite. Combined, they have revenue of about $100 million and more than 1,100 customers.

The Saba-Centra deal follows another big E-learning merger; SumTotal Systems Inc. said in August it would acquire Pathlore Software Corp. in a $47 million deal.

The consolidation could prove beneficial to businesses that are looking for comprehensive E-learning software from a single vendor. The E-learning market, which has had a number of ups and downs over the last several years, is on the upswing again. Companies are turning to E-learning to help handle skills development as well as training for compliance-related topics, like the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act and, more recently, Sarbanes-Oxley.