Evaluating SaaS market opportunities for the Open University
Challenge
We helped the Open University's (OU) teams (Technology Enhanced Learning, Translation Learning, and Teaching Innovation) evaluate market opportunities for their open learning platform, Moodle. OU is a certified Moodle partner and has successfully used the platform for course development and its internal virtual learning environment (VLE). The OU was exploring offering Moodle hosting and course development services (Hosting+) and its commercial potential. Hosting+ hosts the Moodle platform along with:
- Customisation (e.g., appearance)
- OU's learning design expertise access
- Client support
- Platform maintenance
Approach
We worked closely with the OU to evaluate Moodle provider market opportunities, where we needed to identify opportunities for the OU in the SaaS sector, identify key competitors, primarily in the UK, and offer guidance on a suitable pricing model.
Key aspects that needed to be considered were whether viable commercial Moodle provider market opportunities existed for the OU, and how they could best approach these opportunities. By reaching out to several Moodle providers in the UK and other regions, we became more familiar with their offerings and pricing for Hosting+ and other services to help assess regional characteristics and the OU’s proposed service potential.
Impact
