Market Data
The Private Equity Playbook: How Wall Street is Quietly Reshaping EdTech
If you’ve felt like the EdTech landscape is becoming more crowded yet more consolidated at the same time, you aren’t imagining things. We are currently witnessing a fundamental shift in how educational technology is funded, built, and sold. For years, the narrative was about “disruption” from scrappy startups. Today, the story is increasingly written by ... The Private Equity Playbook: How Wall Street is Quietly Reshaping EdTech Read More
Reflections on Alliance 2026: Data, Reality, and the Future of HigherEd IT
Last week, I had the pleasure of attending HEUG’s Alliance 2026 conference in Orlando, Florida. It was a milestone event for the ListEdTech team; marking our second year with a booth, my first time attending the conference, and my very first keynote presentation. The energy at the Orlando World Center Marriott was incredible, and the ... Reflections on Alliance 2026: Data, Reality, and the Future of HigherEd IT Read More
RFP Trends & Market Priorities – December 2025 Update
What five years of RFP activity tells us about shifting institutional needs in HigherEd and K–12 As this will be our last post of the year, we wanted to take a moment to look back at RFP activity across Higher Education and K–12. Each year, RFP patterns give us an early indication of where institutions ... RFP Trends & Market Priorities – December 2025 Update Read More
The 2025 K-12 SIS Market: Steady Leaders, Emerging Shifts
The North American 2025 K-12 SIS market continues to show the hallmarks of a mature industry: steady leadership among top vendors, slower implementation cycles, and a growing emphasis on product differentiation through AI and integrated analytics. Yet beneath this stability lies meaningful change. Mergers and acquisitions, new state-level migrations, and evolving expectations around data intelligence ... The 2025 K-12 SIS Market: Steady Leaders, Emerging Shifts Read More
The K–12 CMS Market: Consolidation, and the AI Effect
The K–12 CMS market has transformed more in the past two years than in the previous decade. Based on our dataset of more than 17,000 school districts across Canada and the United States, the story is clear: a market once defined by choice is now shaped by consolidation, compliance pressure, and the rapid normalization of AI. Two ... The K–12 CMS Market: Consolidation, and the AI Effect Read More
Tracking HigherEd Tech Trends Through Educause Exhibitor Data
A Brief History of Our Analysis Since 2021, ListEdTech has analyzed the Educause exhibitor floor to better understand how product categories evolve year after year. This long-term tracking provides a unique lens on the education technology landscape, highlighting not just who’s exhibiting, but what kinds of solutions vendors prioritize. In our previous analyses, we focused ... Tracking HigherEd Tech Trends Through Educause Exhibitor Data Read More
Who Are HigherEd’s Tech Leaders?
This year, I’ve been revisiting some of the classic business books: Blue Ocean Shift, Free, The Innovator’s Dilemma, Zero to One, and of course, Crossing the Chasm. That last one really got me thinking about early adopters. In tech markets, they’re the people (or in HigherEd, the institutions) who are comfortable taking risks, trying something new, and shaping the market ... Who Are HigherEd’s Tech Leaders? Read More
Anthology’s Chapter 11 Filing: Breaking Up to Refocus
September 2025 marked a major turning point for Anthology, the owner of Blackboard and several other higher education technology platforms. The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the U.S. after efforts to sell itself or parts of its business outside of court failed. The filing is not a liquidation. Instead, it is a structured reorganization designed to ... Anthology’s Chapter 11 Filing: Breaking Up to Refocus Read More
Rethinking Market Saturation in EdTech
Market saturation is a concept we often discuss at ListEdTech because it comes up frequently with our clients. Investors want to know if a market still has room to grow, while startups want to understand whether they are entering a space with opportunities or one that is already crowded. Last year, we explored saturation by ... Rethinking Market Saturation in EdTech Read More
How Institutions Discover What Tech Their Peers Are Using
In the last few months, I’ve been asking my LinkedIn connections, the following question:“How do you learn what technology your peers at other institutions are using?” Over the last few months, nearly 400 professionals answered this question. Their responses highlight both the creativity and the challenges institutions face when trying to keep up with the ... How Institutions Discover What Tech Their Peers Are Using Read More
Introducing the Competitive Compass: A Smarter Way to Read the EdTech Market
Understanding education technology markets isn’t just about who’s “winning.”It’s about who is best — for whom, and why. At ListEdTech, we believe that context matters. Comparing two products without understanding their target users is misleading. One product may dominate large research institutions in North America; another might be the go-to choice for small vocational colleges in ... Introducing the Competitive Compass: A Smarter Way to Read the EdTech Market Read More
