Freshworks Powers University of Aberdeen and Learning Ladders to Drive Exceptional Hybrid Experiences in the Education Sector

Educational providers harness the power of analytics and automation to unify internal systems and enhance service delivery to students, teachers and staff

Las Vegas and London
November 11, 2021

Today, at its annual global customer event Refresh 2021, Freshworks Inc., a leading software company empowering businesses to delight their customers and employees, is announcing two new customers in the UK using its IT service management and CRM solutions that highlight the increased demand for seamless student and staff experiences in the education sector. 

Action-based IT service analytics in Aberdeen

The University of Aberdeen, one of the oldest universities in the world, adopted Freshservice® to help improve the digital experience and service provided to its staff and students. Before implementing the cloud-based IT service management platform, Aberdeen found it difficult to generate any insights or create tangible metrics from the significant volume of data created from interactions with its IT service desk. As a result, data had to be exported to a third-party software platform and shared with analysts to shape the data into insights – a cumbersome process that made it hard for the staff to identify opportunities for improvement. Ultimately, it resulted in slow resolution times for IT tickets and that negatively affected the student experience.

With Freshservice, the university has brought those reporting capabilities back in-house in a format that is accessible to all IT staff without the need for data experts or coders. The flexible pricing model and ease of onboarding is perfectly suited for a growing IT team, while integrated AI and automation helped streamline their tasks and processes. It has also allowed for staff to be more proactive when integrating change in problem and asset management tools. Working in tandem, the addition of FreshDesk Messaging® also enables faster response to employee help desk requests. 

“Freshworks has provided us a modern, user-friendly and flexible solution that has revolutionised the service that we provide to students, educators and colleagues across campus and beyond,” said Iain Cameron, User Services Manager for Digital and Information Services at the University of Aberdeen. “In just eight weeks, we had incident and request handling up and running and importantly, analytics from day one. The beauty of the platform is that you don’t have to be a coder to make the magic happen – anyone can take information from the frontline service desk team and begin to turn it into actions”.

Personalized CRM experiences for enhanced learning

Learning Ladders provides a suite of tools in one system that is designed to support teachers, parents and children– at school and at home. Outstanding customer service sits at the heart of the company, but multiple, disparate systems were leading to duplication of efforts and errors in customer communications. 

The use of Freshsales, Freshmarketer and Freshdesk has helped give Learning Ladders a unified view of customer experiences through which it can manage all new and existing business and improve the service that it offers. The Freshworks CRM solution includes:

 – Sales sequencing on Freshsales to track queries, with dedicated and automated workflows for a seamless experience

 – Integration with Freshmarketer to deliver personalized and automated communications to customers 

 – Knowledge base on Freshdesk to create an extensive repository of FAQs and support articles

 – Reporting and analytics to understand what training schools require  and tailor resources accordingly

“A year after implementing Freshworks’ CRM solutions, the Freshworks services are now an indispensable part of our everyday operations”, said Stella James, Chief Commercial Officer at Learning Ladders. “In fact, Freshsales has almost completely replaced emails for all our customer communications. By automating as much of the user journey as possible, we’ve improved the team’s efficiency, delivered much more targeted communications to customers and increased our customer retention from 65 percent to 90 percent.”

Freshworks Refresh 2021 is a hybrid event, taking place live and virtually from Las Vegas on November 11, 2021  where the University of Aberdeen and Learning Ladders will speak about their use of Freshworks products.

About The University of Aberdeen

Since 1495, the University of Aberdeen has been open to all and dedicated to the pursuit of truth in the service of others. This purpose still defines the institution’s actions and underpins our ethos. The University of Aberdeen achieves this purpose through excellence in the core activities of education and research, which transform the world around us. 

The University is the fifth oldest university in the English-speaking world. Originally established to serve the north-east of Scotland, the University is now a global presence in higher education. 

Throughout the centuries, researchers at the University of Aberdeen have generated new insights in medicine, science and engineering, law, social sciences, arts and humanities. Our work has earned many honours and awards, and has contributed to five Nobel prizes. 

About Learning Ladders

Learning Ladders provides assessment that goes way beyond tracking to effectively support teaching and learning for EYFS, Primary, and Secondary settings. Curriculum management tools support SLT with whichever curricula they use, in any language.  Data analysis for school leaders incorporates formative assessment, summative assessment, and GL assessments to give a well-rounded picture of every child alongside whole school and vulnerable group summaries. A wealth of high-quality resources are linked to objectives, including from BBC Bitesize, Developing Experts, and Oak National Academy, giving teachers everything they need for lesson planning. Self-marking homework saves teacher workload and contributes towards the personal learning journey for every pupil. Parental engagement is enhanced through the Parent Portal with teacher-written articles across the core curriculum to further support learning past the classroom. The child is at the centre with Learning Ladders, with all stakeholders involved and supported to facilitate meaningful conversations around learning.

