Marketplace
Bringing self-service commerce to enterprise research data
Overview
Marketplace was mTab's two-sided e-commerce platform for research data. Enterprise buyers could find a dataset or report, buy it and start analysing it without leaving the platform.
As Head of Design I owned the UX concept and strategy for this greenfield project, and designed all three parts: the buyer storefront, the provider tools and the admin panel behind both.
Challenge
mTab needed to get research content to customers without a long procurement cycle. The platform had powerful analytics, but no way to find and buy new data.
It had to serve buyers who expected shopping to feel like shopping, and providers who needed real tools for listings, pricing and fulfilment, while also handling enterprise procurement, several payment methods and different fulfilment models.
My role
For buyers I designed a browsable, filterable catalogue with a familiar cart and checkout, so finding and buying research took minutes rather than weeks. I also designed listing and order tools for providers, and a panel for administrators to curate the catalogue, manage providers and monitor transactions.
The principle throughout was to take friction out. Data you bought showed up in the platform straight away, reports opened directly in the Viewer, and new purchases surfaced on the home feed.
Outcome
Marketplace shipped as a working e-commerce platform inside mTab's analytics tools. Buyers got self-service access to research data, and providers got a new channel to sell through with the analytics already built in.
What's next
Marketplace has since been retired. Its role didn't fit the decision intelligence model behind Halo, the platform that is replacing mTab's earlier modules.
