Adobe Captivate vs. Axonify

Adobe Captivate is well suited for software training. Even though we do not use the software simulation recording feature, we simulate the environment with screenshots and then roundtrip into Photoshop to make edits to a screenshot For example, they added 3 new fields and it affects 25 different slides in the course. I dummy up the 3 new fields in Photoshop, copy the layers with the new fields, flatten and save the screenshot and it's instantly updated in Abode Captivate. I then locate the next slide that needs the same new fields added and round trip into Photoshop and then I just select Paste in Place and flatten and save. The alignment is perfect and the screenshots never leave Adobe Captivate. I had a course that I had to do this to with about 25 slides and it was easy peasy.

Incentivized

Well-suited to the original purpose of delivering questions on a daily basis; everything beyond that gets complicated. For example, there are a number of program types available to deliver information (certifications, daily reinforcement, self-directed learning, assigned paths, etc.). However understanding how they all fit together requires advancing weaving together of multiple types of programs for individual groups, and requires more time than you would expect. Nearly 3 years into working with Axonify, we are still trying to iron it all out. We also have side groups of customers who meet to help each other because we all struggle with it too. We have a hard time helping our leaders and subject matter experts understand what is possible and what doesn't work well in the platform, since it is so different and doesn't work as expected. For example, communication to teams is one way - the recipients can't respond.

Incentivized

• Easy learning curve. Captivate makes it easy for a new user to pick it up and understand where to begin. Adobe, in general, does this very well and Captivate is no exception. When you begin using Captivate, many of the tasks to create a video come naturally as things are laid out in a way that makes sense.
• Embedding with LMS (Learning Management Systems). Adobe has made it very easy to deploy your produced video to any of the popular LMS's available. Captivate also gives you a very easy way of including a SCORM score for any quizzes that must be passed at the end of the video in order to proceed to the next video.
• Capturing Audio has never been easier. With Captivate you can easily add voice-over audio that you can record directly inside of Captivate, or import a pre-recorded audio clip. You can import sounds from other sources for effects in the video and Captivate already includes all of the commonly used sounds for mouse-clicks, error sounds, etc.

Incentivized

• It facilitates a rapid change in business culture.
• It forces the L& D team to get closer to the business and truly unpack what underpins the business challenges and requirements.
• It makes learning smarter, more efficient, meaningful, and impactful.
• The speed to market of learning is significantly enhanced.
• It motivates, inspires, and encourages staff to learn.

• Templates. There seem to be "themes," but Adobe Captivate has a terrible time saving any sort of object preferences which makes it really difficult when a set of courses need to follow branding guidelines. I have to create a basic course and set up all my colors and whatnot and start every course using that.
• Ease of use. It is like pulling teeth sometimes to get Adobe Captivate to do things. You may be able to get it to do it, but it'll be like a dozen or more steps which make creating courses incredibly tedious.
• A bigger focus on software simulation. Adobe Captivate isn't designed for simulation, I get that, and I am happy it does as much as it does. However, it could be better to capture actions and things within a program. For instance, click and drag options and hot-key combinations.

Incentivized

• Subjects and categories organization system can get a little confusing.
• While there is support for mobile phones, there's not an easy way to test it on mobile devices without deploying it first.
• Lots of options so it can get complex if you just need a straightforward solution.

Incentivized

We have hundreds of courses that were created in Adobe Captivate. It will take us a while to convert to Articulate. We'll need a license for another year and/or until Adobe comes out with a true update to the software.

Incentivized

Adobe Captivate does take some getting used to. There are features that are much more convoluted than they need to be, but overall it is a great product with a some excellent features. Being in a pretty small market, Adobe Captivate and Articulate Storyline dominate the space. They are not the same software, but allow for eLearning authoring. Each has their benefit and their downside, but, for me, Adobe Captivate edges out Storyline.

Incentivized

Axonify is extremely easy to use, for both employees and managers. The platform is visually appealing, and Axonify offers a number of videos and tutorials for any administration and user functionality. The reporting is also very easy to obtain and review, with the ability to drill down to team and individual results.

Incentivized

It is difficult to get in touch with Adobe Captivate support. With a seemingly limited number of resources, mostly outsourced, getting in contact with someone to help troubleshoot an issue is challenging. Typically wait times are long, and the desired path to resolution is to use an existing knowledge base or a self-help guide. It is certainly not a user-friendly experience.

Incentivized

Axonify has been great for support. We have a dedicated rep but I have also just posted to the official user boards and gotten feedback as well. Axonify also has a conference every year that is a great way to learn. You can also become certified in Content or Administration with Axonify if you so choose.

Incentivized

I'm only aware of the problems Adobe Captivate had with SumTotal LMS and Upside LMS, requiring extensive contact with both internal and external support staff to fix the problems. We had no problems at all with Articulate.

Incentivized

While Captivate has some awesome niche features for some circumstances, currently it cannot beat the ease of use with Storyline. Whether it's content, variables, quizes, etc. things are just "easier" in Storyline. Even something as simple as triggering an event when the timeline reaches a certain point. We continue to keep Captivate and Storyline because we're hoping it Captivate will continue building its integration with other Adobe apps and become our and the industry standard.

Incentivized

There are so many training platforms and increasing numbers of non LMS training platforms that it can be very difficult to figure out what is best for you. It's been a while since I did all the research that led me to Axonify, but below is a short summary of the pros and cons of the platforms I looked at and how I decided to implement Axonify.

• Compligo- This platform was recommended by the Director of Legal and Regulatory when I first joined my current company. Its main feature is that they provide training on legal and regulatory topics (this is very important to my organization) however, it is a very old school platform, the training tended to be very long, and there was no element of reinforcement. It felt more like "check the box" training than education our workforce, so I opted to continue looking
• Docebo- This was my second choice. Docebo is extremely similar to Axonify in the learning philosophy but ultimately I chose Axonify. I won't give my exact reasoning because I'm sure both platforms have made considerable updates since I did my research and I don't want to cause confusion by posting out of date information
• Inkling- Inkling is a very cool platform, but not quite as robust as I knew I would need, although I'm sure they have added functionality since I last tested the platform

now I am out of space, so I'll leave it at that.

Incentivized

• Adobe Captivate has allowed our instructors to engage students in ways we never have before.
• Instructors who have used Adobe Captivate in our organization have reported higher levels of engagement with their courses and their students, theoretically leading to improved assessment of student performance.

Incentivized

• Before, we could not accurately measure if people were really reviewing our monthly safety material or really reading our new policy releases. Now we have nearly 100% compliance.
• Over the past two years since we implemented Axonify, we have seen a decrease of $200,000 in our workers comp annual cost. We expect this trend to continue or stay stable due to a staff that is more aware of safety.
• We maintain our position as a San Francisco and Silicon Valley Best Place to Work due to our high morale and employee engagement level. 99% of our employees engage with Axonify an average of 13x per month. This ranking has made us an leader in affordable housing with some of the best staff members in our industry.

Incentivized