Blackboard Expands Consulting to Offer Expertise on Mobile Strategy and Development

WASHINGTON, Oct. 11 /PRNewswire/ -- Building on its experience developing and supporting mobile applications for education at hundreds of institutions worldwide, Blackboard Inc. (Nasdaq: BBBB) today announced that it will extend its consulting practice to offer clients strategic expertise in planning and deploying mobile solutions.

Earlier this year, Blackboard expanded its existing consulting services beyond traditional technical services and training opportunities to better assist clients in meeting strategic business objectives and building core capabilities. Those efforts, which have focused on developing and expanding online programs and educational effectiveness, now extend to support mobile strategies and development.

The expanded effort will focus on strategic and technical consulting for mobile technologies and is a direct response to requests from clients for more support and guidance on a range of needs, from just getting started or developing a strategic plan to enhancing and customizing mobile platforms with sophisticated applications and integrations. 

"We started with just an idea, and worked with Blackboard all the way from conceptualizing to creating and implementing in a very quick timeframe, which speaks to their ability to understand and deliver," said Michael Casdorph, Director of Instructional Support and Education Design at the Medical College of Georgia. "Blackboard's mobile apps offer a great start right out of the box, but when you add their expertise and insight, their open APIs and their Software Development Kit, you can really create a custom mobile experience. It's a huge advantage."

Many education institutions are currently investigating mobile options to support learning and campus life. Given interest from students and faculty, alumni and community members for mobile campus applications, institutions can use mobile to strengthen their campus brand and enhance student engagement and education quality.

"Mobile isn't just about apps, it's about a strategy for enhancing and enriching the overall campus experience," said Katie Blot, Senior Vice President of Blackboard's consulting team. "With insight gleaned by working with hundreds of institutions and a team of expert engineers and strategists, we're pleased to offer clients a more robust partnership in this area."

Blackboard's consulting team will offer clients strategic guidance in a number of key areas, including:

• Assessing the enterprise for mobile capabilities
• Evaluating Web-service capabilities as part of existing systems, as needed for mobile integration
• Lending expertise to create elegant, simple and powerful user interfaces on mobile devices
• Creating implementation plans to ensure adoption and success
• Integrating mobile with existing services and technologies
• Building and extending engaging apps with the Blackboard Mobile Software Development Kit (SDK)
• Reviewing other mobile initiatives and how they fit into a comprehensive strategy

For more information on Blackboard's Mobile solutions, please visit http://blackboard.com/Mobile/Overview.aspx.

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 August 9, 2010 with the SEC. In addition, the forward-looking statements included in this press release represent the Company's views as of October 11, 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 October 11, 2010.

SOURCE Blackboard Inc.