Alan:  Any business knows that to maximize the value of their developers, they must have the right kind of training. Sometimes it’s almost impossible to get everybody together for a training session. What businesses really need is learning on demand. Our guests today are Craig Jensen, President and CEO of AppDev and Martin Schaeferle, Vice President of Product Development with AppDev. Welcome back to Let’s Talk Computers, Guys.

Craig:  Thank you for having us, Alan.

Alan: One of the challenges any business is facing is the time element, trying to get everybody in the same room to learn a product is just not going to happen now.  Everybody is wearing multiple hats; everybody is so busy trying to get something done that they really don’t have time for training. 

Let’s say you have 20 developers all working on a project. Trying to learn Visual Studio.NET is just almost impossible to arrange around their schedule, isn’t it?

Craig:  Over the years, we have been involved with many different types of training.  We started out in instructor-led training and moved to videos; then to CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, and most recently AppDev OnDemand, which is all our way of helping developers to get up to speed on learning products that they utilize in their company – everything from Visual Studio to SharePoint to SQL Server. 

In many cases in the past when companies wanted to train all of their Visual Studio programmers they would go to an instructor-led class and they would all be in one class and take the training. At this point, we have various developers using more than one language, more than one technology. 

We utilize AppDev OnDemand to solve that problem. What the developer can do is to access the training at their computer whenever and wherever they want. 

Alan:  But, that sounds a lot like your KSource.  It gives us the same benefits.  What’s the difference between KSource Online Learning and AppDev OnDemand Learning?

Craig:  The real beauty of our Learning Products is that every one of our delivery mechanisms utilizes this same great underlying training. So, if someone trains from a DVD or if somebody learns on KSource or AppDev OnDemand, they get the same high-quality training. 

The difference surrounds the number of people that utilize it.  Our KSource solution can be utilized by companies with anywhere from 10 developers up to thousands of developers and they can all access what they, when they want it and wherever they want to take it.

The advantage of KSource is that the client gets administrative features, so that a manager can track which of their developers have taken which courses for instance. The major difference between AppDev OnDemand and KSource is that AppDev OnDemand does not have the administrative features and still gives you really all the benefits of CD-ROM and DVD-ROM training, without having to carry all the materials.

Alan:  Plus the fact that you don’t have to find the DVD or the CD, because somebody else has got it checked out and you don’t know where it is.  Face it, DVDs and CDs do get damaged – and I’ve damaged many, many CDs in my life.

Craig:  The one advantage on AppDev OnDemand is that you get our complete online library of 66 courses, going from SQL Server to SharePoint to Visual Studio – and you have access to that training at a moment’s notice. So, you can use it for training and learning up front and you can use it for reference material as you go forward.

Alan:  How did you come up with the idea of AppDev OnDemand training?

Craig:  Over the past few years, we have had the enterprise learning solution KSource, which has been used by companies with from 10 to thousands of developers.  We had a number of customers in smaller shops where developers that range from 1 to 5 or 1 to 6 developers that had many different languages and many different technologies and they wanted an economical way to get the learning that they would need without having to buy one course at a time.

So, what we really did is put together a complete library of all of our courses and put into a package so that from 1 to 6 developers can get a very good value and have access to all of the courses, whenever they need them.

Alan:  These are the exact same courses that we would normally get on DVD and CD?

Martin:   The training that is on AppDev OnDemand is the same quality training that we have on our CD or DVDs.  The training is essentially analogous to instructor-led training. 

You are taking the experts that in a particular technology and they are building a very thorough curriculum book, as well as then presenting the material just as if you had attended an instructor-led training at which we captured all on video and then provided through the various delivery methods, whether CD, DVD or now through our AppDev OnDemand. 

The learning is going to be consistent so even in a situation where you had people with CDs and you also had people with AppDev OnDemand, they are both going to get the same experience and the same knowledge. 

Alan:  Well, how do I get started with AppDev OnDemand learning?  What do I have to do?

Martin:   The AppDev OnDemand is a simple installation process, whether you order it online through our Web site or work through one of our learning consultants, you will get an introductory email with a link, login credentials and a user guide. 

But, once logged into the site, there is a simple series of steps to get everything installed on the client, which is basically a simple plug-in that once installed, we add courses; you click a course and launch the training.  It takes about 5 to 10 minutes to get everything up and running.

Once you go through installation, you now have everything you need to take advantage of all of our courses, so it’s not the situation where if you want the SQL training you need the SQL install package and if you have got the SharePoint, you need the SharePoint install package. There is one universal user interface that we use that all of the training goes through.

Hypothetically, if you’re working, let’s say in SharePoint, and in there, they are talking about the new ASP.NET technique, you can, within seconds, flip over to our ASP.NET training and immediately start getting up to speed on some of the technologies in ASP.NET.  That might take you into an ADO track, which might take you to a SQL track.  I think IT people agree that it’s very difficult to wholly stay in one particular niche within technology. 

When you get out onto the field and you get tapped for your database knowledge; you get tapped for your programming knowledge; you get tapped for your services knowledge with something like SharePoint. With AppDev OnDemand, within seconds you can actually tap into all of those training courses and get that instructor-led training experience right at your finger tips.

