The firm collaborated with MCO Performance to shape a roadmap for an AI-driven digital sales enablement platform
Strategy execution specialists, MCO Performance, have partnered with GCD Technologies on a Discovery Sprint to develop a prototype app that drives revenue generation by enhancing productivity, accountability and strategic alignment. Consequentially, this puts them in a strong position to disrupt the sales enablement market that is booming, reporting double digit compound annual growth.
Lurgan-based software specialists GCD Technologies offer Discovery Sprints which help to minimise risk and validate concepts through user research, design thinking and rapid prototyping, providing clarity before software building commences.
The aim of this collaboration was to amplify the MCO Performance framework, enabling high performing professional services teams and defining an innovative, digital-first path forward.
READ MORE: Business survey underscores need for clarity and robust support, says NI Chamber
During the initial phase of the four-week sprint, GCD conducted background research, collaborative workshops and workflow analysis with business leaders and team members, which identified several recurring pain points.
The research revealed that many professionals tasked with business development work in silos, with limited accountability and minimal cross-team visibility. Many teams lacked a clear sales playbook, making it difficult to establish repeatable best practices. Individuals with no formal sales training found themselves responsible for client acquisition and retention, often without adequate tools or support.
These issues were not only operational inefficiencies, but they were also directly impacting performance, morale and growth potential.
Through the Discovery Sprint, several core pillars for a potential solution were identified. Firstly, there was a pressing need for a digitised, repeatable sales playbook to centralise knowledge and scale best practices as well as a system that could embed accountability into everyday workflows.
The Sprint also brought to the fore the importance of a means to provide daily focus and structure to sales team activity and tools to ensure consistent strategy and processes across high-performing teams.
Greg Dalrymple, Head of Design at GCD Technologies said: “By addressing these needs, we wanted to provide MCO Performance with the tools to enable leaders to drive performance gains that are sustainable and measurable across the business development function. Once we knew the areas of focus, we began to shape the roadmap for an AI-driven digital sales enablement platform purpose-built for small to medium-sized enterprises through iterative AI prototyping.
“At GCD, we work with organisations building digital products and AI solutions, and a lot of our focus is on how best to adopt and leverage AI technology. Through our Discovery Sprints, we can then explore how challenges can be solved and whether AI could be part of the solution, and in the case of MCO Performance, iterative AI was the best way to deliver the prototype.”
READ MORE: Growth deal ‘catalyst for economic development'
The proposed platform would serve both business leaders and their teams, providing sales-averse experts with a dynamic sales playbook and individualised AI- powered coaching that provides personalised guidance and feedback whilst simultaneously evolving the playbook for collective benefit.
The Discovery Sprint concluded with a validated concept and a clear product roadmap. The sprint aligned stakeholders around a shared vision and gave the product team a well-defined set of development requirements.
Marie-Claire McGreevy, Co-Founder at MCO Performance added: “Working with GCD on our Discovery Sprint was an incredibly valuable experience. The prototype app not only exceeded our expectations but also laid a strong foundation for our proof of concept. The result was a foundation for a high-performance business development culture, one that could be built, sustained and scaled through technology. The sprint has given us the clarity and confidence to take the next steps in our digital journey, and we look forward to continuing our partnership.”
Sync NI's Summer 2025 magazine celebrates women in tech across Ireland as we continue to encourage more women to enter the thriving sector and address the current gender imbalance. Read the Summer 2025 Sync NI Magazine online for free here.
