UK Higher Education VLE Market: 2024 Review
This year has been something of a paradox for the VLE market in UK higher education. While there has been plenty to report on within the big four companies that dominate this market, there have been barely any major changes by universities regarding which virtual learning environment (VLE) they use.
Having conducted annual reviews of the VLE market since 2021, this year feels like one of the quietest, if not the quietest, for universities changing their VLE. I recently came across an explanation from a UK university regarding the renewal of its contract with its existing VLE provider. This essentially pointed to a lack of resources to implement a new system, citing limited IT capacity due to more business-critical projects taking priority, the cost of change and its impact on a large student body and a significant number of staff, as well as substantial consultancy costs.
Given the current state of UK higher education, one wonders whether a lack of human resources, funds, and more pressing IT and digital priorities is a wider factor in the limited movement seen in the market. Nevertheless, there are still some differences to observe, as this year I’ve continued to grow the number of UK higher education providers included in this analysis, from 247 last year to 264 this year.
This number spans the range of higher education providers in the UK, from long-standing universities with thousands of students studying a variety of subjects, to small specialist providers that, in some cases, have a very small student body.
For those less familiar with this market, it continues to be dominated by four companies and their associated VLE products, which are:
Blackboard from Anthology
Brightspace from D2L
Canvas from Instructure
Moodle
VLE market share trends and movements
As noted in previous analyses, the trend over the past few years has been a growing number of UK universities switching VLE from the long-term incumbents, Blackboard and Moodle, to Canvas and, to a lesser extent, Brightspace.
The two public announcements of VLE changes by UK universities this year reflect this trend. De Montfort University announced that it was moving from Blackboard to D2L's Brightspace VLE, while the University of Manchester also moved from Blackboard to Instructure’s Canvas VLE.
Although these changes were officially announced in 2024, they were reflected in last year’s analysis and, therefore, in terms of market share, not much has changed. Any deviations from last year’s overall market share are largely due to the increased scope of this year’s analysis.
Proportion of VLEs being used by 264 UK HEIs researched as of the end of 2024.
Moodle continues to be the most widely used VLE in UK higher education, but its large share reflects the historic adoption of the platform by UK higher education providers. Although Moodle's market share has not declined as quickly or significantly as Blackboard’s in recent years, it has not been newly adopted by a medium or large UK university for many years.
VLE adoption by university size in 2024
To understand this market more comprehensively, it is helpful to segment market share by the size of higher education institutions (HEI), as this adds another layer of insight.
This year, I’ve segmented providers based on total UK-based student numbers, using the latest HESA data from the 2022/23 academic year.
The segments are as follows:
Small: Fewer than 3,000 students
Medium: 3,000 to 18,000 students
Large: More than 18,000 students
Small HEI VLE market segment analysis
The most striking aspect of this market segment is Moodle’s dominance. In the UK, the largest concentrations of small specialist providers are in business and management, creative arts, theology, and medicine or related subjects.
Moodle is particularly dominant among small specialist providers focused on theology, medicine, and creative arts institutions. In contrast, Canvas, the next biggest player in the small provider segment, is much more competitive in business and management and has also been adopted by new small specialist institutions focused on engineering and technology. While Moodle remains the market leader in this segment, Canvas has become the preferred choice for newer and emerging institutions.
Medium HEI VLE market segment analysis
In the medium-sized segment, the difference in market share becomes less pronounced. Moodle has a solid presence in this segment, but as with the market as a whole, this is largely due to its adoption by universities some time ago, with no subsequent VLE change.
The main story in this segment is the decline in Blackboard’s market share in recent years, with over 10% of universities switching from Blackboard to either Canvas or Brightspace.
This segment also includes one notable “other” platform: Eduflow, which was acquired by Multiverse and is now integrated into their business as their main platform. This, along with Coventry University’s purchase of Aula, is one of the rare examples of what is essentially a university-owned VLE.
Large HEI VLE market segment analysis
If Moodle is the clear market leader among small higher education providers, Blackboard is still holding on when it comes to large providers. However, both Blackboard and Moodle previously had a much higher share, but in recent years, that share has been eroded as universities have switched to Canvas or Brightspace. Given that at least one university in this segment is currently reviewing a long-standing implementation of Blackboard, it would be hard to bet against this trend continuing into this year.
The big four dominate this segment, with one exception being the aforementioned Aula at Coventry University. This remains one of the more interesting subplots in the UK VLE market. One common concern about a university running its own VLE is cost, and in 2024 alone, contracts related to the maintenance, upgrading, development, and running of Aula have been awarded, amounting to over £500k.
Key company and product developments in the UK VLE market
While overall market share hasn’t shifted significantly in the last 12 months, there have been notable developments within the companies behind these VLE products, as well as in the products themselves. While not a comprehensive analysis, below are some of the key changes within the companies and their associated VLE platforms.
