What is EdTech?
The global education industry is technology enabled and growing quickly. Demand for EdTech (educational technology), tools, and services is also growing.
If developed and applied correctly, educational technology has the potential to become industry-changing. By streamlining time-consuming processes (e.g. lesson planning, reporting, and record-keeping) and simplifying communication, it delivers benefits for educational institutions and teachers.
Like the education industry, the global EdTech market is fragmented. There are many players; from early-stage startups right through to public companies. Two of the best known EdTech solutions are Google Classroom and Blackboard.
But the current rate of EdTech development is leaving gaps. A recent Software & Information Industry Association survey revealed a “high desire for more technology integration — and need for more support — at all educational levels.”
Why use an EdTech marketplace?
Schools and teachers are notoriously difficult to reach. But reaching them at scale is even harder.
To sell into the education sector directly, you have to knock on the door of hundreds of school districts, thousands of schools, or millions of teachers. It’s a long (and expensive) process. So this where EdTech marketplaces come in.
The user perspective
In EdTech marketplaces users search for complimentary SaaS products to improve their business or solve a specific problem. For the user, connecting to an app from within a SaaS marketplace that you already use makes sense for a couple of reasons. Firstly the app is already connected to the platform, which means some key data already transfers between the platforms. As a result, some processes will be streamlined. Secondly you know that the app has been vetted by a platform that you already use and trust. And thirdly, you might receive a discount or service upgrade.
The SaaS vendor perspective
To illustrate the benefits for SaaS vendors, let’s run through an example. Imagine you’re a software company that wants to reach the customers of EdTech Platform X. If you partner with EdTech Platform X EdTech their custoemrs will be more likely to trust you. In addition, if you distribute your product through their marketplace, it will be easy for your target market to find. What’s more, positioning your brand next to a trusted partner lets you piggyback their success.
Use our marketplace finder to research EdTech marketplaces and find one that will help you scale your business.
