Blackboard Sees Strong Momentum for Collaboration Solutions

WASHINGTON, Dec. 16, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Blackboard Inc. (Nasdaq: BBBB) today reported strong momentum in customer demand for Blackboard Collaborate solutions since the acquisition of Elluminate and Wimba was announced in July 2010. In addition, Elluminate has been recognized as a "Visionary" in Gartner's "Magic Quadrant for Web Conferencing," an influential industry report.^*

According to Gartner, a leading research and advisory firm, "the market for Web conferencing, teaming and social software will grow at a compound growth rate of more than 20 percent through 2011. Due to global economic challenges, interest in Web conferencing is at an all-time high as companies look to cut costs."

New and renewing Blackboard Collaborate clients include Central Texas College, Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow (ECOT), Los Angeles Unified School District, Red Deer College, Tennessee Board of Regents, University of Arkansas at Little Rock, and more.

"Wimba is unquestionably a 'game-changer' when it comes to e-learning," said Mark Burris, Director of Scholarly Technology and Resources (STaR), University of Arkansas at Little Rock. "The ability for faculty and students to collaborate in real time through a synchronous learning experience breathes new life into online teaching and learning. And faculty have discovered that they can leverage Blackboard Collaborate's asynchronous tools to extend learning beyond the traditional classroom, while students benefit from repeated interaction with content and collaboration. I would not want to develop an online program without it."

Elluminate has been positioned in the "Visionaries" quadrant of Gartner's Magic Quadrant for Web Conferencing, a report evaluating the completeness of vision and ability to execute of vendors in the market.

"We're honored to be recognized by Gartner and agree with their vision for growth in the collaboration and conferencing space, even in these challenging economic times," said Maurice Heiblum, President of Blackboard Collaborate. "Our growth across academic markets suggests that institutions are eager to invest in learning and collaboration solutions that positively impact education, significantly reduce costs, and generate new sources of revenue."

"Central Texas College renewed its license because Blackboard Collaborate solutions have proven to be a cost effective and efficient means of providing communication and collaboration within our online and blended courses," said Sharon Davis, Director of Distance Education and Educational Technology at Central Texas College. "And because our students, faculty and staff are worldwide, we also use these solutions to support faculty and staff training, professional development, student orientation and tech support."

"At Red Deer College, teaching and learning would not be the same without our Blackboard Collaborate products," said Janet Welch, Chairperson of the Centre for Teaching and Learning at Red Deer. "Our learners use the products daily to communicate, collaborate and grow and these solutions have become core to our business."

Elluminate and Wimba are part of Blackboard Collaborate, which includes the leading education focused Web, video and audio conferencing solutions used by thousands of higher education, K-12, professional, corporate, and government organizations worldwide to support more engaging and interactive classes, meetings and other interactions.

For more information about Blackboard Collaborate, please visit http://www.Blackboard.com/collaborate.

*Gartner "Magic Quadrant for Web Conferencing" by David Mario Smith, November 4, 2010.

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-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 December 16, 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 December 16, 2010.

About the Magic Quadrant

The Magic Quadrant is copyrighted 2010 by Gartner, Inc. and is reused with permission. The Magic Quadrant is a graphical representation of a marketplace at and for a specific time period. It depicts Gartner's analysis of how certain vendors measure against criteria for that marketplace, as defined by Gartner. Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in the Magic Quadrant, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors placed in the "Leaders" quadrant. The Magic Quadrant is intended solely as a research tool, and is not meant to be a specific guide to action. Gartner disclaims all warranties, express or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.

SOURCE Blackboard Inc.