UXReactor
About UXReactor
UXReactor Inc., headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area, California, is a globally acclaimed consulting firm known for its excellence in user-centered design. Established in 2015 by two Harvard Business School alumni, the firm was built on a vision to scale the impact of user-centered design across organizations. Marked by rapid growth, UXReactor has been a fixture on the Inc. 5000 list as the fastest-growing specialized UX Design and Research firm for four consecutive years (2020-2023).
The leadership at UXReactor is comprised of some of the most esteemed professionals in User Research and Design, each bringing over 15 years of experience fro...Read more
UXReactor Inc., headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area, California, is a globally acclaimed consulting firm known for its excellence in user-centered design. Established in 2015 by two Harvard Business School alumni, the firm was built on a vision to scale the impact of user-centered design across organizations. Marked by rapid growth, UXReactor has been a fixture on the Inc. 5000 list as the fastest-growing specialized UX Design and Research firm for four consecutive years (2020-2023).
The leadership at UXReactor is comprised of some of the most esteemed professionals in User Research and Design, each bringing over 15 years of experience from leading roles at renowned Silicon Valley organizations, including PayPal, Yahoo, eBay, TCS, UserZoom, and Citrix.
With strategically placed subsidiaries in Hyderabad, India, and Medellin, Colombia, UXReactor boasts a global network of expertise. This international presence, coupled with multi-lingual design capabilities, enables us to serve our diverse clients effectively in a highly effective and efficient manner.
Our commitment to excellence is reflected in numerous accolades, such as the Fast Company Innovation by Design award (2017) and the SF Fast100 awards, which we've secured consecutively from 2020 to 2023. These awards affirm our dedication to delivering top-tier user-centered design services and sustaining a prominent position in the market.
Key Insights
Services & Focus
Industry Focus
Client Focus
Portfolio
How a user-centric design advantage catalyzed this cybersecurity startup from an idea to successful acquisition by Microsoft
In 2016, Balaji Parimi, the founder of what would become CloudKnox, sought to solve a cybersecurity issue: to improve the visibility and control of employee access to software on the cloud. According to Parimi, 90% of access privileges were either unneeded or unused in most companies, leaving employers open to accidental or malicious privilege misuse.
Parimi partnered with UXReactor to take his business idea from a back-of-napkin sketch into a proof-of-concept prototype. Over an initial eight weeks, UXReactor leaned into our discovery process and rapidly unraveled the issues unique to cloud cybersecurity. We worked intensively to create the Product User Experience as a prototype that enabled CloudKnox to articulate the product vision and impact clearly to its stakeholders. Not surprisingly, this also helped them to raise substantial seed funding in an oversubscribed round.
Following this initial phase, the UXReactor team dedicated the next year to advancing the concept, working closely with the in-house engineering leadership. This collaboration focused on bringing the idea to market, with an ongoing emphasis on prioritizing, refining, and enhancing the Product Experience. Additionally, our team played a pivotal role in transitioning the work seamlessly to their in-house designers, ensuring continuity and alignment with the project's vision. Fast forward to 2021, this concerted effort culminated in the acquisition of CloudKnox by Microsoft.
From concept to an impressive exit in five years, CloudKnox's achievement is a prime example of how user-centered venture design can accelerate and de-risk innovation for startup founders and internal innovators alike.
"Thank you, UXReactor team. You played a huge part in getting us off the ground." - Balaji Parimi, Founder & CEO
THE CHALLENGE: Overcoming Visionary and Financial Hurdles
PROBLEMS:
1. Need for a proof of concept: In order to solidify ideas and a vision for the product
2. Need for Funding: To turn the proof of concept into a reality and get the startup off the ground
THE OUTCOMES: Materialized a Solution that Led to Further Wins
SOLUTIONS:
1. Idea conceptualized: UXReactor’s work led to the creation of CloudKnox’s groundbreaking Cloud Infrastructure Entitlement Management (CIEM) platform concept.
2. Oversubscribed round: CloudKnox was able to raise seed funding with the prototype in an oversubscribed round. In 2018, the CloudKnox platform was publicly launched and raised an additional $10.75M round.
3. Foundational design: Throughout the initial collaboration (post-funding), UXReactor helped set the proper design foundation, which included the global design framework, navigation, workflows, branding, look and feel, most of which remained until acquisition.
