Media Interactiva: from startup to leader in educational technology for digital competencies

MARÍA ÁNGELES GUZMÁN / MARTHA MILLS

The Sevillian company Media Interactiva, leader in the development of educational technology and instructional design oriented towards the formation and accreditation of digital competencies, has exceeded the seven million euros of invoicing in 2018. With offices in Seville, New York, Miami and Atlanta, the company has achieved 95.94% of its ventures outside of Spain. It also predicts an increase of 29% over the next year.

Founded in 2011 by Samuel Brocal, the company’s clients include giants such as Microsoft, the United States Department of Defense and Pearson. But it also attends to individuals, as some of its products can be purchased of used by any student who, on a personal basis, wants official certification. Media Interactiva has been included on the FT1000 of the Financial Times list of companies with the fastest growth in Europe (31 countries in Europe).

 

Educational Technology to improve digital abilities

During the presentation of data in the offices of Graylon Communication in Madrid, the founder and CEO of the company, Samuel Brocal, spoke of the importance of four barriers which need to be surpassed in order to advance as a society and improve the field of education. “I am referring to a constant transformation of the job market, where supply and demand are not always aligned; a lack of the necessary capacities needed for jobs that are already being demanded, and there is a technical and practical gap between theoretical knowledge; unequal access to technology, since not all zones or educational centers have the same characteristics or possibilities; and the decrease of privacy, since we have sold our data in exchange for access to certain applications, programs or networks in the ‘Cloud’,” said Brocal. “Cybersecurity, in a world in which privacy is each time more fragile, is fundamental.”

The lack of digital abilities hinders innovation and growth in Europe, not only in sector TIC companies, but across all sectors. For example, in 2016 only 56% of Europeans had adequate digital abilities for the digital world in which we live. Media Interactiva considers it essential to fit the training models to these needs, and adapt them to the new technological profiles.

In this way, a new paradigm is opened in which education associated with evaluation and certification of knowledge is made indispensable. Hence, Media Interactiva is committed to “continually improve the technology and educational content in computer sciences, helping young people and professionals to officially validate their abilities».

From startup to leader in its sector

Founded in Seville in 2011 as a startup, Media Interactiva has experienced a great process of expansion and consolidation in under a decade. In 2017, it premiered its current headquarters in Tomares (Seville) of more than 1,000 square meters–a symbol of the company’s growth, as continuous growth requires more space and this is the fifth location they have for that reason. Since its birth, Media Interactiva’s human capital has multiplied, beginning with four people and reaching fifty seven people as of 2018. In 2018, the company dedicated 55% of its budget to I+D+i (investigation, development and innovation), and this will increase by 70% in 2019. Media Interactiva invested more than 86,000 euros in training, 17.2% of the company’s overall budget. Also, the number of products and services offered has increased exponentially. It’s principle lines of business currently are with Performance Testing Solution, MeasureUp, Certinet and LearnMOS.

Performance Testing Solution (PTS) began its development in 2012, and takes an advanced approach to the learning of the user. PTS revolves around a central comprehensive training solution using evaluation as a learning mechanism. This method ensures that students can absorb, retain, and apply their new knowledge to real-world situations. In addition to improving the learning experience for every person, it allows the implementation of the evaluative programs of those who use the program, the administration of accounts and the necessary technical support. It hence promotes improvement in the results of the organizations that use it, their success and professional development, and the accreditation of competencies.

Media Interactive also developed LearnMOS, a program of courses and practical tests centered on the basic applications of Microsoft Office 2016. This learning solution is designed for people who are looking for a competitive advantage when entering the labor market, a spotlight in a selection process, or that simply are interested in updating their skills or increasing their productivity when using Microsoft Office 2016. After investing 120,000 euros, the company has also launched to the market a new version of said program: LearnMOS Cloud, a disruptive technology that makes training possible at any time or place in the world. LearnMOS Cloud allows access to the solution through any operating system–Windows, Linux, Android, IOS–and, being hosted in the ‘Cloud’, does not need additional software, as the license of Microsoft Office 2016 was usual for this product.

On the other hand is MeasureUp, the principle line of business for Media Interactiva and world-leading provider of practical tests and evaluations for certifications for professionals in the ICT sector. Incorporated to the company in 2014, MeasureUp has sold tests in close to 100 countries, oriented to training and evaluating digital competencies in the programs of the main companies in the sector. MeasureUp is an official provider of practical tests at the world level of Microsoft, VMware and Cisco. It also creates and distributes titles for CompTIA, PMP and AWS, and more.

For its part, the project Certinet–developed jointly with Cámara de Comercio de Bilbao–aims to promote the culture of certification and position itself as the cornerstone to any school, training center, university, company or person who wants to form and validate his or her knowledge with an official certification.

Finally, at the end of 2019 or the beginning of 2020, the company will be able to start a new project linked to other lines of business with an essential point: the constant search for the wellbeing of people and respect of nature.

Internal organization based in the wellbeing of the workers

The objective of Media Interactiva is to contribute to the transformation of the world of education and support a sense of belief in the qualifications and abilities associated with the person. This is illustrated by Laura Morillo, Human Resources manager of Media Interactiva: “Human resources forms a strategic part of the organization. We do not dedicate ourselves to managing personnel, low and high, payroll, etc.; our work goes much further than that–we think that we’re the nervous system of the organization,” said Morillo. “Our mission as a department is to lead the organization with tranquility and trust, having as our principle objective the development of people, the transformation of the team, its leaders, and the organization into the best versions of themselves, strengthening the capacity to adapt to change, resilience, responsibility, assertiveness and interdependence in all of the company.”

Though their objective is clear, the cultural change has not been an easy one to instill in a technological company, where most of the orientation is tasks and objectives. “Since last year, we have applied neuroscience to the human resources processes, we have worked on a matrix chart with transversal work teams, we have introduced conciliation policies such as time flexibility or teleworking, we have a minister of happiness, a counsel of sages, the Media Interactiva awards, or the implementation of social benefits,” Morillo said. “We are always looking for the wellbeing and benefit of the team, as it increases the value of the company.”

Alliances and recognition

Media Interactiva is an associated member of the Asociacion de Proveedores de e-Learning (APeL), which aims to spread the advantages of the teletraining to improve the competitiveness of the companies and the service to the citizen in the public institutions. APeL has the principle e-Learning companies in Spain, between content providers, platforms, services and e-Learning consultancy, and has become the benchmark of the sector before public administrations, other national organisms, and foreigners interested in the Spanish market.

It also maintains collaboration agreements with Cámara de Comercio de Bilbao, CECAP, Synergy, and Grupo Vértice, among others.

In the international field, Media Interactiva has adhered to the Digital Skills and Job Coalition, whose statutes have the objective to educate and train more young people for digital professions, to increase and reeducate digital skills in the labor market, to modernize our education and training systems for the digital era, and to improve the digital abilities of all european citizens. Additionally, it emphasizes its agreement with the company IT Group Chile, being its distributor for the Chilean market of the LearnMOS educational solution.

Due to the high degree of internationalization of the Media Interactiva group, and after a race to the United States market, the company has finally seen its work recognized. It was selected as a finalist in the fourth edition of the awards CEPYME 2017 in the International Development category, and also as a finalist in the edition of the SME award in 2017, granted by the Chambers of Commerce of Spain, and awarded with the First Prize to the Marketing Campaign in 2018 granted by Certiport.