Northern Ireland firms unite to develop AI-powered sales enablement app for professional services sector

Two Northern Ireland firms have partnered to develop an innovative prototype app designed to transform business development for professional services teams, using AI to enhance productivity, accountability, and strategic alignment.

Strategy execution specialists MCO Performance in Belfast and software firm GCD Technologies in Craigavon collaborated on a Discovery Sprint, aimed at creating a digital-first solution that could disrupt the rapidly growing sales enablement market.

The four-week sprint, delivered by Lurgan-based software experts GCD Technologies, focused on minimising risk and validating concepts through research, design thinking, and rapid prototyping. 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.

Initial research uncovered a range of common challenges in business development, including siloed working, lack of clear sales processes, and limited accountability — especially for professionals with no formal sales training.

These issues were not only operational inefficiencies, but they were also directly impacting performance, morale and growth potential.

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.”

The proposed platform will provide a dynamic, centralised sales playbook and AI-powered coaching to support individual learning while refining team-wide strategies.

The Discovery Sprint concluded with a validated concept, a clear product roadmap, and stakeholder alignment on the project’s future direction.

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.”