Michael Cairns is a publishing and media executive who established Information Media Partners in 2006 to provide strategy consulting services focused on information and education publishing. The document discusses trends in the edtech market including increasing investment in recent years that has started to slow down. It outlines key product segments in edtech and thoughts on trends impacting the industry like the battle for attention in online content, shifting access models towards subscriptions, platform wars between companies like Apple and Android, and new technologies like virtual and augmented reality.

1. Michael Cairns
Managing Partner
Information Media Partners
EDTech Market Overview
Publishers Forum Berlin 2017

2. Introduction
Michael Cairns is a publishing and media executive with over 25 years experience in
business strategy, operations and technology implementation. As a business
executive, Mr. Cairns has successfully managed several troubled and under-
performing businesses, creating new business opportunities, developing new funding
sources and enhancing shareholder value for investors. His years spent as an
operating executive have largely been with brand-name publishing companies such
as Macmillan, Inc., Berlitz International, Wolters Kluwer Health, Reed Elsevier and
R.R. Bowker. As a consultant, Mr. Cairns has worked with clients as diverse as
AARP, Hewlett Packard, InterPublic Companies and Reed Elsevier with an emphasis
on business strategy, market development and corporate development.
His skills and experience include:
 Business and corporate strategy development and implementation
 Operations management and business transformation
 Traditional and digital publishing and operations
 Print-to-digital transformation and adoption of new business models
 Software development and software services
Mr. Cairns holds an MBA (Finance) from Georgetown University and a BA from
Boston University. He has served on several boards and advisory groups including
the Association of American Publishers, Book Industry Study Group and the
International ISBN organization. Additionally, he has public and private company
board experience.
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Michael Cairns
Information Media Partners
Strategy Consulting
New York, London, Melbourne
Tel: 908 938 4889
Michael.cairns@infomediapartners.com
Find me:
LinkedIn Twitter Blog Flickr InstaGram

3. Information Media Partners
Michael Cairns established Information Media Partners in 2006 as a boutique strategy
consulting firm focused on the information and education publishing segment. The work
conducted by the firm includes product development, corporate development, sales
management and corporate reorganizations. We work with established businesses, private
equity owners and potential acquirers.
Examples of our work include:
 Reorganized and re-focused a $25 million software publishing company by aligning
business operations with client priorities; implementing internal collaboration tools and
project management standards; re-building executive team to focus on effective and
efficient management
 Defined a new business strategy for a large non-profit association and advocacy group,
expanding their business model into global markets to exploit their core knowledge and
expertise across a broader market
 Led an information technology capabilities review at a large international advertising
holding company. Completed over 200 interviews in 15 international offices and multiple
group focus sessions to define the operational ‘gaps’ between existing agency capabilities
and those necessary and important for client delivery by region
 Completed a sales management effectiveness review for a global software company and
defined six key project initiatives to improve sales effectiveness, market development and
account management
We approach our client engagements in a standardized, logical manner which creates the best
environment to identify key business drivers, administrative and logistical road blocks and/or
product or market definition issues. Our investigative approach leads to better insights into
your businesses and supports the development of workable solutions and recommendations
for success.
Visit the Information Media Partners website for more information.
Sample Client List

4. What is “EdTech”?
 The intersection of technology tools and
education content
 Data analytics platforms
 Content and other marketplaces
 User generated tools and applications
 To provide access to information and learning to
obtain skills and knowledge
 In other words – the application of technology to
support learning
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5. Big Picture Trends – 2017 Horizon Report
One Year or Less
 Bring your own
device
 Learning analytics
 Adaptive learning
Two – Three Years
 Augmented and
virtual reality
 Makerspaces
Four to Five
Years
• Affective computing
• Robotics
Investment money has accelerated in the past five years
chasing start-up opportunities but may have reached
saturation.
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6. Historic Increasing Investment – Recent Slowdown
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7. Update: Q1 2017
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8. Product Segments in EdTech
 Learning management
systems
 Early childhood education
 Broad online learning
programs
 Enterprise learning
 Next gen schools
 Tech schools
 Online to offline
 Testing & remediation
 Digital course materials
and courseware
 Test prep
 Curriculum production
 Search
 School administration
 Next gen study tools
 Language learning
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9. Select Ed Tech Market Map
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10. Edtech/Education Business Drivers
 The internet “network effect:” enables accessibility to
vast collections of education materials
 Technology has facilitated ‘new learning models’ which
had redefined how students integrate learning into work
and personal development
 Expanding life-time earning ‘gap’ of those educated at
higher levels supports the value of education
 Broader workflow automation is eliminating old-line
employment paths causing acceleration in worker ‘re-
education’ needs and requirements
 Rapid growth of non-English markets for education
content ‘technology leap’ embedding technology
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11. Thoughts on Trends Impacting EdTech
 Traditional content
 Access models
 Platforms
 Accreditation
 New technology
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12. End of Traditional Content?
 Open educational course materials
 Textbook form factor eroding
 Battle for attention
 “entrepreneur culture” forcing a rethinking of the
entire educational experience
 Online vs offline – generational shift
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13. Access Models
 Flattening of supply chain – enabling direct relationships
 But, complicated with more platforms, distributors,
outlets, etc.
 Business model transition from “one off” sale to varieties
of subscription models is difficult
 Publishers need to rely on direct relationships wherever
they can
 Subscriptions/memberships assume higher engagement
with customer
 “On the verge of learning about your consumers
intimately. Need to wake up to this and learn from this”
 Institutional sales (B2B and B2B2C) more predictable
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14. Platform Wars
 xml first workflows
 Mobile: Apple vs Android
 Bring your own device
 Functionality
 International markets
 Acquisitions and roll-ups: beach heads are
valuable
 Dependence on hardware and/or good
connectivity is likely to fail – lowest common
denominator may be very low
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15. Changing Accreditation and Degrees
 Work experience
 Badges and certifications
 Changing test and assessment requirements
 On demand, in situ learning needs for career
advance
 Life long learning
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16. New Technology
 Virtual reality
 Interesting for distance and/or remote users
 In class headset is potentially a distraction
 Augmented reality
 Significant opportunity in education and career
development
 Turning 2D drawings into 3D models which can be
played with
 Non-headset on the way?
 Makerspaces
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17. Michael Cairns
Managing Partner
Michael.Cairns@InfoMediaPartners.com
908 938 4889
LinkedIn Twitter Blog Flickr InstaGram
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