Consenna & HP for Education
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Consenna is a UK-based consultancy working with global tech manufacturers to design and deploy promotional campaigns.
In 2020, HP hired Consenna to support a program it runs to help schools get credit when trading up old equipment. This program, HP for Education, requires tight coordination between lots of different groups (i.e. schools, resellers, service providers, etc.).
To manage activities between these groups and meet its deadline, Consenna partnered with Airdev to build a custom no-code marketplace solution to save time and money, and to create the best experience for schools – in only 3 months.
The results?
- A multi-sided marketplace coordinating efforts between schools, resellers, service providers, and administrators
- A tool offered to 30k schools across the UK
- Consenna received additional request for work from HP
The OBJEctive
As a consultancy, Consenna needed to work fast and deliver its commitments on-budget and on-time. With a 3-month runway to launch, the team needed a custom solution that met the following objectives:
- Highly functional, managing a complex 4-sided program architecture
- Sleek and intuitive, eliminating friction in school participation
- Scalable and designed to serve 30k+ schools across the UK and Ireland
Consenna couldn’t risk burning its budget and time building a custom platform that didn’t meet HP’s very specific functional requirements, which included:
- Intuitive school onboarding and equipment trade-in flow
- Administrative portal for staff to review and approve claims
- Authorized reseller portal where staff can track and support customers
- Digital storefront where schools can spend earned wallet funds on solutions
This meant that traditionally coded software development was a liability.
“In our work, we always need to make sure we deliver on our promises. We had had agonizing trouble with this in the past with technology builds, since overrun is rampant.” - Paul Thompson, Consenna
The SOLUTION
With no time to spare, Consenna opted for no-code software development for its ability to reduce project timelines and costs.
The consultancy had already worked with Airdev on previous projects for HP and other clients. In 2020, it decided to partner with them again for their staff’s background in consulting, experience building for enterprises, and expertise quickly launching complex no-code products.
“Having partnered with AirDev on previous projects both for HP and other leading technology companies, it was clear that they were best placed to deliver this sort of complex tool.” - Douglas Jeffrey, Chairman at Consenna
Airdev’s approach
To make sure that Consenna delivered HP a bespoke digital asset that met all program objectives — both immediately and over time — Airdev spent 1 week translating Consenna’s strategy into detailed product specifications, wireframes, and success metrics.
After this initial high-touch scoping process, Airdev’s dedicated visual development team built the app in 3 weeks – with weekly milestones and check-ins for Consenna to see progress and provide feedback. For the next 5 weeks, Airdev tested the product internally and with HP clients to iterate and add functionality (e.g., reseller self-service) as business needs evolved.
Finally, after 2 months, Consenna and the HP team launched the platform at the 2020 Bett conference — a global community event for education technology.
“Airdev's ability to synthesize customer requirements distinguishes them from other agencies.” - Neil Hardin, IT Development Project Manager, Consenna
THE RESULT
By building with Airdev using no-code, Consenna was able to cut its originally scheduled development time by more than half. In its first month live, the custom no-code marketplace facilitated hundreds of school registrations.
Today, the online platform supports 30k schools across the UK wanting to upgrade their hardware. Notably, the shift to remote work and schooling that happened due to the pandemic has resulted in a large increase in need for hardware, and this program helped schools make the transition.
As for Consenna, they were able to deliver a successful product that generated very positive feedback and resulted in additional requests from HP for their work.
“The relaunch of HP for Education 2020 has been a massive success. The platform has enabled us to expand this important program, while making my life easier.” - Michael Pope, Category Manager, HP
“At a time when Consenna is growing rapidly, it is vital that we consistently deliver for our clients. In this instance, AirDev certainly supported us in ensuring that we not only delivered, but exceeded expectations for HP.” - Paul Thompson, Commercial Director, Consenna
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