A Chat with Andrew Avanessian, CEO at Digital Adoption Platform: AppLearn

AppLearn is a Manchester-headquartered digital adoption platform (DAP) vendor on a mission to make software work better for everyone.

The company was initially founded in 2011, and we’ve grown incredibly since then. We now have offices in Boston, San Francisco and Slovakia, and we work with market-leading companies in over 170 countries.

Our flagship Adopt platform gives organizations an intelligent piece of software that helps them get the most out of their business applications. DAPs like Adopt have become increasingly popular as our work becomes increasingly situated online – businesses want to make sure they’re getting proper value out of the applications their people use every day.

Adopt can be installed and layered over enterprise applications, learning how users interact and use them, to provide targeted support as and where needed.

It might detect someone is struggling with a certain function, so will provide personalised support through pop-ups, chatbot prompts and how-to guides. It can also gather in-depth analytics, so businesses can measure end-to-end processes. It essentially helps to enhance productivity, and enables organizations to optimize their technology investments.
 
 

 

How has the company evolved during the pandemic?

 
As a company we are an agile player in a multi-billion-dollar market, that is growing – fast. Over the years, we’ve firmly established ourselves in the digital adoption space, but with the energy and pace of a company that constantly pushes boundaries, which was a useful culture to carry forward when the world shifted because of the pandemic.

This rapid level of digital transformation meant we were ideally positioned to provide insight and support for our customers as they navigated this changing work landscape.

So, despite otherwise challenging conditions during the pandemic, we emerged as a trailblazer. AppLearn was named a leader in the 2020/2021 Everest Group DAP Products PEAK matrix, a 2021 Northern Tech 100 winner, shortlisted in Constellation’s ShortList™ for Digital Adoption Platforms in Q1 2021 and were included in IDC’s Future of Work – Culture 2021 report.
 

How has the company grown in recent months?

 
The past few months have been transformative for us. We’ve secured funding and invested in the best team and technology to accelerate our global growth plans and create a truly best-in-class DAP. In January, we agreed funding with Silicon Valley Bank and NPIF – Maven Equity Finance, managed by Maven Capital Partners (Maven) and part of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund (NPIF). The funding allowed us to expand our North West-based team and create 60 new roles.

In March, we made the pivotal move to complete a major acquisition of Slovakia-based DAP provider YesElf. AppLearn will take ownership of YesElf’s existing platform, which leads the market in AI and machine learning powered user experience capabilities. It’s meant we’ve been able to triple our development capacity.

With customers in around 100 countries currently, the funding, team growth and tech investments will see Adopt launched into exciting new markets, such as South Africa, and grow our presence in the lucrative North American market. It’s a really exciting time for the team.
 

What can we hope to see from AppLearn in the future?

 
We’ve seen incredible appetite for DAPs in recent years, and now is the time to capitalize on this. People are more reliant on software to complete their roles than ever before. DAPs, like Adopt, are an ideal way for businesses going through digital transformations to make sure their software is working for them.

As a result, DAP providers are looking at significant market growth, and with our funding and acquisition in place, we’re in a prime position to grow our share of the space even further.