4. Acquisition: In 2021, CloudKnox was acquired by Microsoft. Even as the startup grew, UXReactor’s initial venture design stood the test of time: the system and brand remained essentially unchanged.
How simplifying complexity helped a cybersecurity startup acquire new users
As the use of Application Program Interfaces (APIs) surged in the last decade, so did the threat to digital security. In this volatile, ever-changing landscape, CloudVector was founded on the idea of creating a cybersecurity solution to keep APIs secure. CloudVector’s platform was a groundbreaking solution to address these vulnerabilities through advanced, real-time API discovery, monitoring, and threat resolution.
Despite having a powerful product, CloudVector faced challenges in appealing to customers during demos because it was difficult to navigate and visually comprehend. With an ambitious growth trajectory, they partnered with UXReactor to initiate a strategic shift.
To increase market penetration, CloudVector sought not only to entirely overhaul the UX of their product but also to introduce a complimentary, streamlined version of it as well: the new “Community Edition.” It would be designed to showcase CloudVector’s core value proposition and foster grassroots advocacy to leadership to invest in an upgrade to the more feature-rich “Enterprise Edition.”
UXReactor was entrusted with the dual task of conducting a comprehensive UX refresh of the existing “Enterprise Edition” and designing the new “Community Edition.”
UXReactor’s work was released into the product by 2020, allowing them to go to market with a newer strategy to make user adoption seamless . In 2021, CloudVector was acquired by Imperva. (Press release for reference)
"I've been lucky enough to have worked in several very high-performing teams at some fast-paced startups in my career, and I would easily place the UXR team among the most talented I've interacted or worked with" – Andrew Cranston, Director of Software Engineering
THE CHALLENEGE: Poor User Experience Leads to Low User Acquisition & Retention Rates
PROBLEMS:
1. Low user acquisition
The key differentiators of CloudVector’s value proposition were not effectively reflected in its products’ user experience or marketing.
2. Low user advocacy
Users did not have a good understanding of the product early on to advocate for its adoption.
3. Lack of recognition of product’s value
Users faced high cognitive load due to an overload of data, and it took unnecessarily long for users to understand how to make the best use of the product.
4. Incomprehensible data
The data presented was not easily accessible, digestible, or actionable for users, with no clear direction for next steps.
THE OUTCOME: Streamlined User Experience Unlocks Product Potential
SOLUTIONS:
1. Increased user acquisition through Product-Led Growth principles
The redesigned Enterprise and Community Editions increased awareness and realization of CloudVector’s value proposition, with the Community Edition allowing users to “try before you buy”.
2. Increased user advocacy
The upgrade of the free Community Edition allowed DevOps to get a sense of the value of the product without full commitment, and upsell to their teams.
3. Increased user efficiency by 45%
The simplified interface and navigation design allowed SecOps to be a projected 45% more efficient in completing certain day-to-day tasks.
Beyond the legacy: How a former cybersecurity leader pivoted to the cloud through user-centered design
RedSeal is a Silicon Valley-based cybersecurity company founded in 2004, that initially became an industry leader with their network modeling capabilities for on-prem environments. Fast forward to 2016: RedSeal knew they had to innovate in order to help organizations against cyber attacks on their cloud and hybrid network environments.
UXReactor was retained for a 6-month engagement that turned into a multi-year partnership to help RedSeal on their journey from an on-prem to a cloud-based solution. During this time, UXReactor and RedSeal were able to transition the legacy product with tailored end-to-end experiences for multiple user groups and foster an internal user-centric design culture.
"If all you’re trying to do is revamp your web page, that would be an under-use of UXReactor’s skills. If you feel really strongly about UX and you have a strategic project, that would be an excellent fit for them. They’ll do a lot of research and iterate constantly." - Kurt Van Etten, Chief Product Officer
The Challenges: Dated Technology and Market Pressure, Complexity Issues, and Lack of User-Focus
The Problems:
1. Increasing pressure requiring rapid innovation: The cybersecurity landscape was rapidly changing and growing, with nimbler entrants to the market threatening market share.
2. User adoption issues related to product experience complexity: The existing platform required several workarounds and high learning curves and support, putting customer adoption at risk.
3. Lack of strategic product road mapping and user-centric decision-making: Without any in-house UX design or user research teams, historically, product decisions were often driven by technical considerations and technical debt.
The Outcomes: Enhanced Productivity and Market Entry Through Streamlined UX Solutions
The Solutions:
1.Designed 7 product releases to keep RedSeal competitive in the market: We collaborated with RedSeal to launch their web platform, enter the realm of cloud security posture management, and worked on 7 product releases in total.