About Freshworks

Freshworks makes it fast and easy for businesses to delight their customers and employees. We do this by taking a fresh approach to building and delivering software that is affordable, quick to implement, and designed for the end user. Headquartered in San Mateo, California, Freshworks has a dedicated team operating from 13 global offices to serve 50,000+ customers including Bridgestone, Chargebee, DeliveryHero, ITV, Klarna, Multichoice, OfficeMax, TaylorMade and Vice Media. For more information visit www.freshworks.com.

© 2021 Freshworks Inc. All rights reserved. Freshworks, Freshdesk, Freshbots, Freshchat and their associated logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of Freshworks Inc. All other company, brand and product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies.

Author Information

As a detail-oriented researcher, Sherril is expert at discovering, gathering and compiling industry and market data to create clear, actionable market and competitive intelligence. With deep experience in market analysis and segmentation she is a consummate collaborator with strong communication skills adept at supporting and forming relationships with cross-functional teams in all levels of organizations.

Sherril holds a Master of Business Administration in Marketing from University of Colorado, Boulder and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Rutgers University.

Latest Insights:
Will Edison International’s Board Refresh Accelerate Its AI and Digital Ambitions?
April 25, 2026

Will Edison International’s Board Refresh Accelerate Its AI and Digital Ambitions?

Edison International appoints M. Susan Hardwick as independent director, strengthening the utility's leadership as it confronts mounting pressure to modernize operations and leverage AI-driven infrastructure solutions....
Will GPT-5.5 Redefine Enterprise AI, or Hit the Limits of Trust and Control?
April 25, 2026

Will GPT-5.5 Redefine Enterprise AI, or Hit the Limits of Trust and Control?

OpenAI's GPT-5.5 launches as a transformative enterprise AI platform, yet adoption barriers around trust, reliability, and data privacy remain critical concerns for 78% of organizations planning AI budget increases....
GPT-5.5 Raises the Stakes: Can OpenAI Maintain Its Lead as Enterprise AI Matures?
April 25, 2026

GPT-5.5 Raises the Stakes: Can OpenAI Maintain Its Lead as Enterprise AI Matures?

OpenAI's GPT-5.5 launch marks a critical moment in enterprise AI adoption. With 68% of organizations at advanced GenAI stages, competition from Microsoft and Google intensifies as buyers prioritize reliability and business value....
Can IBM's RITS Platform and vLLM Reset the Bar for Enterprise AI Access?
April 25, 2026

Can IBM’s RITS Platform and vLLM Reset the Bar for Enterprise AI Access?

IBM Research's RITS Platform uses vLLM to centralize large language model access across enterprise teams, signaling a shift toward scalable, governed AI infrastructure that balances innovation, cost, and control....
Latest Research:
Closing the AI Confidence Gap: Cloud-Native Security as a Key to Agentic AI Adoption
April 23, 2026

Closing the AI Confidence Gap: Cloud-Native Security as a Key to Agentic AI Adoption

In our latest market report, Closing the AI Confidence Gap: Cloud-Native Security as a Key to Agentic AI Adoption, completed in partnership with Google Cloud, Futurum Research explores how enterprises...
Gemini Enterprise: Governing and Scaling the Agentic Enterprise
April 23, 2026

Gemini Enterprise: Governing and Scaling the Agentic Enterprise

In our latest market report, Gemini Enterprise: Governing and Scaling the Agentic Enterprise, completed in partnership with Google Cloud, Futurum Research examines the operational, governance, and lifecycle requirements for scaling...
Data Fitness for AI-Driven Operations
April 20, 2026
Research
Research

Data Fitness for AI-Driven Operations

In our latest market brief, Data Fitness for AI-Driven Operations, completed in partnership with NETSCOUT, Futurum Research explores why observability alone is insufficient as AI moves toward autonomous execution, and...

Book a Demo

Newsletter Sign-up Form

Get important insights straight to your inbox, receive first looks at eBooks, exclusive event invitations, custom content, and more. We promise not to spam you or sell your name to anyone. You can always unsubscribe at any time.

All fields are required






Thank you, we received your request, a member of our team will be in contact with you.