ACCESS | Asia 's Newspaper on Electronic Information Product & Service

September 2001 No.38

Blackboard and iGroup partner to deliver Blackboard 5 to Asia

Blackboard Inc., the leading e-Education infrastructure company for the academic marketplace, and iGroup (Asia Pacific) Ltd, the leading information services provider for the Asia Pacific, have announced a strategic partnership to bring Blackboard's online teaching and learning platform, Blackboard 5TM, to the education markets in Southeast and East Asia. The partnership allows Blackboard's course management and academic portal system to be marketed by iGroup and its local organisations.

"We believe that the education market will benefit by incorporating more complete, internet-based learning and management solutions like Blackboard," said Mr. Lee Pit Teong, Managing Director of iGroup. "Blackboard has established a leading position in bringing an end-to-end, intuitive, e-Learning environment to the Web. We are pleased that Blackboard has chosen iGroup as their partner to promote their stellar products to the region."

It is Blackboard's expectation that the region will prove to be a key growth area for the online education market. "We look forward to working with iGroup and expanding our reach internationally, said Matthew Pittinsky, Chairman of Blackboard Inc. "I am confident that together, iGroup and Blackboard have a significant opportunity to bring more quality e-Education opportunities to these markets."

iGroup to represent Blackboard throughout the region

Through the agreement, iGroup will represent Blackboard in the sales and marketing of Blackboard's course management system to academic institutions in the countries of Hong Kong, Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand. The companies will also leverage on each other's core competencies to jointly offer e-Learning products and services in the region.

iGroup (Asia Pacific) Ltd is a leading information services provider in the Asia Pacific specialising in providing databases and e-Journals, information management tools and e-Learning services. Headquartered in Bangkok, Thailand, it has offices in Australia, China, Hong Kong, Korea, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore and Taiwan.

Blackboard develops, licenses, and supports enterprise software platforms for bringing the educational experience online. Whether supplementing traditional brick and mortar education or enabling online distance learning, Blackboard solutions power many of the Internet's most successful e-Education sites for courses, campus communities, and student commerce. Blackboard's Course & Portal Solutions and Commerce & Access Solutions power online education and related educational services at schools, colleges and universities, as well as the organisations that serve them, such as education publishers, test preparation companies and other education service providers.