Dive Brief:

• Coursera, the online education and learning platform, is getting down to business, according to Yahoo Finance. Specifically, the company recently announced Coursera for Business, an enterprise platform that will give employers access to Coursera's learning content from 145 universities and other institutions.
• With a stated goal of helping employers address today's "rapidly evolving training and development needs", Coursera has signed up employers such as L'Oréal, Boston Consulting Group and Axis Bank in key markets across the U.S., Europe and Asia as its initial customers, Yahoo Finance reports.
• The launch is Coursera's entry into the multi-billion dollar global corporate online learning market, which is growing at the rate of between 5-10% a year, according to various estimates. 

Dive Insight:

Learning executives who have signed on to the platform had solid reasons for their decision. For example, Laurent Reich, L'Oréal's Governance and Digital Learning Director, said the company's goal is to "touch one hundred percent of L'Oréal's employees," wherever they work. To do that means shooting for 50% of employee development to happen through digital or self-directed learning.

There is no doubt that remote, on-demand learning is on the rise, and from that perspective, the Coursera business offering might make an interesting option for HR and learning leaders. Accessible learning programs are garnering popularity due to the different, constantly mobile needs of the modern workforce. Coursera entering the business realm is a sign that traditionally education-focused LMSes are noting the value of making a move.