Blackboard Inc. is an educational technology company with corporate headquarters in Washington, D.C.. It is known for its Blackboard Learn learning management system. The company's CEO is Jay Bhatt, who has led Blackboard since October 2012. The firm provides education, mobile, communication, and commerce software and related services to clients including education providers, corporations and government organizations. The software consists of seven platforms called Learn, Transact, Engage, Connect, Mobile, Collaborate and Analytics that are offered as bundled software. The firm was founded by Michael Chasen, Matthew Pittinsky, Stephen Gilfus and Daniel Cane in 1997, and became a public company in 2004. It operated publicly until it was purchased by Providence Equity Partners in 2011. As of January 2014
Cisco Systems, Inc. is an American multinational technology company headquartered in San Jose, California, that designs, manufactures, and sells networking equipment. Cisco is the worldwide leader in networking for the Internet, and it supports, manages and operates business systems for various and major third parties. Cisco Systems was founded in December 1984 by Leonard Bosack, who was in charge of the Stanford University computer science (CS) department's computers, and Sandy Lerner, who managed the Graduate School of Business' computers.