Case Study: GetSmarter achieves real-time, unified access to disparate data and self-service analytics with Amazon Web Services

GetSmarter - Customer Case Study

GetSmarter, a Cape Town–based provider of short online courses (recently acquired by 2U), faced rapid growth that left critical student and operational data scattered across more than 15 repositories—SQL Server, MySQL, PostgreSQL, Google Sheets, and multiple SaaS APIs. That fragmentation made timely business insights and GDPR compliance difficult, with users waiting about a week for custom reports and IT stretched thin; the company needed a single, enterprise-wide view and stronger governance without adding staff.

GetSmarter implemented the Denodo Platform from AWS Marketplace as a data-virtualization layer, connecting all sources into a virtual semantic model and enabling granular access control. After a quick proof of concept and a three-month rollout, business users can self-serve answers with zero IT development time and run real-time queries on up to one million records, while simplifying GDPR compliance and scaling growth without large upfront costs thanks to AWS Marketplace’s pay-as-you-go model.

GetSmarter

Schoeman Loubser

Information Architect