eLearning Brothers has come a long way from its humble beginnings as a learning templates startup that two brothers, co-founders Shawn and Andrew Scivally, were running out of a basement in 2009.

After acquiring eLearning software provider Trivantis and eLearning provider Edulence in April 2020, eLearning Brothers acquired game-based learning provider The Game Agency in March 2021, positioning the company as a front-runner in the learning technologies market, says Steven Baer, chief creative officer at The Game Agency.

Everything You Need, All in One Place

From games and arcades to virtual reality (VR) to authoring tools and eLearning Brothers’ learning management offering, The Rockstar Learning Platform, eLearning Brothers isn’t giving its customers any reason to look elsewhere for its digital learning needs.

Acquiring Trivantis, Edulence and The Game Agency was a “full integration” of people, processes and finances that transformed eLearning Brothers into a learning technology product business, says Andrew Scivally. Their goal? To create a business that “can do everything [its customers] need to get their learning online,” from content creation to tracking and measuring learning analytics.

By creating, managing and delivering digital learning solutions all in one place, customers can fulfill their digital learning needs through a single vendor, which especially benefits middle-market companies who may not have large training departments and are looking for turn-key solutions. eLearning Brothers’ offerings “will find a home in the middle market,” says Ken Taylor, Training Industry’s president and editor-in-chief. Its suite of learning technologies and abilities is putting the tools to build and deliver digital learning in the hands of companies previously unable to access it.

Partnering Up

There’s plenty of assimilation happening in the digital learning space, says John Blackmon, chief technical officer at eLearning Brothers and previous chief executive officer at Trivantis. “We’re seeing a lot of dance partners getting together. That seems to be going on more and more in the industry.”

After acquiring Trivantis and, with it, leading eLearning authoring tool Lectora and VR course-builder CenarioVR, along with Edulence’s learning management system (LMS), Knowledgelink, Andrew Scivally wanted to bring yet another offering into its current lineup: games. “We wanted gaming because it’s super hot right now; it’s growing like crazy. It’s effective, and everyone loves [them],” he says. Bringing The Game Agency into the eLearning Brothers family “was a natural fit.”

These recent acquisitions reflect “what’s in the pipeline to come” for eLearning Brothers, Baer says, ultimately, the company is “hyper-focused” on acquiring technology solutions that will position it as a key player in the learning technologies market.

On-trend

Learning technologies are constantly evolving, and eLearning Brothers’ acquisitions are helping it keep pace. While learner engagement has always been a priority for training providers, it has taken on a new level of importance with the rise of remote learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Andrew Scivally says. Acquiring The Game Agency offered eLearning Brothers a way to create engaging learning solutions through the power of play. After all, he says, “Learners might play a game four times, but no one’s going to complete a compliance course four times.” Instead, they’re likely clicking “Next” as “fast as humanly possible.”

eLearning Brothers also knows that VR is here to stay. “It’s definitely the future of the learning space,” Andrew Scivally says. Today’s learners are looking for training on demand, on whatever device they have. By simply putting on a headset, VR can transport learners into a simulated environment in which they can safely practice both soft and hard skills.

As eLearning Brothers continues to expand, Taylor says it will be interesting to see how the different systems and platforms interact with each other. Blackmon agrees, noting that better, tighter integrations are on the way.

As digital learning continues to advance, eLearning Brothers has proven it’s a provider both training managers and suppliers should keep on their radar.