TL;DR · Platform strategy · Belgium 2028

Bridge & Build

Replace the current learner platform through gradual migration, while continuing to deliver value today and launching a modular blended-solutions platform for tomorrow.

Strategy in one image Protect today.
Build tomorrow.
One transition.
Two platforms.
Zero cliff edge.

✨: Used AI for removing Dunglish in this presentation

Strategic decision

Problem statement

How do we mitigate the risks of a legacy learner platform to secure market share in 2028, while optimizing resources without compromising the impact of our teacher platform?

01 · Technical pressure

Legacy is slowing velocity.

The current stack creates capacity constraints, maintenance risk and a growing gap with competitors.

02 · Commercial pressure

Belgium cannot wait.

The 2028 curriculum shift creates a time-bound market opportunity — while teacher experience remains the primary investment priority.

✨ GPT 5.6 Sol: Creating fancy titles and icons.

Four strategic paths

Proposed paths

Each option solves a different part of the problem. Select a card to compare its logic and trade-offs.

Decision simulator

Trade-off lens

Budget constraint
Speed to market
Technical debt risk

High budget pressure and speed favor Legacy Stabilization.

Option 01

Legacy Stabilization

Fix the current stack and focus only on the current platform. Minimize replacement costs, maximize existing technology.

UpsideShort term low cost.
Watch-outProblem for long term capacity, velocity and legacy problem will stay.
User value ST
Low
User value LT
Low
Legacy Stabilization option visual

✨ GPT 5.6 Sol: Creating fancy titles and icons. - Assumption: We cannot re-use features build for other countries Infinitas Learning is active in.

Recommendation

Bridge & build

Rather than placing one irreversible bet, the strategy protects current value while creating fast feedback loops for the future platform.

Bridge & Build is the recommended path because it balances commercial urgency, technical renewal and controlled migration better than the alternatives.

  • Data suggests we have a developer capacity problem, refactoring/new stack can fix this;
  • To keep the current customer base satisfied, we can still deliver new features/maintain;
  • Focus: Dedicated teams for bridge and build;
  • We can kill our darlings (do we need all?);
  • Hypothesis we can validate quickly via Lean Startup / MVP and iterate, making sure we deliver maximum value with a minimal amount of resources;
  • Personal best practice. This is how I did it at Gaspedaal.nl, ABN Amro and Morphais.
  • Build: On the new platform, we build smart features like AI-generated lesson summaries that analyze pupil homework in real time. This gives teachers instant insights into where the class struggles before the next lesson starts.
  • Bridge: On the legacy platform, we focus purely on high-impact, low-effort updates like streamlining navigation and bug fixes. We explicitly avoid building complex new interactivity on the old tech stack to prevent wasting capacity on legacy debt.
Dilbert customer service
What will kill us if we do not validate?

Riskiest assumptions

Filter the assumptions by innovation-risk type. Each one has a concrete validation route.

01

The current platform can run without fatal outages or exploding maintenance costs.

Feasibility / Viability Unvalidated
How to validate?

Validate with IT, a technical-risk review, and explicit time-and-cost estimates.

  • Quantitative evidence: 99.8% uptime; maintenance stays under 20% of engineering capacity.
  • Qualitative evidence: Developer sentiment shows code friction is manageable.
02

We can (re)build a validated new solution before the ‘deadlines’ ¹

Feasibility Unvalidated
How to validate?

Build a thin MVP and compare partner, buy and build scenarios against the proposed path.

  • Quantitative evidence: Pilot MVP ready 6 months before SY '26-'27 pilot phase.
  • Qualitative evidence: Pilot teachers complete core workflows without blocking bugs.
03

Users are considering competing products if we do not innovate

Viability Unvalidated
How to validate?

Analyse churn and usage, apply Kano research and benchmark competitor progress.

  • Quantitative evidence: License retention stays at 95%+ during transition.
  • Qualitative evidence: School leaders say the strategy gives enough confidence to renew.
04

Teachers, students, and administrators want to and can switch without significant loss of trust or usage.

Desirability Unvalidated
How to validate?

