Build vs. Buy: What EdTech Organizations Should Be Outsourcing
Advancements in mobile tech, immersive reality tech, and cloud services are bringing a world of opportunities. These can enhance education and learning, making it more inclusive, accessible, and engaging for learners of all ages. In a world where blended and hybrid learning are here to stay, the use of microlearning and the rising focus on soft skills can all be growth drivers for newly funded EdTech companies.
To capitalize on these opportunities, you need to be able to provide powerful software solutions on time and on budget. We all know how strapped for funds schools and districts tend to be. This brings us to the ongoing dilemma of whether to build your own tech products or license white-label solutions.
Making a Choice: Build or Buy?
The decision of whether to build or buy software rests upon multiple factors, such as:
- EdTech StartUp Budgets
If you are a growth-stage company, you know that the budget is constrained. In-house development of tech solutions implies blocking your resources for hiring, development, team management, post-development testing and deployment, and expert advisors. Managing cost overruns, which are fairly common in software development, can have unprecedented business implications.
- Short Go-to-market Timelines
The education industry runs on stringent timelines. Curriculums, learning processes, and assessments are scheduled much in advance. Your business needs to reach out to target customers well in time for them to connect, assess, discuss, and choose your offerings. Your time to value also includes the long buying cycles that education institutions typically have. During all of this, delays during development, testing, or marketing can prove fatal.
- Expertise
No single EdTech organization can boast expertise in every domain. In-house development requires that you invest time and capital in procuring regulatory licenses, incorporating compliance guidelines, and pedagogical principles at every stage of development. Hiring expert advisors and SMEs for each area can prove expensive beyond what you can easily recover through sales.
- Maturity of the Software Development Processes
Even if you’ve managed to procure all the necessary resources, the maturity of the development process and streamlining tasks are essential to delivering high-performing, cutting-edge solutions that stand out from the competition.
- Post-Development Software Requirements
The software development lifecycle doesn’t end with just deploying the tool It continues till the software is live. This implies maintaining a team to handle upgrades, integrations, mitigate downtimes, etc. It all boils down to added costs.
A Quick and Elegant Solution For EdTech Companies
The logistics involved in developing and taking care of the entire software lifecycle in-house don’t need to be overwhelming. Visionary companies that look to sustain themselves in a competitive market should be seeking white-labeled or custom-built software solutions. There are many benefits of choosing to buy rather than build.
- Unbound Access to Domain Experts
Software as a Service (SaaS) can be a lifesaver. Partner with an experienced and skilled team of experts across domains, including pedagogy, assessment theory, and compliance. They focus on incorporating industry best practices and complying with EdTech industry standards, such as LTI, QTI, SCORM, and TinCan. Additionally, ensure that you never have to worry about legal compliance with frameworks such as COPPA and FERPA in the US and GDPR in Europe. So, the entire responsibility is taken off your shoulders, simplifying your route to winning state adoptions.
- Cut Go-to-Market Time
Given the pace of technological advancements and changing educational needs, agility in reaching the market with a robust solution can set you apart as a pioneer rather than part of a crowd. Customizable plug-and-play solutions can help you cut time-to-market by as much as 40%. You get proven industry-ready products that can be branded as per your requirements.
- Goal-Oriented Alignment of Resources
Your funds, time, and manpower are freed up so that you can direct them toward business growth activities, such as marketing, client meetings, and business expansion. Plus, you gain access to analytical reports, such as the most engaging content format, most read eBooks, and more, for data-driven business decisions.
- Ease of Scaling
Another benefit of onboarding a partner is that scaling the software up or down becomes seamless. The experts take care of updates and integrations, ensuring that you’re offering the best possible solution at all times. Your added value is in being a one-stop EdTech platform that takes care of the needs of educators, students, parents, and admins.
- Advisory Insights
Plug-n-play software solution providers are experts in their craft. They have years of experience and an eye on the market. They can help you gauge your business requirements better and suggest the most effective solutions to drive growth. In fact, they can also support your business to enter international markets effortlessly.
Partner with a Trusted Expert
Select a partner that meets your current as well as aspirational needs. Do the due diligence and enquire about white-labeled and branding solutions so that your end products are uniform and fit seamlessly.
MagicBox™ is a cloud-based, SaaS digital content creation and publishing platform that offers incredible customization capabilities. With award-winning EdTech plugins and integrations, you can deliver unique and satisfying experiences for your customers. You get to drive business growth with the ease of supporting multiple licensing and subscription models to meet the diverse needs of global users.
Contact us to give an edge to your EdTech business with our comprehensive solutions.