Brightspace and D2L in 2024
D2L continues to grow in the UK and Europe, with De Montfort University being the most recent UK institution to adopt Brightspace as its VLE. This is in addition to its growing adoption among universities in the Netherlands and Ireland.
The most eye-catching news in 2024 was the announcement that D2L would acquire H5P, a popular open-source interactive content creation tool. This tool has now been integrated into the Brightspace add-on Creator+. A long-standing complaint about VLEs has been their lack of interactivity, with institutions needing to rely on external tools such as H5P, Articulate Rise, and Xerte, which are then embedded within the VLE.
The acquisition of H5P opens up the potential for some notable Brightspace differentiation. However, two obstacles to this are that H5P is not exclusive to Brightspace and can still be integrated into the other three main VLEs, and that Creator+ is a paid add-on rather than a core part of the product. This new marriage will be one to watch over the course of the year, particularly in respect to whether this acquisition starts to privilege Brightspace over its competitors.
There were also a couple of other notable product announcements this year, both of which are additional add-ons to the core Brightspace product. In July, Achievement+ was launched, specifically designed to support the implementation of competency-based education (CBE). This development is somewhat incongruous with the UK, as unlike in North America, CBE is barely spoken about, with only small pockets of activity. Personally, I think this is to the detriment of UK HE, but if and when it gains traction, this could be an appealing addition.
The final product announcement was D2L Lumi, an AI-powered add-on that enhances Brightspace. When enabled, D2L Lumi mainly manifests itself as a spark button across the platform, generating different types of teaching and learning activities based on existing VLE content or newly added materials.
In 2024, D2L developed Brightspace in ways that strengthen the product and provide greater coherence in how AI features are incorporated. Creator+ and H5P strengthen their proposition to a teaching and learning audience and Lumi boosts functionality. The potential challenge for D2L in continuing its success of winning new UK university clients is whether the benefits that new add-ons present will be able to make a difference in a financially constrained UK HE environment.
For more on D2L, check out my review of D2L Connection, the company’s main European conference, which took place late last year.
Canvas and Instructure in 2024
Instructure has been the top dog when it comes to UK universities adopting a new VLE, with an impressive track record of recent success and adoption.
This past year saw Instructure change ownership, being acquired by the global investment firm KKR. While some acquisitions are viewed as a sign of something negative, this is a positively orientated move that provides Instructure with further backing to continue its growth.
This year has also seen a number of product developments—too many to mention in full, but a few stand out. Importantly they announced the launch of an offline access feature for their app. Another development was an AI translation tool, enabling translation of inbox messages and discussion replies. Broadly, I see this as a positive, but some might view this as conflicting with UK HE regulation regarding English language proficiency.
Other AI-powered product developments include discussion thread summaries, an AI-powered smart search feature, and Intelligent Insights, an analytics add-on with multiple components. Perhaps the most interesting of these is Ask Your Data, an AI-powered conversational analytics interface.
While Instructure has been adding AI features to its core product and offering AI-powered add-ons, generative AI tools for educators have largely been left to third-party integrations. The most notable of these is Khanmigo, Khan Academy’s AI teaching assistant, which integrates with Canvas. More recently, Gemini LTI was launched, allowing Google’s AI-powered assistant to be embedded into Canvas, enabling educators to generate content and ideas for their courses.
One interesting dimension of the VLE market, where Instructure is particularly well-positioned, is what I would describe as the VLE sub-market. This emerging market involves universities adopting VLE company products to offer sub-degree courses that are not typically credit-bearing. While examples remain relatively few, several universities have started using platforms like Canvas Catalog, or have implemented a second VLE or VLE instance specifically focused on sub-degree courses. These products primarily function as storefronts for short courses, handling payments and registration for non-matriculated students.
Through Canvas Catalog, Instructure is one of the best-positioned companies to capitalise on this trend should it become more widespread. Recent developments, such as Salesforce integration with Catalog and the integration of Canvas Catalog with Canvas Credentials, which introduces badges and pathways, further strengthen its proposition.
For more on Instructure, check out my review of CanvasCon Europe, the company’s main European conference, which took place late last year.
Blackboard and Anthology in 2024
This past year has seen a rebrand of Anthology, and following the 2021 acquisition of Blackboard, further efforts have been made to reverse the trend of universities switching away from the Blackboard VLE. It feels as though we are now reaching the end of a prolonged period where two VLE products, Blackboard Learn and Blackboard Learn Ultra, were being offered.
Most UK universities now appear to have moved to Ultra or are in the process of doing so, bringing much more coherence to Anthology’s VLE proposition. There’s no longer the sense of a lack of VLE product line coherence due to having an old VLE and new VLE, now we simply have Blackboard. This is clearly a positive step, allowing the company to move forward without that legacy baggage.
