UX Marks the Spot. Tap. Learn. Repeat.
Michael Wright - VP of Sales at uStudio | Blog, Industry Trends, Podcasting, Training & Learning
Why Enterprise Tech Often Misses the Mark
This article kicks off our three part series on Delivering a True Media Experience in the Enterprise, starting with why enterprise tools often fall short on usability and why that matters most when it comes to media.
The Cost of Outdated Experiences
Not long ago, enterprise software had all the charm of a fax machine. If your CRM felt like a maze or your training portal moved at dial up speed, well that was just how it worked. You clicked, you sighed, you survived.
Today, expectations are higher. When employees hit play on a training video, a private podcast, or a leadership update, they expect the same ease of use they get from their favorite consumer apps: instant, intuitive, and friction free. Just like watching a YouTube tutorial or listening to a podcast on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.
If it’s hard to use, no one’s learning.
If it’s buried and ignored, your investment in media communication is going to waste.
Why Enterprise Tools Often Fall Short
Many enterprise platforms are selected based on governance, compliance, and procurement checklists, not user experience. These systems often reflect how an organization is structured rather than how employees actually behave or consume information.
The result? Platforms that may check the boxes for IT or legal, but frustrate employees trying to play a video or listen to a podcast. Cluttered menus. Multiple logins. Buried media. Valuable audio and video content gets lost in the shuffle.
When Experience Fails, Content Suffers
Imagine this: A sales enablement video is published to your internal platform. It contains key messaging to help teams close deals faster. But it takes multiple clicks to find, the load time drags, and playback isn’t reliable.
That’s not a one off. It’s a pattern.
Even your best media won’t perform if the experience gets in the way.
This is especially true for audio and video. These formats are engaging by nature, ideal for internal employee podcasts, product demos, or executive updates. But if the delivery system fails, the message never lands. Employees skip over content not because it's unimportant, but because it's too frustrating to access.
Design Is a Strategic Advantage
Great user experience is not a cosmetic extra. It is a strategic driver. Forrester reports that companies investing in user centered design see:
- Faster time to market
- Higher adoption
- Greater alignment and engagement
We explored this in more depth in Cut Through the Noise: Smarter UX Transforms Training and Comms, where we looked at how cognitive load, mobile first behavior, and design psychology affect how people learn and work.
When it comes to internal media like audio and video, the experience is what drives real engagement.
Better Design, Better Results
Modern platforms are solving for both sides:
- Admins maintain control and compliance.
- Employees get a seamless playback experience they’ll actually return to.
uStudio was built with this balance in mind. As an enterprise podcast platform, it supports secure podcasting, private podcast hosting, and enterprise video streaming that’s intuitive and mobile ready. Whether you’re onboarding a new hire with a training series or delivering a corporate podcast to global teams, uStudio removes the friction that keeps your media from making an impact.
“Employees today expect their workplace tech to match the usability of the apps they use outside of work.” — Forrester Research Source ›
“We saw a 5x productivity gain just by streamlining the UX of one internal app.” — Andrew Hogan, Forrester Source ›
What’s Next
This is Part 1 of our series on Delivering a True Media Experience in the Enterprise.
- Part 2: What makes media platforms like Netflix and Spotify so effective and what enterprise tools can learn from them.
- Part 3: How Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits transformed internal employee engagement with smarter private podcast and video distribution.
Because when user experience meets content quality, something powerful happens: People engage. They remember. They come back.
Michael Wright is a seasoned sales and customer success leader with over 15 years of experience in sales, account management, and client success. He has held progressive leadership roles at companies such as SpareFoot (2011–2017) and Rollick (2017–2022), where he served as VP and Director of Sales and Account Management. Currently, he is the VP of Sales and Customer Success at uStudio and an Executive Member at Pavilion.
Michael began his career as a Surgical Attendant at St. Mary’s Hospital and later transitioned into sales and account management roles at IT Convergence, Precision Tune Auto Care, and others. He holds a B.A. from the University of Virginia and completed a Post Baccalaureate Pre-Medical Program at UC Berkeley Extension.
