This presentation examines the administration-led adoption of a big-brand educational support platform into the English department’s online portal at a Japanese university, implemented with minimal departmental consultation. The big brand which also provides services for other national, public and private universities aims to develop “solutions that are optimal”. The proprietary platform, designed specifically for this institution facilitates students’ textbook unit reflection activities, intended to promote metacognition, help students gain insight into their own progress, identify areas for improvement, and take a more active role in guiding their own learning. One major advantage of this platform is its capacity to manage cohorts of 3,000 plus students and automatically compile quantitative results for teachers. This feature enables educators to observe trends and identify areas of focus. However, significant drawbacks are the anonymity of responses, which prevents teachers from offering personalized feedback or additional support to individual learners’ specific needs, and the department's ability to modify platform content. Drawing from the department’s experiences, this session will discuss the impact of administrative decisions, practical considerations and the limitations imposed by anonymous data on teaching practices. Attendees will gain practical insights into balancing large-scale technology solutions with the nuanced requirement for targeted learner feedback.