Here’s what a next-gen outsourcing partner can do for an EdTech business

Zoom classes. Student portals. Virtual presentations. Digital submissions.

There are new terms added to our lingo, and keeping the pandemic in mind, we guess that they’re here to stay.

According to the UNESCO Institute for Statistics, the COVID-19 pandemic has led to the closure of schools in 188 countries, affecting more than 1.5 billion students and 63 million primary and secondary teachers worldwide.

There will still be universities and colleges running offline post the crisis, but from a pure market-share perspective, the content consumed through the use of EdTech will be many times more than the learning that will happen on campus. Offline universities and colleges partner with EdTech companies that will help them deliver their service to students and make a transition towards launching their programs online.

EdTech in India: Second-largest in the world

Not everyone has access to quality education. But with the growing number of smartphones in the hands of the Indian public, EdTech is a key differentiator in democratizing education. Talking about EdTech and its scope in the Indian Market, there’s a lot of competition—and outside of 1-2 players, there are no clear toppers in this class. It’s no longer predictable hardware versus software story either.

Edtech in India is also creating opportunities in the vocational and skill development space. Additionally, the emergence of business process outsourcing for edtech and education outsourcing companies is driving the industry forward. Also, there’s an emerging threat from companies in China–the world’s biggest EdTech market.

A 2017 study by KPMG in India and Google projects that India’s EdTech market will reach a size of around US$ 1.96 billion in 2021 with a user base of around 9.6 million compared to US$ 247 million and 1.6 million users in 2016. As the study was conducted before the crisis, the actual market size will be way higher.

The scope of EdTech is not just limited to collating study materials anymore. It now includes schools, colleges, academies, universities, training institutes, online training providers, corporate training, e-learning companies, Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) providers, and many other platforms.

How can outsourcing help an EdTech company grow?

With the traditional education system at crossroads, revenues decline and administrative costs continue to soar. Growth prospects of online learning overpower the need for physical classrooms increasingly. For businesses in both these industries to flourish, pain points like lead generation, student catalog management, and technical support for students need to be focused upon.

With operations like these becoming more and more important for securing the best of experiences for customers (in this case the students and facilitators), outsourcing for EdTech startups is essential. Here are a few areas where outsourcing companies can be of help to the Education & EdTech businesses:

Subject matter expertise

With increasing options for students to choose from, they must have all the information they need about the subjects they wish to pursue. With a comprehensive knowledge management system backing Support Agents, a tech-based outsourcing company is equipped to answer all queries about courses and streams. It also allows prospects to stay updated about new additions and upgrades in the courses provided by your organization.

Live Chat & Email Support

According to Forrester, your customers don’t want to call you for support; millennials and Gen Z more so. Customers prefer agent-assisted digital communication platforms for any sort of assistance as these have less or no wait time. If they can’t find quick and right solutions to their problems, they are likely to just find another alternative that better addresses their issues. This system will help students with a smooth learning experience. Outsourcing will help companies reduce the costs in building these support systems and deliver efficient services through experts.

Technical Support

Network-related issues are never an option in this industry, especially when there is a limited number of hours in a class. When outsourced these services, these support issues are taken care of by experts daily. There are skilled people to troubleshoot problems and provide students the inputs on best practices to ensure that they get all the technical support required in their process of learning.

Cataloging of content and knowledge

Proper cataloging makes it smoother for students to navigate and find the resources they are looking for. Their learning experience will be delightful if all the content is easily accessible. When outsourced to experts, from catalog creation to continuous content updating, everything is taken care of.

Improved user engagement and learning

Innovative digital content such as engaging video materials can improve outcomes. Customer experience has become the main differentiator among Education technology companies. The synthesis of multimedia, gamification, and informal learning apps has all made content more immersive. It is designed to not only attract students but also keep them engaged.

For example, video learning formats are accelerating the learning process and are an attractive format for the students.

EdTech is fostering the link between classrooms and the outside world. Teacher-endorsed digital educational resources are helping students in the form of assignments and test preparation material. Therefore, outsourcing definitely helps in creating a good learning experience for pupils through connected touchpoints.

Trends in Edtech

Augmented reality:

Today, learning is gamified in the form of simulation, level advancement badges, incentive-based learning to drive user experience. The integration of technology, in such scenarios, contributes to creating a stimulating atmosphere as part of the more comprehensive learning experience. AR supplements education across the curriculum and actively engages students in a meaningful way.

ML and AI-driven learning

Machine Learning (ML) and Artificial Intelligence-driven (AI) assessments, personalized & customized learning for students can contribute useful insight into the student performance, group analysis, and individual analysis for each topic/sub-topic. The evolution of technology-supported learning and the advancement of learning systems provide new learning pathways to students.

Blended learning model

It is a design and delivery model with programs devised with various kinds of assignments, projects, online tests, discussions, interactive learning materials, and even, video learning that needs to be completed online. There is, of course, no replacing of those vital touchpoints that the classroom offers. EdTech institutions are adapting the blended learning model in an attempt to create a seamless learning experience for students online and offline.

Flipped learning

The flipped learning means students are doing a bare minimum cognitive study such as gaining knowledge and comprehension outside of a classroom. They are concentrating more on the essential cognitive activities like application, analysis, and synthesis where they can get help from classmates and teachers. The objective of the flipped learning model is to allow students to take more interest and responsibility in their studies.

Outsourcing for EdTech & Education industry

With more and more educational institutes going digital, due to the pandemic, technical support for students is more important than ever. EdTech companies are now focusing on mission-critical objectives, such as organizing high-quality classes, providing the latest study material, etc. Outsourcing certain business processes will broaden their bandwidth to pursue these objectives in a focused manner.

A BPO can help the organization manage its peak activities. Such as at the time of enrolment for a new session, maintaining student records, cataloging and building repositories of digital educational content, etc. With the advent of technology, it has become easier for students to resolve their doubts in real time with self-service and support facilities.

For instance, at Maxicus, we have been able to develop a specific business process for one of the largest Universities in the country. Concerning their admission and student support, the university has seen great improvement in its back-office and student experience.

For continuous business expansion, it is very important for EdTech players to utilize the power of technology and to find a support arm for the operations they do not specialize in.