2. Increased user efficiency and adoption with 8 tailored workspaces: We transformed a “one-size fits all” approach to more nuanced, simplified and competitive experiences for multiple types of cybersecurity professionals and administrators.
3. Scaled user-centric mindsets and behaviors across functions: We regularly gathered and communicated user insights, and created and fine-tuned cross-functional collaboration systems with Product, Engineering, Sales, Marketing and Content.
Nokia
Nokia is helping Telefonica, a telecommunication giant, create a service-oriented and customer-centric environment to enable a better eXperience for its subscribers in the United Kingdom.
CHALLENGE
It is critical for large telecommunication service providers to proactively monitor service performance and network metrics to ensure high levels of customer satisfaction and retention. However, siloed operational functions and multiple technology tools created a barrier for operators to quickly access the information they need to serve their customers. Therefore, they asked for our help in creating a delightful experience for these operators so they can address customers’ issues quickly and efficiently.
APPROACH
- We facilitated an eXperience roadmap workshop where we identified 18 unique experiences for service operators and narrowed down to 15 major issues that were a source of frustration.
- Using the insights we gleaned from extensive research, we created 7 new design patterns that make it easy for a service operator to consume the vast amounts of their customer experience data in a logically and organized manner.
- We developed a robust design system with detailed descriptions about the style and the interactivity of the product to ensure consistency when developing and shipping products at scale.
- When the system was tested with real operators, they found that the eSOC platform was both a functional and delightful experience that helped operators understand the who, what, when, and why of customer issues in a manner of minutes.
IMPACT
- The new design has the product connectivity and the enhancement that empowered front-line operators to confidently solve technological challenges they faced, which is estimated to have an increase in the efficiency by 5x.
- We consolidated 5 disparate solutions into one centralized platform for service operators to service their customers. They are now able to process issues seamlessly and 15 times faster, thereby creating more happy customers.
TESTIMONIAL
“Tremendous emotional response from people… I have never seen anything like that, The things that you guys have done for us has changed the way people think about what we are doing” - Sam Finger (Dir., Solutions Management, Nokia Software Solutions Engineering)
Tekion
Tekion was started by former Tesla executive, Jay Vijayan [directly reported to Elon Musk] with the vision of bringing the ease and delight of consumer eXperiences to the Automotive Retail Industry.
CHALLENGE
Like other enterprises, the automotive retail industry is plagued with fragmented solutions and legacy software which have to be redefined by also considering the complexity of the dealership management system involving over 30 unique roles across 8 departments, allow them to focus more on the customer and less on mundane tasks. Tekion had tried different design firms and engagement models to build sustainable designs but were unable to build design momentum.
APPROACH
- During our user discovery process, we identified there is a huge opportunity to revamp this industry. Traditionally each department of the dealership is siloed and relies on multiple systems and a lot of paperwork to run its processes. The current processes are time-consuming, lack traceability, and are not focused on customer satisfaction.
- Gathered findings and insights by speaking to 122 users in over 30 user research studies which include ethnographic studies and user interviews to provide better direction for the product.
- Product and research roadmap sessions were conducted to prioritize and plan the relevant design modules by considering the dynamic needs of the customer.
- Established architecture for the eXperiences across 8 departments like Sales, Marketing, etc.., with few patentable ideas.
- The design system was created to ensure the design is standardized across different modules of the product, which became the single point of truth for all designers and developers.
- Actionable feedback report was created based on QA to ensure the end product reflects the desired eXperiences.
- We scaled up to 4 design units, each handling 3-week sprints. These units produced 24 end-to-end eXperiences over 150+ sprints.
IMPACT
By the end of our partnership
- As per the data in Crunchbase(link is external), In 2019, Tekion raised an additional $22 million in funding.
- UXReactor helped Tekion to transform the organization into an experience culture which also supported them to build an in-house team of 6 designers.
- In Fall 2019, we were awarded among the best in the User Experience category out of 4,000+ submissions in Fast Company’s Innovation by Design Awards for the Tekion’s product designs.
CDW
CDW is a Fortune 500 provider of technology products and services for business, government, and education, ranging from hardware to security systems and cloud computing. Their vision is to help the customers meet their goals by providing them with technology advice, services, and products.