However, challenges remain beyond the product itself, particularly regarding Anthology’s financial situation, which has been in the news this past year. In April 2024, the company raised $250 million in what was essentially a debt restructuring move. In addition, there has been recent reporting about the company skipping an interest payment. As has happened with similar companies these types of moves may ultimately lead to the company ending up on a much firmer financial footing. However, overall it is not great PR and will inevitably raise concerns among universities conducting due diligence when considering adopting the Blackboard VLE.
Anthology has leaned into AI-powered features within Blackboard, launching its flagship AI Design Assistant in July 2023. This continues to be developed and is being used by UK universities. However, one new AI feature released this year caught the eye. This is the AI Conversation tool, which allows educators to create discussions between students and an AI persona, incorporating Socratic questioning and role-play options. This is an interesting extension beyond more standard generative AI features, with several potential use cases. It will be worth observing how widely and effectively this feature is adopted in universities.
Other notable product developments include native video and audio functionality through Video Studio. Released in the past year, this feature supports educators in creating and uploading video and audio content. While not a groundbreaking development, improved native video functionality is certainly a positive step. However, the free trial of this feature ends in June, after which it will become a paid add-on.
Moodle in 2024
As noted earlier, Moodle remains the most widely used VLE in UK higher education, and although its market share has eroded somewhat, this is unlikely to change anytime soon. Overall, Moodle has held up much better than Blackboard, and while some UK universities have switched away from Moodle, examples of this are relatively limited. While Moodle has not experienced the same level of market share decline as Blackboard, with each passing year, there is increasing uncertainty about how well it will continue to hold up.
Moodle has entered a new era with a change in leadership and clearly recognises the need for change to remain competitive. The risk for Moodle is that its market share will be gradually eroded as competitors are far more proactive in securing new university implementations and responding to competitive tenders.
This year saw the release of Moodle 4.4 in April 2024, followed by Moodle 4.5 in October 2024. The latter included one of the most notable developments, a new AI subsystem designed to enable the integration of different AI services into Moodle’s core functionality. According to Moodle, this subsystem “adds the first AI-powered features in Moodle LMS”, with enhancements including text and image generation, content creation, and text summarisation.
It is difficult not to look at this development and feel somewhat uninspired by how Moodle is approaching AI implementation and the pace at which it is doing so. Reaching this stage in October 2024 feels rather slow, and at face value, it seems that Moodle is falling further behind other VLEs in terms of product development in this area.
It has been just over a year since the major leadership change at Moodle, and clearly, changes are underway. There is an evident tension between retaining what is good about Moodle while making the necessary changes to ensure it remains an attractive proposition for universities in the future. As this new era for Moodle unfolds, it will become clearer how things are evolving and what impact these changes will have.
Reflections on the UK VLE market in 2024
Looking at the overall market share, it would be easy to assume that little has changed this year. However, this market always moves slowly—it’s just that this past year has been even slower for UK higher education. Given the current state of the sector, that shouldn’t come as a major surprise. In the short term, we may find that the most dynamic developments occur in the sub-market of universities adopting non-credit-bearing short course storefront products offered by some of these companies.
There has been no clear evidence this year that the market dynamics of previous years have shifted. Instructure and D2L still appear to be in the strongest position to compete for UK universities looking to switch VLEs. However, it is evident that Anthology is making significant efforts to reverse Blackboard’s market share decline and strengthen its offering. I wouldn’t be surprised if they succeed in gaining new university customers, but the financial uncertainty surrounding the company over the past year casts a shadow over any progress they have made.
Moodle remains a major player in the UK VLE market and continues to play a big part in the livelihoods of individuals and companies that service the product. However, it’s difficult to feel excited about an organisation whose UK market position feels largely reliant on legacy implementations from institutions that lack the appetite or resources to switch. That does not feel like a positive or proactive orientation. No doubt though, 2025 will bring another year of change at Moodle, providing further insight into the direction of its new leadership.
Each passing year makes the periodic debates about whether the VLE is dead look increasingly misguided. There is still no compelling alternative product to support, facilitate, and orchestrate the core digital infrastructure of university teaching and learning. Every year, I’m asked whether Microsoft Teams poses a serious challenge as a VLE alternative for UK universities. The short answer remains no. While some smaller or more specialist institutions use alternative platforms like Teams or Google Classroom, there is no evidence that these are gaining meaningful traction or driving significant change in the market.
Overall, this has been a slow year for VLE change, but the companies and products in this space continue to evolve. There are plenty of interesting narratives emerging, and I’ll be watching developments among the four main players in the year ahead with interest.
