Lighthouse Learning Improves Video Performance and Engagement Across 8 Education Apps with ImageKit

Lighthouse Learning moved off Vimeo to deliver consistent, buffer-free video streaming to 600K+ students and parents across 2,700+ schools with ImageKit.

Rajat Anand
Hello! I'm Rajat, a marketer at ImageKit.io. Eye-catching images & engaging videos fuel a brand's growth. That's why I love writing about ways businesses can optimize & manage their media seamlessly.
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#case study#video api#video optimization#video streaming#image optimization#education

Key results

  • Average engagement time per session increased by 25%
  • Achieved 85% completion rate for long-form educational videos
  • Reduced bandwidth consumption by 50%
  • 40% reduction in image file sizes with next-gen formats, improving page load performance
  • Manual media optimization effort reduced to near zero

Key results at a glance
Key results at a glance

Customer snapshot

  • Industry: Education (Preschool & K-12)
  • Schools: 60+ K-12 Schools and 2,700+ Pre-K franchise schools, including leading brands such as EuroSchool, Heritage Xperiential School, Billabong High International School (BHIS), Center Point Schools, and Phoenix Green School.
  • Digital Footprint: 8 mobile apps + website, powered by ImageKit
  • User Base: 600K+ active users (students, parents, and guardians), growing 10-15% YoY
  • Primary Use Cases: Smooth video streaming across apps and image optimization for school announcements and updates

About Lighthouse Learning

Lighthouse Learning operates a large, multi-brand school network across India and select overseas locations. Each school maintains its own identity and mobile application, while the organization runs on a shared design system, common technology stack, and centralized content delivery.

At the core of this ecosystem is their Unified Education Platform (UEP), used by nearly every parent, student, and staff member at least once a month (99% MAU).

Across apps and web platforms:

  • Students engage with academic content, including video-based learning
  • Parents receive updates, announcements, and event media
  • Schools manage reporting, communication, and operations

The challenge: Video performance across a distributed school network

Video is central to Lighthouse Learning's Unified Education Platform (UEP). A significant portion of in-house educational content is delivered via video, making the playback experience directly tied to student engagement and learning outcomes.

With 2,700+ Pre-K franchise schools spread across metro cities as well as Tier 2 and Tier 3 regions with inconsistent network connectivity, delivering consistent video performance was critical.

Previously, the team relied on Vimeo for video streaming but faced latency and buffering issues, especially in 4G-dominant regions.

The performance and operational gaps became clear

  • Slow video start times
  • Frequent buffering on inconsistent network connections
  • Users dropping off around the 50% mark during long-form content
  • Repeated engineering effort and rising operational overhead for media optimization and quality fixes across 8 mobile apps
  • Rising Vimeo costs as video usage scaled

Why ImageKit

Seeking a more reliable and scalable solution, Lighthouse Learning evaluated multiple alternatives. ImageKit stood out on several fronts: adaptive bitrate streaming for smooth playback on fluctuating networks, seamless integration with existing Amazon S3 infrastructure, real-time image transformations and format conversion, easy configuration, and the ability to scale effortlessly across multiple apps and tenants. A responsive, technically proficient support team further reinforced ImageKit as the right long-term partner.

"We faced major challenges with load time and buffering. Vimeo didn't meet our expectations for video delivery. After evaluating our options, ImageKit stood out as the clear winner in terms of performance, features, cost, and customer support."

– Ashutosh Singh, Lighthouse Learning

What ImageKit offered

ImageKit introduced a high-performance media layer optimized for mobile-first usage. As Ashutosh explains:

"Earlier, a significant number of viewers were dropping off around the 50% mark due to buffering. After implementing ImageKit, we've seen a 25% increase in average engagement time per session, a meaningful improvement for us."

Key capabilities delivered:

Optimized video delivery and streaming

Automatic format conversion, compression, and adaptive bitrate streaming improved load time and playback performance across mobile and web, ensuring smoother streaming even on 4G mobile networks.

Adaptive Streaming with ImageKit's URL-based Video API
Adaptive Streaming with ImageKit's URL-based Video API

Real-time image transformations and format conversion

Dynamic resizing, compression, and automatic WebP/AVIF delivery ensured every image was optimized across devices, screen sizes, and network conditions without manual intervention.

Seamless integration with Amazon S3

ImageKit layered directly on top of existing S3 buckets, allowing Lighthouse Learning's team to retain S3 as the primary storage while delivering optimized media through ImageKit URLs.

S3 integration
S3 integration

Centralized, scalable media infrastructure

A single media layer supporting multiple school brands, apps, and the website, reducing performance inconsistencies and operational complexity.

Hands-on support from ImageKit during integration and scaling helped the team implement quickly and confidently.

Results

Since implementing ImageKit, Lighthouse Learning has improved performance across 8 mobile apps serving a 600K+ active user base, growing at 10-15% YoY, across Android (60%), iOS (40%), and Web.

  • Improved engagement: Optimized video delivery tailored for 4G and variable mobile networks led to a 25% increase in average engagement time per session, with an average 85% completion rate on long-form content.
  • Faster load times: Automated image optimization and next-gen format delivery reduced image file sizes by 40%, improving overall page performance.
  • Operational efficiency: Eliminated repetitive resizing and manual quality fixes, bringing ongoing media-optimization effort close to zero and reducing media-related regressions across releases.
  • Reduced bandwidth usage: Intelligent media optimization and efficient delivery significantly lowered data transfer, reducing overall bandwidth consumption by 50%.
  • Positive user feedback: Users reported noticeably faster content loading and smoother video playback across apps.

What Lighthouse Learning is evaluating next

As Lighthouse Learning continues to expand its digital ecosystem, the team is exploring AI-driven transformations and overlays using ImageKit's Layers API to enable more dynamic and personalized content experiences.

Closing note

For Lighthouse Learning, delivering a seamless video and content experience is critical to keeping students engaged and ensuring effective learning.

With ImageKit, the team is now better equipped to scale its digital learning experience as it grows across geographies, formats, and user needs.

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