CHALLENGE
When users visit the CDW website, they don't fully grasp how CDW provides solutions (like providing technology level advice) in addition to their product offerings (like hardware products). They reached out to us to improve the following KPIs:
- Increase product category and solution (offering) penetration (e.g., an increase in visitors).
- Increase the account creation completion rate.
APPROACH
- By conducting a workshop, mapping click analytics, and baselining user testing, we identified several issues in the existing design.
- We identified 13 design problems for 7 webpages across 3 tracks and evaluated 18 themes that emerged as solutions.
- During the ideation phase, we came up with 50+ unique design ideas that are solving the problems identified through research.
- Used a data-centric approach to validate the usability of existing and proposed solutions. We also gathered insights from Product, UX, and Marketing teams and finally gave 10+ recommendations, out of them, few solutions were tested and implemented in their website.
IMPACT
- 87% of users tested recognized that CDW is also solutions-focused.
- The discoverability of Search increased by 60%.
- The lead generation for new account projected to increase by 79%.
- Account creations projected to increase by 185%.
TESTIMONIAL
“UXReactor will better enable any eCommerce team to deliver improved business outcomes for their products. UXReactor has established the most effective working model to help where it is needed the most” - John Seebeck (Vice President & GM, eCommerce - CDW)
WorkSpan
Mayank & Amit discovered that many of the companies want to work and collaborate together. WorkSpan is trying to reduce the number of ineffective alliances and missed opportunities with a real-time relationship management platform. They help companies create and manage assets such as programs and campaigns for their alliances in one place. The platform aims to help users discover the power of their network by bringing to light the connections, opportunities, and information about their partners.
CHALLENGE
Even though WorkSpan has a sophisticated product for different personas, they weren’t reaching their target engagement levels with their current user eXperience, mainly due to the cognitive overload throughout their products and less value propagation on the homepage. WorkSpan reached out to UXReactor to help them reach their targets and also evolve their design process.
APPROACH
- An eXperience audit was done to understand the problems in both the product and the design culture of the organization.
- Based on the insights from the eXperience audit we decided to help WorkSpan understand the importance of user-centric design. Through a two day workshop, we taught them about our Product Thinking and Design Doing methodologies.
- Then, we conducted formative research to understand the real needs and desired eXperiences for the key user personas.
- After a series of ideations, one of our key solutions was to promote connections and action as much as possible. By facilitating these connections, marketing managers would feel more engaged in marketing alliances to come up with value-adding campaigns faster.
- Reduced the cognitive load by rethinking the information architecture across the eXperiences to make Workspan a single stop solution for the alliance to manage their assets.
- Provided a Governance Plan that helps to define a standard process and procedures to the Workspan team.
IMPACT
- WorkSpan now has the standard eXperience culture (Governance Plan) that can be followed throughout the organization.
- In 2019, According to Gartner, Inc., a research and advisory firm, WorkSpan has been recognized as a Leader in the Channel and Sales Enablement industry. (Source: https://www.gartner.com/en/documents/3913338)
- Marketing managers appreciated the consolidated notifications and action items, which helped improve their productivity.
Culture Machine
Culture Machine is a media company that helps creators, brands, and traditional media firms reach the right viewers. The company is founded by two visionaries: Venkat Prasad and Sameer Pitalwalla, with a mission to use technology and storytelling to build great media brands that people love.
CHALLENGE
Culture Machine used multiple third-party tools and software for video production; however, these tools weren’t allowing them to scale their video production at their desired rate. So, Culture Machine engaged UXReactor to help them build a seamless product that allowed them to scale exponentially.
APPROACH
- We kicked off our initial in-person conversation to understand the unique challenges they faced. We created a Concept Map of our partner's ecosystem to understand key stakeholders and interdependencies.
- We conducted user interviews by interacting with them in person and understood their pain points in accomplishing their tasks.
- We aligned on the vision of the project and developed a Project Roadmap that broke down the product into different modules, where we then prioritized accordingly.
- We narrowed down to one scalable solution from 57 distinct solutions and 600 screen variations.
- We created and tested prototypes throughout the journey using the LBMAR method (Learn-Build-Measure-Analyze-Repeat), a proven method that allowed us to explore and test the problem from every angle.
IMPACT
- Greater automation and error reduction -- The product automated several manual processes which freed the users to focus on key tasks, and thereby reducing manual errors by 98%.
- Productivity surged 100x as video production grew from double-digit to the quadruple-digit range.
