Informed XP

What Informed XP does

Informed XP (legal entity: CTW Solutions, LLC) is a woman- and minority-owned human-centered design consulting firm founded in 2005 and headquartered in the Northern Virginia Technology Corridor (Reston, Virginia). The firm delivers a portfolio of professional services rather than a software product, spanning experience design (UX research, product/service design, visual design, interaction design, information architecture, content strategy), digital transformation (CX strategy, business requirements, agile/lean integration, IoT consulting, testing/QA), and virtual facilitation and collaboration using methodologies including design thinking and Liberating Structures. Underlying capability is the firm's Human-Centered Design methodology that integrates design thinking, lean, and agile workflows to move clients from empathy-based discovery through ideation, prototyping, implementation, and ongoing maintenance.

The firm serves both government and commercial enterprises. Commercial customers include Freddie Mac (financial services), American Red Cross (non-profit), The Alliance / Connectivity Standards Alliance and Cirrent (IoT), Cox Communications (telecom), and K12 and Internet Society (education and non-profit). Federal exposure is accessed primarily through two distribution channels: (i) the SBA 8(a) STARS III GWAC contract vehicle — a $50-billion-ceiling best-in-class governmentwide acquisition contract for IT services, with prime status awarded in 2022 — and (ii) Informed Government Solutions (IGS), an SBA Mentor-Protégé joint venture with strategic consultancy Cadmus formed in January 2024 to bundle IXP's HCD expertise with Cadmus's larger federal practice.

Revenue mechanics are project- and contract-based professional services engagements delivered through direct enterprise field sales for commercial clients and through federal procurement vehicles and a channel/JV partner for government clients. Multiple certifications (SBA 8(a), WOSB/EDWOSB via WBENC, WBENMSDC, MBE, Asian-Pacific American Owned, Virginia SWaM) create regulatory-driven access to set-aside work. Growth context: Inc. 5000 No. 100 (2021) and second consecutive year (2022); Inc. 5000 Mid-Atlantic Regionals No. 32 with 324% growth (2018–2020); Financial Times' Americas' Fastest-Growing Companies No. 22 with 3,631% absolute growth and 234.2% CAGR (2017–2020). No external funding, M&A, or disclosed software platform is present in the data.

Name

Informed XP

Legal name

CTW Solutions, LLC

Website

https://informedxp.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2005

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Informed XP is a Virginia-based human-centered design consultancy delivering UX research, digital transformation, and IoT consulting to enterprise and federal clients, accessed via direct sales, the 8(a) STARS III GWAC contract vehicle, and an SBA Mentor-Protégé joint venture with Cadmus.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

NAICS

Management Consulting Services (54161), Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services (54)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742), Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700)

akta.pro primary industry

Customer Experience (CX) & Digital Experience (BPAHAEAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

Emerging Tech (IoT, Blockchain, AR/VR, Edge) Consulting (BPAHAEAL)

Keywords

• User experience consulting
• Digital transformation services
• Human-centered design
• IoT strategy consulting
• Government IT services

Headquarters

HQ city

Reston

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Professional Services & Consulting: IXP generates revenue through consulting and professional services engagements, delivering human-centered design, UX/CX, digital transformation, and IoT consulting services on a project and contract basis to both government and commercial clients.
2. Government Contract Vehicles (8(a) STARS III GWAC): IXP holds the 8(a) STARS III GWAC governmentwide acquisition contract, a best-in-class IT services vehicle with a $50-billion ceiling, enabling it to provide services to federal agencies under structured contract terms.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Informed XP is a human-centered design consultancy that delivers Experience Design (UX research, product/visual/interaction design, content strategy, information architecture), Digital Transformation (digital strategy, CX, agile/lean, IoT consulting, testing/QA), and Virtual Facilitation + Collaboration (workshops, Liberating Structures, strategy sessions) services. It sells these primarily to U.S. federal agencies via an 8(a) STARS III GWAC prime contract and the IGS joint venture with Cadmus, and to commercial enterprises (financial services, IoT, telecom, non-profits) through direct consulting engagements.

Product overview

Informed XP is a human-centered design consulting firm that offers a portfolio of professional services rather than a software product platform. The core offerings include Experience Design (product design, UX research, visual design, information architecture), Digital Transformation (strategy, CX, IoT consulting, agile methodologies), and Virtual Facilitation + Collaboration (workshops, strategy sessions, remote collaboration). Additionally, the company operates Informed Government Solutions (IGS), a joint venture with Cadmus formed in January 2024 to serve federal agencies. These services work together as an integrated approach to help organizations transform customer experiences through deliberate design intelligence and efficient workflows.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• IXP achieved 3,631% absolute growth rate and 234.2% CAGR from 2017-2020, ranking the company among the fastest-growing companies in the Americas.
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• CadmuscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 22 January 2024Informed XP and Cadmus partnered to form Informed Government Solutions (IGS), an SBA Mentor-Protégé joint venture. The partnership combines IXP's expertise in human-centered design, lean, and agile with Cadmus's large strategic and technical consultancy capabilities. Together they bring more than 50 years of collective experience spanning energy, climate, public health, transportation, financial services, technology, and digital transformation. As an 8(a) and EDWOSB entity, IGS serves federal constituents with innovative solutions emphasizing accessibility and inclusivity.
• Internet of Things Consortium (IoTC)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 6 January 2020IXP joined the Internet of Things Consortium (IoTC), the premier business development association for the IoT industry. As a member, IXP partners with leading founders, executives, and global IoT companies to realize the full potential of the IoT and help create a connected future. IXP brings decades of combined experience across UX, IoT, agile methodologies, web/software development, and project management, with a focus on human-centered design informed by evaluating real people in real-world experiences.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Booz Allen Hamilton: Major federal consulting prime with digital/CX transformation practices serving the same agencies IXP targets through its 8(a) STARS III vehicle — a likely competitor or teammate on federal pursuits.
• Deloitte Digital: Largest Big Four digital/CX practice offering enterprise transformation at global scale; competes for federal and commercial CX modernization mandates, but as part of a much broader portfolio rather than a UX-specialist focus.
• Accenture Song: Accenture's experience design and marketing services arm; offers customer experience and digital transformation at global scale with deeper delivery capacity than IXP, competing across the same enterprise engagements.
• McKinsey Digital: Strategy-led digital transformation arm of McKinsey covering CX, product, and operating-model redesign for large enterprises; competes on the same commercial CX mandates as IXP's larger engagements.

Direct peers

• Work & Co: Digital product studio focused on designing and building customer-facing digital experiences for global brands; comparable in CX-led methodology and project-based delivery to IXP's digital transformation practice.
• IDEO: Global design and innovation consultancy specializing in human-centered design, CX, and digital experience strategy — directly comparable to IXP's experience-design offering but operating at much larger scale and brand recognition.
• Huge: Digital experience agency delivering CX, product design, and digital transformation for enterprise clients (banking, retail, healthcare) — the same vertical mix and engagement model as IXP's commercial side.
• frog (Capgemini Invent): Design and innovation firm within Capgemini Invent focused on CX, IoT, and connected product experience; directly overlaps IXP's human-centered design + IoT specialization, with a deeper enterprise backing.
• R/GA: Global design and technology agency covering CX, brand experience, and digital transformation across industries — competes for the same type of enterprise experience mandates as IXP.

Emerging players

• Forum One: Mid-sized digital agency with strong federal and association digital experience practice; directly comparable to IXP's government-side engagements and similar in scale and GTM motion.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/informed_xp

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Informed XP