Leading MDR Education’s Cloud Transformation
2017 - 2020
Overview
I was engaged through my consulting company to transform MDR’s primary list-building tool into a modern, cloud-based product. The exceptional preliminary results expanded the scope to include redesigning their entire suite of tools into an ecommerce-enabled platform.
Executive Snapshot
Portfolio Modernization: Managed design and product strategy for a product portfolio grossing approximately $30MM in annual revenue.
Product Management: Led product specification, pricing optimization, and go-to-market (GTM) strategy for both digital and traditional sales channels.
Ecommerce Enablement: Introduced an innovative credit-based system enabling online purchases of data and services for the first time.
Platformization: Spearheaded the transition of disparate digital experiences into a unified platform, accelerating product cross-sell.
DesignOps Direction: Established and directed the company’s first UX Research practice and designed their first corporate design system.
Geographic targeting screen design for the MDR Build-a-List product
Product Modernization and Platformization
In 2017, MDR’s outdated user experience and product model threatened its position as the market leader. Despite having digital tools for its core businesses in list-building, data visualization, and campaign deployment, the sub-optimal experience was losing market share to new, cloud-first competitors.
Strategic Pain Points
Outdated Design: Visual and interaction design was still anchored in 1990s aesthetics and patterns, threatening brand perception and product satisfaction.
DesignOps Voids: Without a UX Research practice and centralized design system, product development was disconnected and disjointed.
Fragmented Product Suite: Despite overlap, adjacent tools and products were hidden in sales resources, inhibiting the opportunity for upsell and cross-sell.
Sales Friction: Data, products, and services could only be sold through communication with a sales person, despite increasing competition from e-commerce enabled competitors.
Institutional GTM Gaps: With a primarily sales and engineering-led culture, there were institutional gaps in modern GTM strategy.
Challenge Statement
The comprehensive digital transformation and modernization of MDR’s product portfolio was a strategic imperative to reverse market share attrition.
Consultant Actions
Institutionalizing DesignOps and Platformization
To move MDR from a fragmented tactical state to a scalable enterprise asset, I established the foundation for a modern, data-driven design culture.
Architected the First Corporate Design System: Designed and established the company’s first unified design system to replace outdated 1990s-era aesthetics.
Established a Centralized UX Research Practice: Institutionalized a research function to integrate the Voice of the Customer into the product roadmap.
Spearheaded Platformization: Directed the transition of disparate digital tools — including list-building, data visualization, and campaign deployment — into a unified cloud platform.
Ecommerce Enablement and Strategic GTM Execution
Capitalizing on the new operational frameworks, I led the product and design strategy to modernize MDR’s revenue model and capture new digital market share.
Introduced Innovative Ecommerce Enablement: Developed an innovative credit-based system that allowed for online purchase of data and services.
Directed Full-Lifecycle Product Management: Led the product specification, pricing optimization, and GTM strategy for both digital and traditional channels, bridging institutional gaps for the release of the new product ecosystem.
Delivered High-Growth Product Innovation: Managed the design and launch of MDR’s ConnectED Cloud, a cloud-based platform empowering marketing and sales teams with targeted datasets.
Performance Snapshot
| Initiative | KPI | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| List Builder Product Redesign | Revenue Growth (YoY) | 2018: 900% 2019: 390% |
| Data Visualization Product Redesign | Revenue Growth (YoY) | 2020: 400% |
| Integrated Product Platform (ConnectED Cloud) | New and Winback Revenue | 2020: 45% of total sales |
Conclusion
From Legacy Data to Platform Powerhouse
The transformation of MDR Education represents a fundamental shift from a fragmented, sales-led legacy firm to a modern, cloud-first platform. By addressing 1990s-era design patterns and institutional GTM gaps, this initiative did more than modernize an interface—it re-engineered how the nation’s leader in education data captures value in a digital economy.
Executive Takeaways
Unprecedented Revenue Velocity: A staggering 900% YoY growth for the redesigned List Builder in its first year, validated customer demand.
Market Re-Capture: The launch of the ConnectED Cloud platform successfully diminished market share attrition, with 45% of total sales driven by new and winback revenue.
Operational Scalability: The transition to a unified corporate design system and an e-commerce-enabled credit system reduced the cost of sales and accelerated the growth of the entire $30MM portfolio.