WASHINGTON, Nov. 24, 2010 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --
Blackboard Inc. (Nasdaq: BBBB), provider of the Blackboard
Connect™ mass notification service, and txttools Ltd., the
premier U.K.-based provider of text messaging solutions for
education, healthcare and government, have partnered to deliver
mass notification services to clients in the United Kingdom and Ireland.
The partnership offers a unique and comprehensive solution that
draws on Blackboard Connect's experience delivering over 1 billion
voice, email and text messages and txttools' pioneering work in
two-way text messaging. With the partnership, txttools will market
and sell Blackboard Connect mass notification services to existing
and prospective clients.
With over 10 years of experience serving the text messaging
needs of clients, txttools brings well-established relationships
with top academic, healthcare and municipal organisations in the UK
and Ireland, where it serves over
50 percent of universities and colleges. The addition of Blackboard
Connect's multi-channel notification solutions will enable the
companies to better serve a broader set of communications
requirements.
"Combining the messaging expertise of txttools with Blackboard's
global commitment to education-focused institutions of all kinds
creates a compelling offer for this market," said Ed Miller, President of Blackboard Connect. "We
look forward to bringing the best of our respective solutions to
strengthen the communications capabilities of institutions."
Because many UK further and higher education institutions
already use Blackboard to support their virtual learning
environments (VLE), the partnership offers a unique opportunity to
help improve communication between instructors, students and the
institution. With a new integration leveraging Blackboard Connect
capabilities within the Blackboard Learn™ platform,
instructors and students can stay up to date on coursework, class
changes or individual performance – all on the mobile devices they
prefer.
"As a customer of both Blackboard and txttools, the addition of
Blackboard Connect seems like a natural extension to the txttools
service, and I look forward to finding out more about how it can be
used to further support our needs," said Stephen Vickers, Information Services Manager at
the University of Edinburgh.
"Text is an integral part of modern communications strategies
and our partners at Blackboard clearly recognise that," said
Stephen McCann, CEO of txttools.
"Blackboard's worldwide education focus and experience combined
with our innovative messaging technology can create significant
advantages for all of our clients."
For more information about Blackboard Connect, please visit
http://blackboard.com/Alert-Notification/Overview.aspx. For more
information about txttools, please visit
http://www.txttools.co.uk/preloginjsp/txttools/index.jsp.
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.
About txttools
Established in 2001, txttools Ltd. is a leading provider of text
messaging solutions in the United
Kingdom and Ireland.
Txttools edutxt services are used by over 50 percent of UK colleges
and universities to improve institutional, faculty and student
communications.
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-Q filed
on November 5, 2010 with the SEC. In
addition, the forward-looking statements included in this press
release represent the Company's views as of November 24, 2010. 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
November 24, 2010.
SOURCE Blackboard Inc.