Innovations in technology and increasing global access to the Internet are pushing relentlessly toward a seamless, digital world of 'e'. Today, e-learning, is becoming available in countries where lack of access to the Internet has hindered growth in the past. A growing number of organizations, including the case organizations featured in this book, such as: Deloitte Consulting, McDonald's Corporation, Unilever, and Austrade, among others, have already successfully implemented e-learning programs to their workers in many countries around the globe, or are currently in the process of expanding their global e-learning capabilities.
According to IDC, the corporate worldwide e-learning market will grow from approximately US$9.1 billion in 2003 to approximately US$24 billion in 2006. The largest growth opportunities in e-learning is forecasted for the Europe/Middle East/Africa (EMEA) region (see Table 9-1). The UK leads this region and Germany is expected to make a comeback and will soon overtake the UK in terms of spending. In absolute numbers, the largest market for e-learning still is the Americas, and this market will grow at a compounded annual growth rate of 36 percent.
The greatest growth in the Asia Pacific region is anticipated in China. However, currently Japan is the largest e-learning market in Asia and according to IDC more companies in Japan are adopting e-learning to reduce costs and increase employee competencies.
|
Region |
2003 |
2004 |
2005 |
2006 |
2001-2006 CAGR (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
The Americas |
7,296 |
10,316 |
14,252 |
18,943 |
36.7 % |
|
Asia Pacific |
900 |
1,048 |
1,263 |
1,550 |
14.9 % |
|
Europe Middle East Africa |
934 |
1,422 |
2,186 |
3,243 |
49.8 % |
|
Total |
9,130 |
12,786 |
17,701 |
23,736 |
35.6 % |
Source: IDC, 2003
It is important to note however, that the global e-learning market estimates were even higher at the end of the nineties. Since that time, a number of organizations have experienced successes but also failures with the implementation and adoption of e-learning across cultures, leading to lower than expected growth.
Two questions arise out of this rapid growth and the related experiences in e-learning:
What are the key drivers that can enhance cross-cultural adoption of e-learning?
What are the key elements required to create a successful multi-cultural e-learning strategy?