This content was previously published by Blackboard, now part of Anthology. Product and/or solution names may have changed.

I would like to take a moment to reflect on 2020. The impact of the global pandemic changed education forever and can still be seen today. Throughout this difficult time, Blackboard has been proud to be your partner and help your institution support your learners and faculty.

I’m honored to share that in 2020 our Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region was the fastest-growing market at Blackboard. We welcomed 203 new clients across the region to the Blackboard family and renewed our partnerships with long-standing clients in the region. 

We hit significant milestones while moving our Blackboard Learn clients to SaaS and Ultra. We transitioned 52 clients across EMEA to SaaS, and we now have 173 clients on SaaS and 108 clients on Ultra. Globally, we have over 1,000 clients on Learn SaaS and 500 Learn clients using our Ultra experience. This means more clients than ever have continuous access to our latest innovation, as well as a stable and reliable teaching and learning environment. The average availability for Blackboard Learn was well above 99.999%.

We saw unprecedented increases in the usage of our products and services across EMEA this past year:

• 6x increase in alternative format usage in Blackboard Ally year-over-year
• 27.4 billion session minutes in Blackboard Collaborate, a 39x increase year-over-year 
• 1.6 million peak users in Blackboard Collaborate, a 13x increase year-over-year

We also welcomed new partners across EMEA, including OneConnect and Asknet Solutions to help support your institutions. This has enabled us to strengthen our presence across the region and expand our local teams to provide better, more hands-on, and comprehensive support to our growing network of clients. In addition, we expanded into Mozambique.

Our focus for 2021 is to deliver personalized learning experiences, fueled by data to advance learning. We will do this through understanding and tackling the next wave of challenges. Whether it means keeping students engaged in the face of continued online learning or embracing hybrid models as some parts of the region gradually return to in-person classes, we are committed to your success.

We know that you have a choice in who you do business with, and we are honored that you have chosen Blackboard as your partner. We look forward to continuing to serve you now and into the future.