Ektron Continues Momentum in Web Content Management, Marketing Optimization and Social Software Deployments at Leading Educational Institutions

NASHUA, N.H., June 28, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Ektron, a provider of web content management, social software and marketing optimization solutions, today announced continued momentum within the education sector as multiple universities, colleges and school districts across the United States leverage Ektron's award-winning web content management (WCM), social and marketing optimization software and solutions.  

(Logo:  http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20100709/MM19483LOGO )

A survey released on June 20, 2011, by W3Techs(1) states that of websites known to be using a content management system and using ".edu" as a top-level domain, 15.9 percent have deployed Ektron as their WCM of choice, making Ektron the second most popular among educational institutions.

Institutions including Johnson & Wales University, Morehead State University, Rice University, Seattle University, the University of Notre Dame, the University of Tampa, the University of Virginia, Elgin Community College, Richland School District, The Ryerson School of Journalism and Wofford College are deploying Ektron's solutions across their organizations for a more dynamic website experience.

"Now, more than ever, it is important for universities, colleges and school districts to have a strong web presence.  The website is often the first point of contact for prospective students, faculty, donors and volunteers," said Tom Wentworth, chief marketing officer, Ektron.  "At the same time, keeping a website up to date and integrated with all of today's social media channels, often with a smaller IT staff, is a struggle.  Our technology has enabled many universities, colleges and school districts to up-level their web presence, to meet the growing demand of today's tech savvy student body."

According to a survey conducted by the Research in Higher Education Journal, "A university's website now is an important tool in the information gathering stage in the consumer decision making process. Potential students' first impressions are influenced electronically via the website…  As the use of technology by the current and next generation of students as well as their parents continues to grow, universities will need to utilize better and more easily navigable websites. The webpage is the gateway to all other forms of communication and a primary medium through which undergraduate students choose their institution."(2)

Universities, colleges and K-12 schools want to effectively reinforce their brand and communicate their story to those that visit their website every day.  Ektron helps connect content to context. The flagship Ektron Web Content Management platform enables educational institutions to deliver dynamic web experiences by empowering users, designers and developers to work in parallel, improving productivity and speeding time-to-web.  Ektron offers unique and personalized visitor experiences based on individual context; defined by who the visitor is, how they are engaging with the website, what pages they are viewing and who they are connected to in social networks.

Powered by Ektron, the Datatel higher education-focused web content management solution allows institutions to easily create and maintain differentiated websites in support of their strategic enrollment management goals, empowering constituencies across a campus to collaborate efficiently to create, deploy, update and maintain interactive website content.

The following successes are a direct result of Ektron’s leading-edge web content management, social software and marketing optimization solutions:

• Rice University – Currently operates more than 300 individual websites on Ektron’s platform.
• Morehead State University – Leverages Ektron to make its site mobile friendly for both visitors and content contributors.
• The University of Virginia, Darden School of Business – Ektron makes for easy site updating to keep up with university branding campaigns.
• University of Tampa – Provides visitors a full-featured mobile site powered by Ektron.

"We have created and maintain more than 300 sites on Ektron's web content management system," said Jeff Frey, manager of Web Services, a campus technology solutions provider within Rice's IT department.  "The technology is not only easy to use from a development standpoint, but with minimal staff available, we like that it is a user-friendly platform enabling non-IT people to update content seamlessly."

About Ektron

By integrating web content management (WCM), marketing optimization and social software, Ektron's software and solutions improve operational efficiency, drive revenue growth and build customer loyalty. Ektron empowers marketers to create, publish and optimize web content that engages, converts and retains customers. Developers benefit from Ektron's extensibility and commitment to the Microsoft .NET framework. Headquartered in Nashua, New Hampshire, with offices in Australia, Canada, Singapore and the United Kingdom, Ektron has more than 8,000 customers worldwide including Carnegie Hall, Diageo, Home Depot, International Chamber of Commerce,  Kodak, Microsoft, NASDAQ, National Health Services UK, Saint-Gobain, The Law Society and the University of Notre Dame. For more information, please visit www.ektron.com, www.ektron.co.uk or www.ektron.com.au.

(1) "Distribution of content management systems among websites that use .edu" – Web Technology Surveys, June 20, 2011 http://w3techs.com/technologies/segmentation/tld-edu-/content_management
(2) Research in Higher Education Journal, "The importance of university web pages in selecting a higher education institution," Kurt Schimmel, Darlene Motley, Stanko Racic, Gayle Marco, Mark Eschenfelder (Robert Morris University) http://www.aabri.com/manuscripts/10560.pdf

SOURCE Ektron