Blackboard's Learner-Focused Platform Gains in Corporate Learning Space
Bersin & Associates Report Highlights Increased Adoption of Blackboard's
'High Value, Low Cost Solution'
WASHINGTON, April 15 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- A new report suggests that
as companies of all sizes become more interested in collaborative,
learner-focused systems for their development needs, many are leveraging the
learner-focused corporate learning solution offered by Blackboard Inc.
(Nasdaq: BBBB), a global leader in education technology.
The report, LMS and Learning Platforms 2009, is published by analyst group
Bersin and Associates and notes that Blackboard is "steadily growing its
corporate customer base." The report also highlights the ease of use and
administration of Blackboard's solution, now used by more than 2,000
enterprise clients that are home to millions of daily users.
The report includes a comprehensive review of trends in the Learning
Management System (LMS) and corporate learning market. The report finds
growing adoption of learning systems by small and mid-size companies and a
distinct shift toward social, collaborative and informal learning. The report
also cites Blackboard's solution as a "highly successful system" and that it
"should be considered a high-value, low-cost solution for any
instructor-facilitated corporate training application."
"This is a critical time in the LMS market, and Blackboard is finding
success in its efforts to leverage its vast experience in education to provide
solutions for the corporate market," said Chris Howard, vice president of
research for Bersin & Associates. "We believe Blackboard will continue to grow
its presence in this segment."
The Bersin report cited three main advantages with the Blackboard platform
(taken from LMS and Learning Platforms 2009, Bersin & Associates):
-- Ease of Use - Designed from the end-user's perspective rather than
from the administrator's perspective. In developing the software, the
company's goal is that a training manual not be required to operate
the system.
-- Wealth of Experience and Exposure with Educational Audiences - Because
Blackboard has such an expansive user community in high school,
technical school, college and graduate school, Blackboard's interface
and features will be familiar to many people who have already used
Blackboard technology.
-- Speed to Market - Designed to be very easy and fast to implement.
Requires minimal services to get up and running.
Blackboard's flagship learning platform, Blackboard Learn(TM), includes a
range of powerful capabilities, social learning tools and Web 2.0 innovations
to more effectively engage learners. The platform supports secure instant
messaging, blogs, journals and enhanced group tools; notification dashboards
and alerts; and applications that let users access course information on
Apple(R) iPhone(TM) and iPod Touch(R) mobile devices and through the
Facebook(R) interface.
"In corporate life, we know that learning is not an isolated event or
exercise," said Tim Hill, President of Blackboard Learn, Professional
Education. "Chief Learning Officers know that departments and individual
functions inside their organization want to move the needle and make a
meaningful impact on employee behavior, their business and their bottom line.
They have to deliver teaching and learning initiatives that go beyond
compliance and regulatory 'checkbox' programs. Successful efforts require a
continuous learning environment that delivers learning outcomes and
supplemental content before, during, and after the learning event with
assessments, collaboration and social learning tools."
Boasting a completely redesigned, customizable Web 2.0 user interface,
Blackboard Learn also includes significant accessibility features including
easy keyboard navigation and standards based design for ease of use with
assistive technologies such as screen readers.
More information about the report, LMS and Learning Platforms 2009, is
available at http://www.bersin.com.
For more information about Blackboard, please visit
http://www.blackboard.com, and for more information about Blackboard's
solutions for corporate learning, please visit: http://blackboard.com/corp.
About Blackboard Inc.
Blackboard Inc. (Nasdaq: BBBB) is a global leader in enterprise technology
and innovative solutions that improve the experience of millions of students
and learners around the world every day. Blackboard's solutions allow
thousands of higher education, K-12, professional, corporate, and government
organizations to extend teaching and learning online, facilitate campus
commerce and security, and communicate more effectively with their
communities. Founded in 1997, Blackboard is headquartered in Washington, D.C.,
with offices in North America, Europe, Asia and Australia.
Any statements in this press release about future expectations, plans and
prospects for Blackboard and other statements containing the words "believes,"
"anticipates," "plans," "expects," "will," and similar expressions, constitute
forward-looking statements within the meaning of The Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results may differ materially from those
indicated by such forward-looking statements as a result of various important
factors, including the factors discussed in the "Risk Factors" section of our
Form 10-K filed on February 26, 2009 with the SEC. In addition, the
forward-looking statements included in this press release represent the
Company's views as of April 15, 2009. The Company anticipates that subsequent
events and developments will cause the Company's views to change. However,
while the Company may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some
point in the future, the Company specifically disclaims any obligation to do
so. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing
the Company's views as of any date subsequent to April 15, 2009.
SOURCE Blackboard, Inc.
-0- 04/15/2009
/CONTACT: Matthew Maurer of Blackboard Inc., +1-202-463-4860 ext. 2637,
matthew.maurer@blackboard.com/
/Web Site: http://www.blackboard.com /
(BBBB)
CO: Blackboard, Inc.; Bersin & Associates
ST: District of Columbia
IN: EDU
SU: SVY
PR
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