Blackboard Hosting Group Named "Support Team of the Year" in Stevie Awards

WASHINGTON, July 3, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Blackboard Inc. today announced that its Blackboard Managed Hosting(SM) service and support group was named "Support Team of the Year" at the 10th Annual American Business Awards, known as the Stevies. The honor comes at a time of continued strong momentum for Blackboard's hosting service, which has earned nearly 200 new clients in the last 12 months.

Blackboard Managed Hosting was selected over leading organizations across various industries for its hosting capabilities, security, maintenance and customer support.

The University of Ontario Institute of Technology, University of Texas – Pan American and Buckinghamshire New University are among the clients that have selected Blackboard's hosting capabilities and technical expertise to help manage their complex online environments. By working with Blackboard's hosting team, many clients report that IT staff can spend more time focused on supporting learning programs and improving student engagement.

"We're committed to providing reliable, excellent service so that we can help institutions and their students to be successful," said Jay Robertson, general manager of Blackboard Managed Hosting. "We're delighted to be recognized by the Stevie Awards for our commitment to our clients – it is a testament to the great work of 250 dedicated experts across four continents, skilled in infrastructure design and management, and customer support."

Blackboard Managed Hosting supports more than 11 million users at over 1,000 institutions worldwide. The company operates seven data centers in the United States, Canada, the Netherlands and Australia, and has focused intensely on improving client satisfaction. Customer surveys show continued year-over-year improvements, increased overall satisfaction and perceived value in service, support and partnership.

"We rely on Blackboard Managed Hosting to ensure consistent access to our critical online learning system," said Edgar Gonzalez, Director for Distance Education at the University of Texas – Pan American. "Blackboard focuses on maintaining the learning environment so we can focus on enhancing the experience and programs that affect our students and faculty."

With guaranteed uptime rates of up to 99.9 percent, Blackboard provides a reliable, secure and high performance infrastructure that supports student and institutional success. Blackboard's data centers typically average over 150 million Internet hits a day during peak times, and are staffed around the clock to guard against threats to physical and data security, natural disasters, and network outages of all types, while also providing a highly reliable and secure hosting environment.

For more information about Blackboard Managed Hosting, please visit http://www.blackboard.com/Services/Managed-Hosting.aspx.

About Blackboard Inc.
Blackboard Inc. 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 represent the Company's views as of the date of this press release. Actual results may differ materially as a result of various important factors. 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 statements at some point in the future, the Company specifically disclaims any obligation to do so.

SOURCE Blackboard Inc.