Will the e-learning tech behemoths reign supreme in the years to come?
My Google Alerts faithfully informed me this week that Blackboard Inc. is set to acquire ANGEL Learning by the end of this month. First thoughts… Why? The press release mentions that Blackboard:
- hopes to achieve great economies of scale with this takeover;
- will have access to Angel’s service expertise in K-12 and higher education;
- will also gain from the extended client base and the annual license revenues from Angel.
Fair enough. More clients, more subscriptions, more cost saving, and ultimately, more $$$. Perhaps that’s why this trend is being seen so intensely in the global marketplace with learning technology companies. The select few (3-4 tech companies), in a bid to outdo competition, are systematically absorbing the smaller ones. So what about this unstated motive – driving up market share by eliminating the competition? Will this trend continue in the coming years?
An Indian service provider we spoke to mentioned that innovation in the industry will actually be driven by the specialized small companies. But what about the biggest brands in learning technology, who are bent on buying out such healthy competition? In this instance, Blackboard mentions it will incorporate the best features from Angel’s platform in the future, but at what cost? Transitioning from one system to the other is laborious (and expensive) for clients, many of whom had switched to such partners to avoid dealing with the biggies. While the questions are unending, what remains to be seen is how the Course Management Systems market will pan out in the future, with such aggressive business tactics at play – will there be one mammoth CMS company left in the ring, battling the open source/free online learning alternatives community?
- Reetika
Last 5 posts by Reetika
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