In this post, we have featured an in-depth comparison of ✅ Simpliv vs ITProTV which includes detailed insights into these two online learning
Next in my series on which learning platform you should choose for your overall growth and development; I will be examining how two learning platforms that have made a name in the market fare alongside each other: Simpliv and ITProTV.
I will approach this comparison by beginning with a fundamental question on this topic. Let us first try to get a heads-up on what our expectation of a learning platform is. One thing that is sure is that online learning is here to stay. Perhaps nothing signifies this than the phenomenal rate at which learning platforms are growing. Today, there is perhaps no urban dweller on this planet who needs to be told what online learning is.
As part of this discussion, let us get down to getting a simple understanding of the online platforms that have been making waves, if you like, in the online learning market. This is a select list of the prominent one's today: Coursera, Udemy, Khan Academy, Lynda (now known as LinkedIn Learning), Pluralsight, Udacity, and so on.
There is, however, a new kid on the block, which has been gaining in popularity over the last 2-3 years and has been making quite some noise. It is the Fremont, CA-based Simpliv Learning. Why I am clubbing Simpliv along with these biggies is simple: I see the potential in this platform to make it to the top, and quite soon.
I can offer a sufficient number of reasons for which I believe so:
Simpliv vs ITProTV 2020 | In-Depth Comparison?
About Simpliv
About ITProTv
Simpliv Features
It brands itself as a platform that offers online education to anyone and everyone on this planet, as long as the willingness to learn is there. That is, it positions itself as a learning platform as one that destroys all barriers to education, be it social, financial or geographical. In all objectivity, I should say it does so with complete justification.
Honestly, I was a bit bemused seeing their prices. I had to reconfirm many times over that an online course from this platform is available at all of $2.99. Now, I'm pretty sure you would be doing much the same. Well, when a learning platform offers a course at this price, you had better take it: both the course, and the platform, seriously!
This is why I single out Simpliv. It has dared to bring down the price of online learning to this low a level, in the positive sense, of course. This, at a time when other platforms price their products at several times this. Now, this is certainly a new line of thinking on the part of this platform. It is setting a path that will be a tough act to follow for others in the market. I believe that if it can build a sound revenue model by offering its courses at prices in the proximity of this, it should set quite an example for the rest in the industry.
Has Simpliv already done that? Not quite. But I have enough reason to believe that such a day is not far away. I say this with confidence because what it offers on its platform is not a set of pedestrian courses. It is not that roadside store of used books that are thrown at near-free prices, just to liquidate the inventory. It has lots and lots-in fact, literally thousands-of courses that are brought to the level of almost any learner in any part of the world.
I am not also suggesting that it is a platform that sells ALL its courses for just $3. A vast majority of its courses are priced between $3 and $10, with another bunch of courses above $20, depending on the nature of the topic taught, and the certification the course brings. I need to explain this last part a bit, though:
Courses on Simpliv that come with certification from Simpliv itself are priced in the low range of between $3 and $20. When it comes to certification from entities such as CompTIA, the fare goes up, and fully rightly so. I am sure you would have no dispute too, with that.
CompTIA certification from SimplivAlong with certification, Simpliv courses also come with the other perks of online learning:
It enables complete freedom of learning. With online learning platforms, the real advantage that the learner enjoys is that there is no time and place at all for learning. All that you need, after enrolling for a course, is an Internet connection and a supporting device. You can carry this anywhere you go, and can read, whether you are in Montreal or Madrid, or Delhi or Dakar. It is like carrying your academy with you.
In addition, you also don't need to go through the qualifying rounds that are expected of universities. You can enroll for any course at your will and can complete any course any time. This is what has set the process of transformation of education that is truly global, in motion. I have every reason to believe that education is going to take this shape in the decades to come. I say decades instead of years because of the obvious challenges involved in bringing about change that is earth-shattering and paradigmatic. Anyway, that is a slightly different, but related topic, which needs a separate discussion.
Back to our main topic, this is what Simpliv too, enables. And so does any other learning platform. That is the uniqueness and beauty of online learning. And yes, did I mention that most of these courses are taught by highly qualified professionals? Let me take you through a guided tour of a pick of Simpliv's tutors:
- Gary McNeely
- Elias Fofanov
- Pranjal Srivastava
- Dr Neil Thompson
- TJ Walker
- Lisa Newton
- Laura Goodrich, and tons more!
So, with a faculty as well-known as this, it is no surprise that Simpliv is set on the growth path. I am confident we will hear a lot more about this platform in the days to come.
What does ITProTV have?
Our next section is an explanation of what ITProTV stands for. Simpliv's subjects of learning extend to 16 areas, namely:
- All Development
- Database
- IT & Software Systems
- Health & Vigor
- Individual Development
- Desirable Lifestyle
- Productive Expertise & Efficiency
- Profession
- Blueprint & Designing
- Marketing
- Frames & Portraits
- Music
- Academics
- Language & Vocabulary
- Preparation Tests
- Engineering
On the other hand, ITProTV has an equally impressive range of topics and subjects to choose from:
No offense meant. I am not being sarcastic here, but then, this is what this platform has. It eats, breathes, drinks and lives technology courses. And why not, when the world is looking for skills in this giant area?
If technology learning were not to be the kind of market it is, how does one explain the phenomenal growth curve that this learning platform has had? Consider these facts:
It started operations in 2013, when its co-founders, Tim Broom & Don Pezet, determined to give to the world what they themselves wanted to gain: education that engages, is convenient, within reach of most learners, and is conversational. Who can dispute that it has fulfilled these aspirations?