Validate through UX research, beta cohorts, migration pilots and controlled A/B tests.

  • Quantitative evidence: 98%+ of school and student data migrates automatically within 24 hours.
  • Qualitative evidence: Teachers complete a class-management task within 5 minutes without support.
05

Users are (un)happy with the learner platform

Desirability Unvalidated
How to validate?

Run continuous CX surveys and qualitative research to distinguish pain from noise.

  • Quantitative evidence: 80%+ of active learners complete weekly digital assignments without abnormal drop-off.
  • Qualitative evidence: Classroom research separates UX friction from local Wi-Fi or hardware issues.

1] AI - Gemini Flash: School Year’25–26 (Piloting): Voluntary early adoption; publishers run pilot tests. → SY’26–27 (K to Grade 3 - Core): New goals mandatory for Dutch, Math, and Science & Tech from Kindergarten to Grade 3. → SY’27–28 (K to Grade 3 - All): All remaining subjects mandatory for Kindergarten to Grade 3. → SY’28–29 (Grades 4–6 - Tipping Point): Mandatory for Grades 4 to 6. This is the critical commercial milestone, triggering a massive, system-wide procurement cycle for new blended learning methods. - Assumption: Hypothesis about other countries (e.g. % revenue per country) are out of scope.

Teams & allocation

4 teams. 1 objective.

Capacity is deliberately split between protecting the current experience, building the future platform and meeting Belgium’s curriculum needs.

Team size can be adapted per quarter, depending on needs

30%

Teacher experience

Focus on current platform (maintenance, uptime and new features), facing teachers.

20%

Learner experience

Focus on current platform (maintenance, uptime and new features), facing learners.

40%

Core Platform

Focus on technical platform (architecture, API, integrations, migration). Migrate schools, teachers, and students from the old systems to the new platform without loss of brand trust.

10%

Blended solutions

Ensuring that all content is 100% ready for the new Belgian attainment targets of 2028.

S&P Global: Revenue distribution Infinitas Learning: the Netherlands (Noordhoff), 40%; Portugal (LeYa), 19%; Belgium (Plantyn), 16%; Poland (WSiP), 13%; Sweden (Liber), 7%; and home-learning platforms (Futurewhiz/Squla), 5%. https://www.spglobal.com/ratings/en/regulatory/article/-/view/type/HTML/id/3453112

Progress & Impact

OKR's

Main Objective: Accelerate our international platform modernization while fully securing the 2028 Belgian curriculum market opportunity.

Teacher experience

Deliver a highly competitive, scalable teacher experience across all markets by balancing core feature velocity with platform stability.

Learner experience

Maintain high brand trust and stability for learners internationally, while minimizing development overhead to support platform migration.

Core Platform

Build a modern cross-market foundation (architecture, APIs) and migration path that eliminates technical debt without disrupting active countries.

Blended solutions

Deliver a 100% curriculum-compliant solution that wins the Belgian 2028 market shift.

Team size can be adapted per quarter, depending on needs

Path forward

Roadmap.

The roadmap turns a large transformation into four decision gates, aligned with the Belgian curriculum window.

Validate the bet

Quantify legacy risk, define MVP scope, test buy/partner/build and baseline customer needs.

Build the foundation

Stand up core architecture, APIs, migration tooling and the first validated blended journeys.

Pilot the bridge

Migrate selected cohorts, prove trust and usage, and iterate against curriculum readiness.

Scale for Belgium

Launch a competitive, curriculum-compliant blended solution and accelerate migration.

Final summary

The choices are clear.

Bridge & Build balances platform renewal with commercial timing: protect the current customer experience, validate the future platform in steps, and stay ready for the Belgian 2028 opportunity.

Strategic path

Choose Bridge & Build.

Gradual migration avoids a cliff edge while still creating a modern modular foundation.

Investment focus

Protect trust while learning fast.

Keep teacher and learner value moving, while core platform teams reduce technical debt.

Market timing

Win the 2028 window.

Use pilots, validation and blended-solutions readiness to meet the Belgian curriculum shift.

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Closing note

Thank you for your attention!

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