Blackboard Streamlines and Personalizes Global Web Experiences with SDL

Leading Education Technology Company Leverages SDL’s Customer Experience Cloud for Efficient Web Publishing and Increased Conversions

SDL (LSE: SDL) today announced that Blackboard, the world's leading education technology company, has improved its global web presence with SDL Web and SDL BeGlobal, two key components of the SDL Customer Experience Cloud.

Serving customers in over 190 countries, Blackboard is shaping the future of education, helping millions of people around the world find new ways to learn, connect and advance. As it expanded into new geographic regions, the company’s previous web content management system was unable to support its international growth. Additionally, the system had several limitations in terms of its ability to deliver global and mobile-friendly content and continuous customizations were costly and made it difficult to stay updated with the latest security patches.

“With our customer base expanding across the globe and engaging on digital channels, we needed a new approach that would go beyond traditional content management,” said Jon Gold, director of web strategy and design at Blackboard. “With personalization capabilities and a strong background in translation management, SDL’s comprehensive Customer Experience Cloud has helped us deliver enhanced, personalized web experiences that engage our customers better, regardless of location or language.”

To overcome its global web frustrations and stay ahead of customer growth and expectations, Blackboard selected SDL technology, partnering with digital customer experience agency Tahzoo on the implementation. With SDL Web for web content management, Blackboard now has a mobile-responsive site, can better target personas and the solution’s open architecture allows for seamless integration with other systems and platforms. Additionally, by streaming its video content with SDL’s digital media management capabilities, Blackboard has the power to control, optimize and analyze the use of digital media assets, creating engaging experiences for customers.

Additionally, Blackboard has streamlined its production of web content with SDL, decreasing the time it takes to update content to just a few minutes, without editors needing any technical expertise or significant training. With an enhanced publishing process, Blackboard can now also easily localize and translate content, which means visitors can get the content they need quickly and in the right language. Following the implementation, the company is well-positioned for additional international growth as it works with SDL on continual enhancements to its website, including additional personalization capabilities.

With SDL, Blackboard has experienced the following results:

• Increased conversation rate by 14 percent year-over-year
• Decreased bounce rate by about 20 percent
• Increased time on site for mobile devices
• Increased website engagement
• Enhanced organic search rankings
• Decreased required web designers for production process from three to one

“To deliver superior experiences, brands must have a strategy in place which starts with listening to customers,” said Dominic Kinnon President – Global Customer Experience Solutions, SDL. “Blackboard has made it a priority to understand customer pain points, expectations and interests and we’re honored to partner with them to deliver a more intuitive, mobile-friendly, personalized and global web experience.”

To learn more about Blackboard’s work with SDL, check out the Blackboard customer page and visit the SDL blog.

About BlackboardBlackboard is the world's leading education technology company. We challenge conventional thinking and advance new models of learning in order to reimagine education and make it more accessible, engaging and relevant to the modern day learner and the institutions that serve them. In partnership with our customers and partners in higher education and K-12 as well as corporations and government agencies around the world, our mission is to help every learner achieve their full potential by inspiring a passion for lifelong learning. For more information about Blackboard, follow us on Twitter @Blackboard.

About SDLSDL (LSE: SDL) is the leader in global customer experience. With a completely integrated cloud solution for content management, analytics, language and documentation, SDL solves the complexity of managing your brand’s digital footprint as it grows across multiple languages, cultures, websites, devices and channels. Seventy-nine of the top 100 global companies trust SDL to help them create authentic, in-context customer experiences that drive demand and loyalty. SDL brings your brand to the world, and the world to your brand. Learn more at SDL.com. Follow SDL on Facebook and Twitter.

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