Alan:  I know, as a developer myself, I’ve watched through the years that these development programs just seem to get more complex as we go.  It’s almost like looking at a car where you are an automobile mechanic and all you really needed was a pair of pliers and a 10-penny nail and you could fix just about anything. Nowadays, it’s so much of what’s on the car, the computerized mechanisms on the car, such as the vacuum hoses, the electrical system – it’s like you’re not just being a mechanic anymore, you are being an analyst. 

It’s the same way with development.  Everything is being thrown at you and having this resource right at your fingertips, where you can go back and review any subject when you need it is wonderful!

Craig:  It is certainly not like it was 10 or 15 years ago where you used to be able to put in your list of experience that “Well, I am a VB programmer.”  That doesn’t cut it anymore because now not only do you need to be a VB programmer, you need to understand how to talk to databases; you need to know how to talk to Web Services; you need to know the inner workings of the SharePoint Services. And it is challenging now for developers, especially those who either need to retool or are just getting into it. They need to go through a whole host of learning sessions in order to get up to speed just to start competing or start working with developers that have been in the market for 10 years.

Alan:  Well, one of the things that I really like about the AppDev training series is that we are not having a “talking head” who is talking to us.  These are actual developers that have been in the trenches and they know what they are talking about.  And the best part about it is that we are getting actual real-world examples that we can use in our business.

Craig:  The great thing with the AppDev OnDemand is we have experts such as Ken Getz, Andy Baron, Don Kiely, and many others that are included within the library of courses you get. 

What we have done is always use the experts within each specific technology. When you are watching it, you know you have somebody that has been in the trenches; someone that has built products and gone through a lot of issues, as well.

Alan:  When I am reading a book or I am watching a training session the moment that I realize that the instructor or the author really doesn’t know what they’re talking about, my mind is closed at that point.  People like Ken Getz – I have sat in on many conferences and he knows his stuff. 

Craig:  All of our authors are top-notch developers; they are involved with Microsoft in terms of testing betas, working on products long before they come out.  You are always assured of getting an instructor that knows all the nuances of the product that they are teaching.

Alan:  One of the problems that we have as developers is that the technology changes right out from under us. What about new versions, new developments?  How do you handle that?

Craig:  A benefit of AppDev OnDemand is that it’s treated like a subscription. So, for one price you get access to the 66 courses that we currently have, plus any new courses that are released during your subscription period you get free. 

So, for example, you purchase the AppDev OnDemand Library today and one of areas within that library is SharePoint. We don’t currently have a Portals course but we’ll come out with that in the near future, and they get that free.

As new versions of software come out you get courses for those added into this library free as well. So, you are always able to stay on top of current and future versions, as well as new courses that come out. 

Alan:  Marty, your job is actually putting it all together so it’s a nice, even-flowing package that helps us to really learn the ins and outs of what we are trying to work with, isn’t it?

Martin:   That is true. AppDev has been working with a very successful template in building the learning products that we have. We start off with an expert who is very well known and has done a lot of practice within a technology. We also have a template in building all of our courseware that we use that provides a detailed explanation to technology. There are plenty of samples and labs that students can do on their own in order gain experience with a particular technology. 

Then we capture the instructor presentations on video. Students that watch this are going to see real-world examples, they are going to always see the instructors’ desktop.  Nothing is black magic or hidden from them. We pride ourselves in creating a rapport where students trust the presenter that’s putting on the material. They really see someone taking advantage of all the technologies, as well as getting tips and tricks and things that they otherwise might spend hours trying to discover on their own. 

Alan:  What are we looking at as far as the cost of the AppDev OnDemand learning?

Craig:  The real beauty of it is we have gone to pricing structure where we are really helping the developer to be able to afford to get into these products.  For one developer the cost is $2,995. So, if you look at it from a developer’s standpoint it’s almost $3,000; but if you look at it from a course standpoint, they are going to be paying only $45 per course.  So, if you look at somebody that needs multiple courses, the cost to that developer is not very much at all.

To go up the scale a little bit, for 5 or 6 developers they are going to have access to our entire 66-course library for less than $1,000 per developer. 

Alan:  Can you give me an example of the types of companies that are now using your AppDev OnDemand Learning?

Craig:  In some cases it is a single consultant that works with a number of technologies who are consulting for different businesses. We also have companies within the Fortune 500 so that very large companies are utilizing that to where they don’t have access for all of their developers but only for a couple of them that go across every technology.

AppDev training can be utilized for a company with 1 developer up to 6 developers with AppDev OnDemand; and for KSource Online Learning, up to thousands can be trained.

Alan:  This is very economical for a developer, because a developer, nowadays, has no idea what they are going to be facing as far as what type of language; what type of process; Visual Studio.NET and the list just goes on and on.  It’s like having an encyclopedia right there at my fingertips that I can always go back to that has the best of the best training.

Craig:  What we really want to be for a developer is a one-stop shop for any training or reference material in the Visual Studio, SQL Server and SharePoint areas.

Alan:  And if somebody would like to find more information about the AppDev OnDemand, where would they go?

Craig:  If someone would like to talk to one of our Learning Consultants they can call 800-578-2062; they can also go online to learn more and order at http://www.appdev.com. 

Alan:  Craig and Marty, as always, it has been a pleasure to have you as our guests here on Let’s Talk Computers, talking about your new AppDev OnDemand solution that makes it so affordable for businesses, and I look forward to talking to you again real soon.

Craig:  Thank you, Alan. 

Martin:  Thanks, Alan.