If figures are an indication of its popularity, then check these stunning facts for yourself. In a year, it had grown its membership base to 7000 and had offered over a thousand hours of learning.
The spike in its numbers over the next few years is impressive, formidable and worthy of emulation:
ITProTV growth history
Phew! Isn't that another name for meteoric growth? But then, that is what ITProTV is, and continues to be. It is the kind of company that never ceases to wonder, especially an education enthusiast like me. What I like and admire about this company is that it knows what its market is, knows where it is placed there, and is never tired of offering the exact learning needs of its market.
The way in which it has structured its course content is a perfect indication of what I have just told you about it. Take a look:
It is built for exactly what companies look for. The range of technology specializations for which it prepares learners is mind-blowing, and even that is an understatement:
Needless to say, the array of subtopics and specializations under each of these is equally awesome. Take the example of just one of these, Linux. Under this category, it has the following courses:
- Becoming a Linux Power User
- Linux Essentials
- Becoming a Linux Server Admin
- Getting Started with Linux
- Becoming a Linux System Admin
- CompTIA Linux+ (XK0-004)
- Linux for Beginners
- Linux Command Line
- Linux in the Cloud
- Linux Security Techniques
- Linux Shell Scripting - Basics
- Linux Shell Scripting - Advanced
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
- LPIC-1 Linux Administrator (101-500) (In Production)
- LPIC-1 Linux Administrator (102-500) (In Production)
When an online platform offers these on its learning set, with each of these being spread over several hours, that is an indication of just how well it has understood its learners' needs. Does its growth spike surprise? Not me, for sure.
Talking about its plans, it has two broad categories, namely:
Pricing Simpliv vs ITProTV
Simpliv Plans
ITProTV Plans
Now, the Business plan, predictably, is for a company that wants to train a huge volume of its workforce. This plan has a number of options, with the price being dependent on the number of learners, the topic, and the number of hours of learning offered. This is a partial screenshot of the Corporate plan under Business:
Let us turn our attention to its Personal plan next. Understandably, this is aimed at individuals who want to learn on this platform and offer options that suit the needs and pockets of individual learners.
An outstanding feature of ITProTV's courses is the virtual lab, i.e., a place where the learner can practice and learn to implement the learning in real-life conditions. This is completely hands-on, leaving the learner nothing much more to desire.
This is another screenshot, this time, of ITProTV's Personal plan:And yes, as you would expect from a learning platform that is as seasoned as ITProTV, it has the following plus points, all of which are worth every cent:
- Custom training
- Option to bring one's own host or use the company's
- The choice of one's own studio.
All these fabulous features leave no one, I included, in any doubt about the professionalism and the thought that has gone into designing and building these coures.
Assessment time, folksAh...the countdown begins! Now that we have clarity on what these platforms are, and what they do, let me get down to settling the million-dollar question: which of these you should choose, and more importantly, why.
Well, let us go back a little, to a few paragraphs backward. I had started with an explanation of the shops my niece and I visited. The first of these was one that had only tools to sell and had no other item on its shelves. That is the example that fits ITProTV perfectly. The tool shop has almost every type and brand of the tool the market requires. That is exactly what ITProTV too has
It has technical courses for everyone, every position, and for every occasion. In this sense, it is the complete shop for a learner. Anyone who wants to specialize in learning any technology needs to look no further. It is all there, at one source. This is the ideal platform for anyone who wants to learn anything relating to technology. Whether it is for the individual learning level or the group learning package, ITProTV has everything.
But there is one small hitch, though. What if I wanted to buy a comic book along with a tool when I go out to shop? I have no choice other than to walk out of the store and get to one in which I will get the comic book. Now, what if I had a shop at which I would get BOTH the tool, and the comic book? Would I go back to the store at which only the tool is sold?
This presents the exact situation at which ITProTV and Simpliv are placed. ITProTV is a super-specialist platform for the learner of technology. The only shortcoming that it has is that it has everything of one thing and nothing of anything else. Do I find this unwelcome? Not really. After all, what it wants to offer is its choice, not mine. Isn't being a don at one chosen area what a specialist is? Did you expect Pete Sampras to play football? Leave alone football, he chose not to excel at even clay, because it was different from his ultra-specialized surface, grass.
That is the same with this platform. This is a platform for technology courses, and that is it. All agreed, but what about the market? We all want a mix of solutions, preferably at one place. Simpliv offers just that. Its collection of courses is not restricted to technology, although there is no dearth of technical courses here.
So, this being the case, which one would you choose? Would you look at something that offers only tools, or a shop at which you can get not only tools but also anything else you want to shop for? The choice is yours, simply because your shopping depends on your needs. Eventually, you are the decider about which item you want to buy, and where.
Testimonials Simpliv vs ITProTV
Customer Review Of SimplivConclusion: Simpliv vs ITProTV 2020 Comparison : Who Wins?
I Hope you like our comparison between Simpliv vs ITProTV and let me know in the comments, which is your platform for learning online.
In conclusion, what I want to say is this: choose ITProTV if you are looking for technology courses that will make a difference to your career path. Choose Simpliv if you want value for money, have the satisfaction of learning to your heart's content, and not have a hole drilled in your pocket.
So, before I sign off, let me leave you with my ratings of these two platforms:
ITProTV:
9/10, for the sheer class, relevance, range, quality and standard of its technological courses;
Simpliv:
9/10, too, for the cost-effectiveness, variety, value, and usefulness of the courses!