Case study
Rebuilding UX research for a distributed world.
How a global tech company saved $28M and unlocked scalable, secure, anywhere research with CloudLab by Beings.
The challenge
$100M of labs. 11.8% utilisation.
Between 2015 and 2022, one of the world’s leading technology companies invested over $100M in sophisticated UX research labs — robotic cameras, mirrored observation galleries, high-end AV infrastructure. By 2023, post-COVID usage had fallen to 11.8%.
Their researchers were tied to physical locations that limited participant diversity, dependent on complex AV setups, working across forty-plus disconnected tools — and using third-party software in ways their own compliance teams couldn’t sign off.
The new Global Head of UX put the brief in one sentence:
“How do we escape the labs?”
What we built
A research operating system, not another tool
A senior programme manager on the UX infrastructure team found Beings through a demo. Other vendors had declined to prioritise the company’s unusual requirements. We leaned in.
Together we configured and deployed CloudLab: a secure, cloud-native platform for conducting, observing, and storing UX research anywhere — from labs to living rooms to live urban walk-throughs.
Over five rapid sprints, we worked directly with research teams across streaming media, wearables, search, ads, phones, automotive platforms, and smart home. We didn’t just ship software — we co-designed camera kits, built training flows, and carried the platform through the internal security reviews of one of the most demanding engineering organisations in the world.
What the researchers got
- Total layout control — drag-and-drop session canvases, researcher-built “scenes”, no AV support staff required
- Mobile and field studies — any phone becomes a second camera or screen share by scanning a QR code; face and device captured together
- Security their compliance team approved — zero PII leakage, encryption in transit and at rest, role-based access control, full audit logging, GDPR and HIPAA support
“Super intuitive. I can just drop in what I need and switch layouts live.”
“Capturing both the participant’s face and their phone screen at once? Game-changing.”
The results
CloudLab replaced fixed infrastructure with a secure, scalable research layer: mobile-first and in-home research, direct integration with internal cloud and compliance systems, and alignment with SOC 2, HIPAA, and ISO 27001 review requirements.
The programme manager who led the initiative received an internal innovation award and was promoted into product leadership.
What this means for your business
That engagement was Google. Their security review took months — and we passed it. The same engineering discipline now goes into something simpler: AI agents that do the digital chores inside businesses like yours, on infrastructure you own.
You don’t need a $100M lab problem to get that calibre of delivery. You need a workshop.
