Market Segments
Market Segments
Based on our research, we’ve categorized the market into four segments: software providers, hardware providers, learning content providers, and strategic technology consultants.
1. Software Providers
We further divided the software category into these four segments:
Learning Management Systems (LMS)
Software that helps providers deliver, manage, and track educational courses or training programs. It provides a centralized platform where instructors can create and distribute content, monitor learner progress, and assess performance.
Facility and People Management
Software that helps corrections officials manage facility operations, track individuals, and organize interactions with key stakeholders. This includes customer relationship management (CRM) tools that store data and track histories of communications and other interactions with people who are incarcerated, their families, service providers, and other external partners. It also includes facility and people management tools that track custody status, monitor movements, manage schedules, and ensure compliance with regulations, improving efficiency and safety within facilities.
Post-Release and Employment Support
Software that helps people with records navigate the transition from incarceration to long-term employment and economic advancement.
System Infrastructure
Software that controls basic functions of computers (such as managing hardware, controlling access to data, and running applications), which has a significant impact on the functionality of edtech applications. This category includes operating systems, web browsers, and other tools whose functionality includes identity, credential, and access management (ICAM); endpoint security; network control; network protection; backup and recovery; and remote storage.
 | An Opportunity |
Software can generally be installed and updated more quickly and less expensively than more steady-state pieces of the technology puzzle, such as computers and networking hardware. That means it’s easier for program administrators to keep their software up to date, thus helping to close the digital access gap by ensuring that their learners have an educational experience that’s comparable to what learners who aren’t incarcerated receive. | |
 | Challenges |
Maintaining, updating, and troubleshooting leading-edge software solutions may require more money, staff time, and technical expertise than facilities can afford to allocate. And managing software often requires faster and more reliable internet service than many facilities currently have. Also, there are many types of software tools to choose from, and most of them have multiple uses, which can raise security concerns about the potential for applications to be used in unintended ways. | |
2. Hardware Providers
Organizations that develop and/or sell individual pieces of internal computer components (such as CPUs, motherboards, graphics cards, and storage devices); devices with computer hardware configurations tailored for use in carceral settings (including tablets and desktop and laptop computers); and/or network hardware (such as routers, switches, servers, security/monitoring cameras, and modems).
| An Opportunity |
Most prisons and jails currently have outdated computer and network hardware. Providing secure state-of-the-art solutions for this underserved market could be an excellent growth strategy for hardware vendors. | |
| Challenges |
It can be difficult to install and service computer systems and networking infrastructure in prisons and jails because of the way these facilities are designed and because of the materials used in their construction. And those challenges are compounded by the fact that these facilities are often in remote locations. Concerns about the durability of hardware devices and their vulnerability to hacking are other common issues. These concerns could be mitigated by providing corrections staff with information about security safeguards and monitoring systems. | |
3. Learning Content Providers
Organizations that develop instructional content and informational resources that can be used in education and training programs for learners who are incarcerated. Examples include e-books and other digital texts, graphics, audio and video content, simulations, educational games, and assessment tools. Content may be available as individual components or packaged into a comprehensive curriculum. Content can be embedded in proprietary learning management systems, websites, or multimedia players, or it may be delivered in formats compatible with multiple systems, such as PDF files or HTML-based digital resources.
| An Opportunity |
There is high demand for learning content of all kinds among people who are incarcerated. Content provided in widely accessible formats has the potential to reach a large percentage of these learners. | |
| Challenges |
Whether content can reach learners who are incarcerated depends on its compatibility with the hardware and software setups of each facility. If a particular piece of content isn’t compatible with the technology in use at a given prison or jail, learners in that facility will never gain access to it, short of a complete system overhaul. Moreover, some facilities may request functionality that allows for targeted censorship of content, which is not something that every provider can accommodate and may lengthen deployment timetables. | |
4. Strategic Technology Consultants
Providers that work in partnership with prisons and jails to understand their unique needs and recommend customized technology solutions. Recommendations can include particular hardware setups or software applications or combinations of the two. Consultants may also offer IT management services (a.k.a. managed IT services), which include handling information security and maintenance tasks—offerings that can be appealing to facilities with limited in-house IT expertise. Some hardware and software vendors offer technology consulting services that complement their own proprietary tools (for example, a tablet provider might recommend and help set up software systems and network hardware that are only compatible with its tablets). That style of consultation can lock a facility into long-term use of a particular platform, but it can also help eliminate hardware-software compatibility issues and improve functionality.
| An Opportunity |
Many corrections officials are attracted to the prospect of a “one-stop shop” technology consulting solution because it relieves them of the burden of designing and managing their own IT systems—responsibilities that can tax their staff bandwidth, especially when advanced technical expertise is required. Consultants who are trustworthy and have built proven track records of delivering reliable “turnkey” IT solutions have opportunities to secure a significant share of this market. | |
| Challenges |
The cost of comprehensive edtech consulting services is often too high for corrections institutions. In addition, corrections officials will want to ensure that they can trust third-party consultants before giving them access to their facilities, IT systems, and data. Officials may also be wary of providers whose proprietary solutions leave little room for flexibility if they think they might want to make changes at a later date. | |