With the introduction of new features to accelerate learning and development, O’Reilly announces strong business growth

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O’Reilly today (5 May) announced that the company has experienced 32.5% year-over-year new bookings growth in Q1 2021 compared to Q1 2020 within its enterprise segment. Overall registration for O’Reilly’s virtual events and training courses has also climbed. With the introduction of new features and formats to accelerate learning and development, the company has achieved several significant milestones over the past year.

One of the most significant changes to O’Reilly’s business was the introduction of its virtual Superstream Series, a lineup of virtual conferences featuring expert speakers delivering talks and training sessions on the most important topics and emerging trends in technology. The inaugural Strata Data Superstream, hosted in March 2020, attracted nearly 5,000 attendees. Comparatively, in Q1 2021, O’Reilly’s Superstream Series saw more than 15,000 registrants across Data, AI, Infrastructure & Ops, and Software Architecture events—more than 200% growth.

While live online training has been a significant part of O’Reilly’s business model since its introduction on the platform in 2016, the pandemic has likely driven an uptick in interest from members. These courses—which are delivered virtually through O’Reilly’s online learning platform by experts and allow participants to ask questions along the way—have been an important resource in place of in-person events. As a result, overall live training registrations were up 6% compared to Q1 2020, with more than 260,000 registrations for Superstreams, live training courses, and Meet the Expert learning modules.

In light of the need for more digital experiences that don’t sacrifice the benefits of hands-on in-person learning, the company has also introduced two new live event formats in Q1: Office Hours and Domain Hours. Office Hours are sessions held by top-tier trainers on a topic of interest where customers can ask questions about a training course they’ve attended, the topic generally, or a real-world scenario related to the chosen topic. Domain Hours are monthly sessions in which a recognized expert hosts a Q&A with an invited guest host on their area of expertise and related to a specific theme. These new offerings further cement learning from O’Reilly live online training courses and events.

Additionally, O’Reilly Answers, a new feature launched last quarter that leverages an advanced natural language processing (NLP) engine to deliver quick, contextually relevant answers to challenging technical questions, is in use by nearly 27,000 O’Reilly members.

“It would be an understatement to say that 2020 was an unprecedented year for business and technology, but the most massive shifts have been felt from a cultural lens,” said Laura Baldwin, president of O’Reilly.

“The way we work and live has changed immeasurably, and O’Reilly has adapted to meet the needs of professionals regardless of location, background, and a host of other factors. This dedication to providing the best learning experience is what has enabled the company to prosper during uncertain times and to thrive as we head into Q2.”

New event formats and features created to make learning in the flow of work possible and meet people where they are has resulted in several notable customer wins. In Q1 2021, O’Reilly signed on Auth0, Fastenal Company, SK Telecom, and Tinkoff Bank, among others.