Decoded's choice to extend their partnership with Bud for a further 2 years reflects the strength of a partnership built over time. After several years of working closely together, the renewal felt less like a decision and more like a natural next step. Bud has become embedded in how Decoded's apprenticeship operations run, giving teams the consistency and confidence to make decisions without guesswork.
That confidence has its roots in Decoded's early successes with Bud, with the platform strengthening management information and helping evidence a clearer data journey during their Ofsted inspection, contributing to their Ofsted Good outcome in October 2022. Today, the story has moved from inspection readiness to a long-term partnership: Decoded looks to Bud to support the way they work, and Bud understands the goals Decoded is working towards.
Founded in 2011 and headquartered in London, Decoded delivers digital and data education across specialisms including data and AI.
Decoded works in close partnership with employers across sectors such as financial services to identify and respond to their skills needs, developing levy-funded apprenticeship programmes that support both individual learners and whole teams. A strong example of this is the Gen AI Champion Level 3 Apprenticeship, built collaboratively with a key employer partner. Their portfolio spans Levels 3, 4, and 6, covering roles such as Data Analyst, AI Engineer, GenAI Champion, and Digital Product Manager, with a 100% apprenticeship pass rate.
Decoded's partnership with Bud began in February 2019. By the time of their 2022 Ofsted inspection, Bud served as the core platform foundation for Decoded’s operations, allowing inspectors to explore it directly.
Working closely with Bud's team, Decoded's Head of Quality has built a suite of Power BI reports from Bud's data warehouse, giving leaders a clear, structured view of programme delivery. The impact has been immediate: inspectors have specifically highlighted the strength of Decoded's management information and leadership oversight.
The results prove what Bud could deliver under real scrutiny, and it laid the groundwork for everything that followed.
As Decoded's operations evolved, so did their ambitions for what Bud could do for the business. Becoming a prime provider meant operating a more complex operational model, with greater visibility needed across the apprenticeship provision. Decoded saw an opportunity to lean further into Bud's existing capabilities, expanding their use of the platform from supporting compliance to underpinning the entire operation.
As Decoded's use of Bud matured, this ambition took a significant step forward when Joshua Chesterman, Decoded’s current Head of Quality championed a broader use of Bud, helping shift the business's mindset from viewing the platform primarily as a compliance tool to treating it as the single source of truth for operational and performance data. The Head of Quality developed KPI reporting aligned to Bud's data and placed the platform at the heart of off-the-job training management, giving Decoded a clearer picture of how the business operates day to day.
By embedding Bud into its day-to-day operations, Decoded has transformed the way learner data, programme management, and performance monitoring are handled across the business. What was once spread across manual processes, individual calendars, and disconnected systems is now managed through a single platform, creating greater consistency, visibility, and operational confidence.
A key part of this transformation has been the adoption of a clear principle: “if it's not in Bud, it doesn't exist”. This mindset has helped Decoded ensure that critical learner information, progress reviews, and operational activities are consistently recorded, creating one reliable point of reference across the organisation.
Streamlined operations: Replacing spreadsheets and disconnected data sources with centralised Bud data has reduced manual admin across the business and sped up caseload reviews. Onboarding has also become faster, helping successful applicants move into programme delivery more quickly.
Stronger evidence and oversight: Recording progress reviews directly in Bud gives auditors and quality teams one reliable source of evidence, improving audit-readiness. The same consistency underpins Decoded's Ofsted confidence, with Bud-driven KPIs and data audits helping leaders evidence learner progress. Together, this has given teams the operational confidence to make decisions based on reliable data rather than guesswork.
Targeted improvement: Each month, Decoded produces a comprehensive report drawing on data from Bud, covering learners PPED, caseload numbers, activity progress, attendance, BiLs, and much more. This monthly review process gives the team a consistent rhythm for monitoring performance across the provision, enabling them to dig into the detail, identify where attention is needed, and direct their efforts precisely to address issues before they escalate.
Better learner insight: Beyond operations, Bud has sharpened Decoded's view of individual learners, improving visibility of support needs, including safeguarding and inclusion considerations, and enabling more targeted support for learners with lower prior attainment in maths and English.
“What stands out about Bud is the partnership. The team understands our business, listens to what we need and works with us to find practical solutions. It feels like a relationship built on trust, not just a platform we use.”
Joshua Chesterman, Head of Quality, Decoded
That sense of partnership is shaped in large part by the support Decoded receives from Bud's Customer Success team. Katy, Decoded's Customer Success Manager, understands their business, listens to feedback, and works with them to find practical solutions, a level of engagement that has shifted how coaches and operational teams view the platform, moving Bud from "a system to use" to a partner genuinely invested in Decoded's success.
That relationship extends well beyond day-to-day product support. Conversations with Bud regularly cover sector insights, funding rule changes, product developments, and opportunities to collaborate through customer forums and webinars. For Decoded, this is what sets Bud apart from a typical system supplier.
A trusted customer success relationship, with proactive support from people who understand Decoded’s business and the wider apprenticeship sector.
Responsive problem-solving, with Bud listening to feedback, addressing challenges, and helping Decoded find workable solutions.
Sector insight and guidance, including updates on funding rule changes, roadmap developments, and wider market trends.
Collaborative enablement, from knowledgebase content and webinars to customer forums that make product development feel like a two-way conversation.
An intuitive user experience, with a consistent interface that gives learners, coaches, and tutors the confidence to navigate the platform easily.
A platform that keeps evolving, giving Decoded confidence that Bud will continue to grow alongside their organisation.
It's this human element, as much as the platform itself, that Decoded points to when explaining why Bud feels like a genuine partner rather than a system supplier.
Decoded's story shows how Bud has become more than a compliance platform, from supporting their Ofsted Good outcome to underpinning day-to-day operations today, it's a relationship built on trust and evidenced results. That confidence speaks for itself in Decoded's decision to extend their contract for a further two years.
As Decoded continues to develop its offer around AI and automation, including its AI leadership units and Level 4 AI and Automation Practitioner programme, Bud remains part of the delivery infrastructure behind that growth, helping Decoded manage learners, maintain quality, and bring new provision online in a way that stays focused on meaningful outcomes for clients and learners.