Working with AWS to meet growing demand for online learning: upGrad

upGrad has moved the vast majority of its IT infrastructure to AWS, a move that has helped the higher education technology provider rapidly scale to meet the burgeoning demand for online education

upGrad on Tuesday said it has moved the vast majority of its IT infrastructure to Amazon Web Services (AWS), a move that has helped the higher education technology provider rapidly scale to meet the burgeoning demand for online education during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The edtech company has doubled its learner base to more than 2 million in eight months with AWS, and seen learners' time spent on the platform for upskilling grow by four times as compared to the preceding equal duration of time.

upGrad uses a number of AWS capabilities, including analytics, security, and compute, to power career growth for individuals.

"AWS is integral to our ability to onboard learners, experiment and iterate, and provide the best possible learning experience to help people accelerate their careers. With AWS, we can use data to personalize education for learners around the world as we strengthen our position as a leading global edtech brand," upGrad President of Product Rohit Dhar said.

He added that as the demand for quality online learning content grows, the company can easily scale its workloads on AWS to reliably and securely deliver rich and uninterrupted educational content, even during very busy periods.

To meet the growing demand for online learning, upGrad needed to scale its services globally and provide a seamless, reliable customer experience, especially during peak periods like course registrations and assignment submissions.

It also needed a strong set of analytics capabilities to analyse learner data, including demographics and course uptakes, and provide personalised career services to drive learner success.

upGrad also plans to procure software-as-a-service (SaaS) solutions for the company and its subsidiaries via AWS Marketplace, a curated digital catalog that makes it easy for organisations to test, purchase, deploy, and manage third-party software.

"upGrad builds on AWS to deliver innovative and flexible online learning solutions that help bridge the higher education needs of learners and drive development of the future workforce," said Sunil P P, Lead (Education, Space, and Nonprofits) at Amazon Internet Services Pvt Ltd, AWS India and South Asia.

He added that going all-in on AWS allows upGrad to meet the rapid growth of their learner base as it scales to more than 100 countries, and provides a secure and personalised experience to learners online as they access upGrad for curriculum, mentoring, and career services.