Navigating the EdTech Adoption Process: Insights from Vendors
by Stella Lee
Recently, I had a few enlightening conversations with EdTech vendors on their experiences engaging with prospective and existing clients, what they identified as useful information to know for the organizations, and how to get the most out of an EdTech adoption process. The following is a summary of their collective wisdoms on buying and implementing EdTech from the suppliers’ perspective.
1. Understanding the Why
Challenge:
Vendors don’t know your organization’s business drivers and context for procuring an EdTech product. This makes it difficult for them to tailor their product presentations and demonstrations.
Recommendation:
It's essential to communicate the core motivation behind your EdTech procurement to vendors. Do you have a business case? What are you trying to achieve by introducing an EdTech product? For example, are you trying to enhance remote learning capabilities, streamline administrative tasks, or expand your learning offerings? By clarifying the "why," vendors can tailor their product demonstrations to address your specific organizational needs, ensuring a more targeted and effective presentation.
2. Know Your Timeline
Challenge:
Vendors find the “go-live” date and timeline unrealistic and constantly in flux.
Recommendation:
While excitement about rolling out a new EdTech product is understandable, it's crucial to set a realistic "go-live" date. A realistic timeline is not just about hitting a launch date but ensuring that all components are in place for a successful deployment. This includes ample time for system integration, user training, and any necessary adjustments based on feedback from pilot testing. Additionally, a pragmatic schedule accounts for potentially unforeseen challenges and allows for contingency plans to be executed without compromising the quality or efficacy of the EdTech solution.
Additionally, it would also be useful to anchor your timeline with a significant milestone or event: the rollout of a new learning program, an organizational restructuring, or the launch of a product/service.
3. Think beyond the RFP
Challenge:
Vendors with quality products are in demand and will not respond to your lengthy RFP.
Recommendation:
Traditional Requests for Proposals (RFPs) may seem like the standard route, but they might not always yield the best results. High-demand vendors, confident in the quality of their offerings, might bypass RFPs, focusing instead on direct engagements and referrals. If an RFP is required for your process, consider leveraging your professional connections, reaching out to vendors directly, expressing your interest in their products, and encouraging them to put in a submission.
4. Build Relationships with Vendors
Challenge:
Customer makes demands without providing constructive feedback to the vendor
Recommendation:
A successful EdTech adoption isn't just about the initial selection; it's about fostering an ongoing partnership with your vendors. Engage actively with your vendor post-purchase. Offer feedback on the product, understand their development roadmap, and suggest potential features. This symbiotic relationship ensures that the product continues to evolve in alignment with your organization’s needs.
5. Understand Implementation
Challenge:
Vendors don’t have full picture of your organization’s tech stacks and are not connected to the internal IT staff.
Recommendation:
Implementation is a collaborative effort. While vendors play a significant role, your organization's tech stack and IT personnel are equally crucial. Ensure that vendors are aware of your existing technologies to facilitate a seamless integration. Moreover, keep your IT team in the loop at all stages, avoiding any unexpected challenges or hiccups. A well-informed team is a prepared team.
6. Understand Sandboxes
Challenge:
Potential customers have misguided notions of sandboxes/not making the most of sandboxes.
Recommendation:
Just as you wouldn't buy a car without testing its handling, acceleration, and comfort, you shouldn't invest in an EdTech product without a hands-on experience. Familiarize yourself with the concept of a "sandbox"—a generic version of the product provided by the vendor for trial purposes so don’t expect it to be branded to your organization nor will it be fully functioning with all the features and functions turned on. To optimize this trial, populate it with your own content, mirroring a real-world setup to discern how the solution integrates with your existing environment. Further, leverage use cases that are specific to your organization’s context. For instance, how might your instructional designers harness the tool to tailor training sessions and create online content? How would team members collaborate on tasks?
In summary, the EdTech adoption journey is a two-way street. By understanding the vendors’ perspective, it will help you be better prepared and foster a collaborative environment that ensures a more seamless and effective integration of the technology into your organization's ecosystem.