Client

Pearson, a global leader in education publishing and digital learning services. The company operates multiple content platforms, partner channels, and distribution workflows across regions.

Problem

Pearson’s digital distribution landscape had grown organically over many years. Several friction points emerged:

1. Fragmented licensing flows
   Different online stores, regional distributors, and institutional partners each required separate integrations. Every new channel meant a new entitlement format, custom validation rules, and new operational overhead.
2. Inconsistent user access
   Students and teachers often needed separate logins for Pearson’s reading apps, learning platforms, and bundled products. This created support load, high churn, and onboarding friction for educational institutions.
3. Static digital products
   Pearson needed the ability to launch composite learning products (e.g., textbook + third-party media) without engineering deep bilateral integrations with every rights holder.
4. Operational inefficiency
   The internal workflows for provisioning, activating, and revoking license rights were distributed among multiple systems and business units, making it difficult to maintain visibility and enforce policy controls at scale.

Pearson needed a single operational backbone for rights, distribution, and authentication that didn’t require ripping out their existing platforms.

Solution

The team delivered a full digital logistics and rights-orchestration infrastructure that sat underneath Pearson’s existing ecosystem and unified how content moved, how licenses were created, and how access was enforced.

1. Centralized license issuance and distribution

We built a unified entitlement engine that allowed Pearson to:

• Publish SKUs once and distribute them through any connected channel
• Track license lifecycle across activation, redemption, expiration, and migration
• Push updates and policy changes without re-integrating with each store

This replaced a multi-integration sprawl with a single rights fabric.

2. A secure, white-label reader with embedded rights enforcement

We designed the Pearson Reader, a branded client for web and mobile:

• Encrypted content storage and playback
• On-device license validation linked to the entitlement backend
• Support for activation codes bundled with physical textbooks
• SSO integration so users could move between Pearson apps without re-authenticating

This created a predictable, controlled experience across devices.

3. Federation with Pearson’s learning platforms

Systems like MyEnglishLab were integrated via:

• A shared identity layer (AG ID)
• OAuth-like trust relationships for API access
• Account mapping that let institutions manage cohorts without manual synchronization

This reduced login fragmentation and support load.

4. Multi-rights-holder bundling engine

We implemented a flexible bundling mechanism:

• Pearson could pair its own textbooks with third-party content (e.g., Disney)
• Activation of a single code provisioned rights across multiple publishers
• Partners stayed in full control of their content and never exposed source files

This enabled Pearson to create new commercial SKUs without additional IT overhead.

Outcome

Pearson gained a stable, scalable infrastructure layer beneath its digital products:

• One distribution system instead of a dozen point integrations
• Unified access experience for millions of users across regions
• Automated rights propagation across all channels
• Ability to create composite learning products instantly
• Reduced operational complexity for support, onboarding, and compliance
• Faster go-to-market for new digital offerings

The result was a significant simplification of Pearson’s digital operations and a foundation they continued to build on for years.