Instructure started with a single solution, Canvas Learning Management System (LMS), and has grown to become the edtech leader as a next-generation ecosystem. In less than a decade, Canvas disrupted the industry and displaced the previous LMS market leader, who once held a commanding 80 percent market share and now sits at 15 percent market share. There are several reasons why Canvas was able to disrupt the edtech industry.
Unlike competitors, who deployed expensive on-premise solutions for customers, Instructure launched as a nimble SaaS solution committed to open standards. Canvas’s flexible and extensible software allowed institutions to customize based on their unique needs. Instructure hired former educators (consistently with over 30 percent of employees coming from the education industry) and built a workforce that understands the needs of educators.
Instructure has organically grown the Instructure Learning Ecosystem, with Canvas LMS serving as the hub of learning for the majority of …