UTS Exceeds Reg Targets by 20% with Optimizely One and Opal

How UTS transformed a fragmented digital ecosystem into a unified platform, driving a 24% uplift in visitors and record Open Day registration results.

Industry

Education

Company

University of Technology, Sydney

Products used

Content Management SystemOptimizely OneRecommendationsCommerce ConnectWeb ExperimentationOpal

In 2024, Ben Chu, Head of Digital Presence at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS), walked into a digital ecosystem that was completely devolved. Over a thousand editors had free rein to create, upload, and delete content however they saw fit. Anyone could spin up a WordPress site on a credit card. There was no governance, no consistent brand, and no path to the personalization and experimentation ambitions UTS needed to compete for students.

A full digital transformation powered by Optimizely's DXP changed that. Ben and his team replaced an archaic CMS with a modular content platform, consolidating fragmented multi-sites under one roof with consistent brand identity, tone of voice, and governance. The results came fast: Open Day registration targets exceeded by 20%, a 24% uplift in new visitors, 20% increase in engagement rates, and UTS climbed two places in Google's organic search rankings within four weeks — the first positive movement in over two years, critical for a university where 60% of traffic is organic.

Now, with Opal AI automating the administrative workflows that once slowed the team down, Ben's team has shifted from housekeeping to strategy. Since this interview, Experimentation output has more than doubled — from two experiments a month to five — with Opal saving around 10 hours a month on reporting alone. Less than a year in, and the transformation is only accelerating.

A Devolved Digital Ecosystem and the Case for Governance

The biggest challenge for Ben wasn't the technology — it was implementing the right governance and guardrails to preserve UTS's digital presence long after the initial project was complete
UTS's previous CMS was templated and rigid, blocking the team's ambitions around personalization and experimentation — Optimizely's modular approach gave them the flexibility to build tailored experiences at scale
With no multi-site strategy in place, the university's digital footprint had fragmented into ungovernable silos — consolidating everything into one platform meant UTS could finally present a unified brand, identity, and tone of voice

What I walked into 18 months ago when I first joined UTS was a digital ecosystem that was completely devolved. We had over a thousand editors across the university, and they were given rights to upload, delete, or create content anyway that they saw fit.

Ben Chu — University of Technology Sydney

From "Set and Forget" to Exceeding Open Day Targets by 20%

Open Day is the most important event in UTS's calendar — a single day where future students and parents experience the university for the first time before making one of the biggest decisions of their lives

Previously, the team would build landing pages, publish them, and hope they worked — with no visibility on whether registration targets would be met until the very last minute

This year, experiments and personalization campaigns replaced the old approach, giving the team the ability to tweak and pivot in real time as numbers shifted — exceeding registration targets by 20%, something completely unheard of before

It's no longer about just setting and forgetting. As we see the numbers dip, we would tweak and we will pivot to make sure that we do meet our targets. And that's been a huge game changer for us in the fact that we've actually exceeded our Open Day registration targets by 20% this year.

Ben Chu — University of Technology Sydney

From Administration to Strategy with Opal AI

University workflows are typically weighed down by bureaucracy, red tape, and multiple approvals — this had been a persistent barrier to getting content and campaigns to market at pace

Opal AI has automated the administration that used to consume the team's time — writing briefs, routing approvals, and coordinating stakeholders seamlessly — so the team now spends its time on ideas, experiments, and personalization campaigns instead

In just six months, the new platform has delivered a 24% uplift in new visitors, a 20% increase in engagement rates, and UTS moved up two places in Google's organic search rankings within four weeks — the first positive movement in that space in over two years, with 60% of all traffic coming through organic channels

We don't spend time doing admin anymore [, because of Opal]. Now all we spend time doing is coming up with the good ideas, the experiments that we want to run, the personalization campaigns that are gonna make a difference. It's really given us that ability to focus our efforts away from the administrative and now to the more strategic.

Ben Chu — University of Technology Sydney

From a Thousand Editors to One Digital Presence

For Ben Chu and his team, the transformation was never just about replacing an old CMS. It was about proving that a university weighed down by bureaucracy, fragmented sites, and a thousand unmanaged editors could operate like a modern digital organisation — unified, agile, and data-driven.

By consolidating a devolved ecosystem into one governed platform, then layering on experimentation and personalization, UTS turned its most important event of the year from a hope-for-the-best exercise into a 20% overperformance. The new website brought in 24% more visitors, lifted engagement by 20%, and moved the university up two places in Google's organic search rankings for the first time in over two years — critical when 60% of all traffic comes through organic channels.

But for Ben, the real shift isn't in the metrics. It's in what his team spends its time on. With Opal AI handling the briefs, approvals, and reporting that once consumed hours, experimentation output has more than doubled — from two a month to five — and the team has reclaimed 10 hours a month to focus on the ideas that actually move the needle.

UTS isn't just catching up. They're building the capability to personalise, experiment, and optimise at a pace the old world couldn't have imagined. For a university competing for the next generation of students, that's exactly the kind of transformation that matters.