TESTIMONIAL
‘I’ve worked with a lot of designers in my career and I can say without thinking twice that you guys are the best designers I’ve worked with” - Venkat Prasad (COO, CTO - Culture Machine Inc)
Ottoq
Ottoq is a stealth consumer startup in the shared economy space. Ottoq engaged UXReactor for an IoT project, which stemmed from the concept of helping people find parking spaces quickly.
CHALLENGE
Ottoq had the expertise in software and a top-notch engineering team to build the hardware towards the real-time parking solution. However, they knew the product wouldn’t be able to be successful without a usable design. They needed a wonderful eXperience for their user.
APPROACH
- During our ideation, we came up with the business idea of ‘market place for parking space’ and did our research to validate it. We identified three phases we had to work through. The first was focused on our user (the driver). The second phase was focused on our host (with the hardware). The third was integrating all three to the web so that both users and hosts could keep track of the data.
- We started with identifying the right problems and prioritizing them, as planning was crucial to ensure quality output is produced irrespective of the time constraint of going live in 90 days.
- Driving and finding parking itself was a stressful job, through exhaustive testing of every possible angle of the user eXperience, we were able to empathize with the users and the emotions at every stage and designed the solution which delighted the end-users.
- We delivered fully functional prototypes that can be used to pitch to their potential partners (with zero investment on code).
IMPACT
- We took them from concept to product with user feedback for successful demos. All in 90 days.
- Ottoq was able to have successful product demonstrations with the prototypes that resulted in getting the partners to invest in the product.
TESTIMONIAL
"We put in a stringent schedule and set of milestones - all detailed and thoroughly managed. We are extremely pleased with the results of the work done by UXReactor. They are extremely talented and creative - and can turn around things rapidly" - R.K.Anand (CEO - Ottoq Inc)
Project X
Project X was a stealth startup team made up of AI experts who wanted to reinvent workplace communication and collaboration. They saw an opportunity to unify and optimize the fragmented platforms and tools used by working professionals on a daily basis to eventually help businesses cut down on costs and time spent managing these solutions and refocus their energy on doing the work they’re passionate about.
CHALLENGE
Project X approached UXReactor to evaluate the eXperience of their existing product, gather deep insights on user needs and opportunities, and finally, redesign the product to deliver a seamless and unified eXperience.
APPROACH
- Conducted in-depth user interviews and ethnographic studies with enterprises that varied in size and technical proficiency to unearth their biggest pain points and identify which communication solution they value the most.
- Performed a Competitive Analysis of 12 popular communications platforms to identify key strengths and areas of untapped opportunities.
- Ran a series of eXperience Audits and Heuristic Evaluations to establish an eXperience baseline to compare against the Competitive Analysis results.
- Created a standardized yet scalable visual language for iOS, Desktop, and TV that conveyed unity while providing the flexibility for enterprises to customize their branding.
IMPACT
- Defined a synergistic ecosystem of hardware and software solutions that used sensors and AI to deliver an effortless and personalized eXperience.
- Created storyboards to convey this vision to potential investors.
- Since the company formed in 2017, a total of $8.7 million has been raised. The company raised $2.5 million in an earlier seed round.
SiliconANGLE
SiliconANGLE was founded by visionaries John Furrier (Fortune Magazine and founder of CrowdChat) and David Vellante (Founder of Wikibon and ITCentrix) to create a new type of information company that brings unique interactions for both audiences and brands on real-time information using the latest technologies.
CHALLENGE
SiliconANGLE had a big user base and had rich content. They were getting a good number of users, but they visited the website only once and left immediately after reading/watching a single piece of content. The users weren’t utilizing everything they have been offered. They approached us to improve user retention, increase engagement time, and stickiness.
APPROACH
- Research through Quantitative Analysis and click-through analytics helped us in understanding that there is a lack of interactive/engaging elements, personalization, and visual structure leading to only one-time visits.
- Through quick rapid sketching, we ideated on every possible angle to solve the problems through structuring the way content was presented and discovered, and brought in solutions that could invoke the users to view more content, which was key for understanding the value.
- We also provided opportunities for user retention by providing interesting triggers through newsletters, whitepapers, and emails regularly.
- The Visual Refresh helped us in fixing visual and structural issues starting from homepage and articles to the newsletters and whitepapers.
IMPACT
We delivered an eXperience that made users stay longer and increased engagement time.
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