Three areas to pay attention to that will set you up for long-term success.
GUEST COLUMN | by Oliver Wreford
Like so many other industries, education has been evolving rapidly, upended by artificial intelligence (AI), changing policies, and new learning models. To grow and meet the rapidly evolving needs of educators and students alike, edtech companies must adapt alongside the industry, balancing innovation, the needs of their users, and the resources needed to scale effectively. Here’s a look at tech adoption in education and what it takes for edtech providers to grow sustainably.
1. Meeting The Changing Needs of Educators and Students
Learning today is very different from 10 to 20 years ago, with some differences between K-12 and higher ed. When it comes to embracing technology, 82% of college students say they’ve used AI tools compared to 58% of high school students. On the instructor side, 60% of survey respondents said they had integrated AI into their lessons, irrespective of their teaching level.
While higher education tends to move faster – adopting technology and progressing rapidly – K-12 institutions are often more rooted in traditional learning practices. In these instances, change requires more time and understanding, despite today’s students being digital natives.
Fortunately, AI and digital tools are meeting the needs of new learning models, offering an interface that empowers students to acquire skills and prepare for their futures in convenient, flexible ways. Although many educators see the value in tech-driven learning approaches, some still do not. Even those who support incorporating more technology into the learning environment run into the natural friction of change, which can present several obstacles.
As such, edtech companies must help facilitate the transition away from traditional learning approaches and toward tech solutions. To help do this, it’s important to paint a picture of the benefits teachers and students can experience using their system. This should go beyond data collection and show how the given technology can give educators visibility to information they need to make informed insights to enrich their students’ learning experiences and have a more meaningful experience themselves.
An example might be a school using a system that proactively analyzes student performance, identifying areas of need and suggesting individualized success plans for each student. A tool like this allows teachers to quickly identify each student’s strengths and weaknesses and tailor their instruction to help each student in the areas they are struggling.
2. Building Strong, Sustainable Partnerships
Customer relationships should be viewed as long term partnerships instead of transactional exchanges in any industry, but it’s especially important in edtech. When a provider takes the time to get to know the schools they serve, understanding their policies, people, and pain points and evolving their solutions accordingly, they can become an essential driver of success for the educators and students they serve.
To act as real partners, edtech companies should design long-term roadmaps that go beyond implementation and support the institution in the long run. Regular, proactive communication, such as standing monthly account reviews can help them identify problems and proactively meet customer needs.
From a growth standpoint, expanding within your existing customer base can help you grow just as much as acquiring new customers does. Growth with existing customers can also be more cost efficient than winning new business, allowing Edtech companies to take advantage of an existing, trusted relationship. Efficient cross-selling goes hand-in-hand with providing current customers a high level of service, offering personalized support and taking a consultative approach. Again, this ensures you become a partner who adds value at every turn and keeps you connected to the customer on a human level.
On the operational side, as edtech companies strive to balance innovation with the evolving needs of educators and students, sustainable growth often requires strategic partnerships to gain operational expertise, industry insights, and the resources needed to scale effectively.
3. Future-Proofing With AI & Technology
Edtech providers must stay on top of evolving tech and continue to develop their own products and approaches to future-proof their companies. To start, they need to effectively navigate security challenges and product interfaces to meet compliance requirements and customer expectations.
On the security front, providers should take the utmost care to protect student data. Every security situation will differ, but strong programs tend to include encryption, multifactor authentication, employee training, and role-based access controls. Companies can also participate in audits and seek certifications around industry standards, like ISO 27001 or SOC2, which helps to verify and improve their existing cybersecurity processes–and earn customer trust.
In addition to being secure and compliant, edtech solutions should be a seamless value-add. This means they need to integrate smoothly with existing technologies, incorporate AI-driven insights that offer actionable guidance, prioritize a user-friendly design, and be set up to scale.
It’s also important for edtech providers to select the right AI engines and launch them iteratively, learning and adapting to feedback from users as they go. However, be sure you have fail-safes in place as you innovate. The goal is to stay at the forefront of innovation while not chasing trends for trends’ sake. Technology shouldn’t be pursued if it doesn’t add value for your customers.
In Summary
By focusing on educators’ and students’ needs, fostering strategic partnerships for sustainable growth, and embracing innovation that delivers real value, edtech providers can set themselves and their customers up for long-term success.
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Oliver Wreford is a CEO and growth strategist, with deep expertise in education technology. As a Chief Executive Officer at School Pathways and Aequitas, Oliver leads with a people-first approach, helping serve the needs of K-12 public school educators and students in hundreds of school districts. Previously, Oliver held executive roles at SchoolMint and PowerSchool, where he helped facilitate PowerSchool’s $350 million acquisition by Vista Equity Partners. Connect with Oliver on LinkedIn.
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