Beta testing a smarter video calling device
Following the rapid growth of remote work in 2020, I was part of a division in Meta’s Reality Labs that explored the opportunity for Portal (a Smart Display initially made for a consumer audience) to be positioned as a business video conferencing device for people working from home.
Ahead of launching Portal as a business-ready solution, we sought to test assumptions of its product-market fit in the emergent remote work landscape by running a beta program with potential customers.
Portal first launched in 2018 as a Smart Display that allowed family and friends to stay connected with an intuitive video call experience that anyone could use, regardless of their age or tech-literacy.
Research question
Does Portal provide a compelling value proposition for businesses with a remote or hybrid workforce?
Project OutcomeS
Insights related to the perceived value of Portal among knowledge workers and business decision makers and the broader set of challenges faced in post-covid ways of working.
The decision to sunset the Portal business offering based on learnings from the beta program, saving Meta 10% of Reality Lab’s annual cost base (c. $1b) and the redeployment of a 200 person product team to more valuable business opportunities.
Procedure
I collaborated with a Solutions Architect, Technical Program Manager and contracted research vendor to launch a 3-month beta program with 150 employees and IT decision makers from 29 businesses who expressed interest in a Portal business offering.
Beta participants were onboarded onto an online platform to provide feedback, file bugs and receive customer support.
In-depth interviews and surveys were fielded to gather longitudinal feedback on the 7-day, 30-day and 90-day experiences of working with Portal.
RESULTS
Ratings of customer satisfaction (CSAT), willingness to pay as well as perceived value, reliability and ease of use were compared to industry benchmark scores to assess the strength of Portal’s product-market fit.
Results of the beta program invalidated assumptions of Portal’s product-market fit, leading to development of the Portal business offering to be stopped and the 200+ person product team redeployed to more promising business opportunities.
DISCLAIMER
Due to the sensitive nature of the project, key insights and details of the work are unable to be shared publicly. Further details of Meta’s Portal for Business product can be found here.