Managing Mission Critical Applications Blackboard ASPSM Perspective

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Managing Mission Critical ApplicationsBlackboard
ASPSM Perspective
Presented by Ahmar Abbas, Director, Blackboard
ASP Services
April 13, 2005
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A word from our lawyers

• Any statements in this presentation about future
  expectations, plans and prospects for Blackboard
  and other statements containing the words
  "believes," "anticipates," "plans," "expects,"
  "will," and similar expressions, constitute
  forward-looking statements within the meaning of
  The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
  1995. Actual results may differ materially from
  those indicated by such forward-looking
  statements as a result of various important
  factors, including the factors discussed in the
  "Risk Factors" section of our most recent 10-K
  filed with the SEC. In addition, the
  forward-looking statements included in this press
  release represent the Company's views as of April
  11, 2005. The Company anticipates that subsequent
  events and developments will cause the Company's
  views to change. However, while the Company may
  elect to update these forward-looking statements
  at some point in the future, the Company
  specifically disclaims any obligation to do so.
  These forward-looking statements should not be
  relied upon as representing the Company's views
  as of any date subsequent to April 11, 2005.
  Blackboard, in its sole discretion, may delay or
  cancel the release of any product or
  functionality described in this presentation.

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Agenda

• Requirements of the Networked Learning
  Environment
• Five Reasons to Choose Blackboard ASP Services
• Reliability
• Security
• Scalability
• Fully Managed Service
• Cost Control
• Strategic Role of Blackboard ASP
• Summary

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The Networked Learning Environment
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The Blackboard Applications for aNetworked
Learning Environment
INSTITUTIONAL GROWTH
MISSION CRITICAL
EXPLORATORY
SUPPORTED
STRATEGIC
TRANSFORMATIVETHE NETWORKED LEARNING
ENVIRONMENT
BlackboardAcademic Suite
Blackboard Content System
Blackboard Content System
Blackboard Community System
Blackboard Community System
Blackboard Community System
Blackboard Learning System
Blackboard Learning System
Blackboard Learning System
Blackboard Learning System
Blackboard Learning System Basic Edition
Phase 2
Phase 3
Phase 4
Phase 5
Phase I
TIME
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Why Consider ASP Services?
INSTITUTIONAL GROWTH
MISSION CRITICAL
EXPLORATORY
SUPPORTED
STRATEGIC
TRANSFORMATIVETHE NETWORKED LEARNING
ENVIRONMENT

• Blackboard Applications are no longer optional
• 24/7/365 Availability Support is Mandatory
• Allows Institutions to Focus on Teaching and
  Learning
• Detailed Risk Assessment

Phase 2
Phase 3
Phase 4
Phase 5
Phase I
TIME
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Technology Risk Factors
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Reliability Build Redundancy Stability

• ASP Infrastructure located in Tier-1 Datacenters
  at the heart of the Internet (MAEast in Virginia)
• Multiple ISP connections to three Tier-1 ISPs for
  redundant access to Internet aggregate 2.4 Gbps
  capacity
• Multiple, Redundant Routers, Firewalls, Load
  Balancers, Switches Servers
• 4 levels of power backups for 100 power
  availability
• Climate control for optimal network environment

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Reliability - Network Design
Private Zone
Public Zone
Private Zone
Public Zone
Blackboard ASP VA1 Facility
Blackboard ASP VA2 Facility
Optical Fiber Ring Connection Between Facilities
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Scalability Build an Environment to Support
Growth

• Bandwidth and Storage is Never Capped
• Additional Bandwidth on Demand
• Available in 1 Mbps increments
• Additional Storage on Demand
• 10 GB unit increments for Learning System
• 1 TB unit increments for Content System
• Additional Servers Added as Needs Grow
• Additional Active Users Support
• Includes incremental bandwidth, storage and
  hardware
• Software Updates/Upgrades Made Easy

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Scalability Add Additional Services as Needed

• Staging Environment
• Designed for new release/updates simulation in
  production environment before migration to
  production
• Production Environment with full SLA guarantee
  backup
• 20 GB Storage space
• 24 x 7 monitoring management
• No root access allowed
• Test Development Environment
• Designed for test development
• Full root access given to clients
• Not in production environment
• 9 GB storage space
• No backup guarantee
• SSL VPN Services Also Available

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Scalability Complex Hosting Service for High
Availability Environments

• Developed for clients requiring high availability
  and performance oriented solutions Oracle RAC
  Mirrored Dedicated Arrays
• Three Components
• High Availability Infrastructure Design and
  Deployment
• Dedicated Complex Hosting Engineer/Manager
• Business Continuity Service

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Scalability Supporting Growth
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Scalability Business Continuity Service Levels
Recovery Time Objective (RTO) Recovery Point Objective (RPO) Customization Configuration
Locally hosted client
Weekly backup service 24 hours Last backup less than 8 days Fully backed up (if possible)
Monthly backup service 72 hours Last backup less than 32 days Rebuild
Incident-based service 120 hours Latest backup received N/A

Blackboard ASP hosted client
Level 3 Service 6 hours Last backup less than 3 hours Fully backed up
Level 2 Service 24 hours Last backup less than 12 hours Fully backed up
Level 1 Service 72 hours Last backup less than 24 hours Rebuild
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Security Protect Network and Backup Data

• Physical Security Tier-1 datacenter security
  including
• limited access to authorized personnel
• identification badges
• security cameras
• 24x7 on-site security
• Network Security Including
• Firewall Intrusion Detection System
• Full-time Security Engineer
• Third Party Audit
• Data Security Multiple levels of database and
  file backup

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Security Data Backups

• 1st level backupusing snapshot technology, file
  systems database backed up daily
• 2nd level backupusing NetApp filers, 1st level
  backups are stored online at separate datacenter
  for 30 days
• 3rd level backupweekly backups are stored in
  tape, off-site for 30 days

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Fully Managed Service 24x7 Operations and Support

• One Stop Client Support from experts who design
  and host the software
• Services backed up by 99.7 Availability
  Guarantee credit issued for violations
• 24 x 7 ASP Support
• Dedicated Application Support Manager
• Single Point of Contact for Blackboard Software
  and Hosting
• Two Designated Client System Administrators
• Phone, Web and Email based Ticketing System
• Escalation and Response Time based on Severity
• All Upgrade and Patch Applications Provisioned by
  Experienced Professionals

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Fully Managed Service Backed by Team of Experts
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ASP Operations Team Constantly Expanding in
Depth and Breadth of Talent and Skill Set

• 35 Member Strong
• Dedicated to only Blackboard ASP Clients
• Includes DBAs, Network Engineering, Storage
  Engineers, Operating System Specialist, Backup
  Technology Specialists
• 25 Different Technology Certifications
  including
• Linux OS
• Oracle DBA, Tuning, High Perf
• Application Acceleration
• Storage and Backup Mgmt

Shift 1
Shift 1
Shift 1
Follow the Sun Coverage
Shift 2
Shift 2
Shift 3
Shift 3
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Fully Managed Service Infrastructure Monitoring
and Management

• Key Performance Metrics polled every 5 minutes
• cpu 5-minute load average
• disk free on local mount points
• nfs free on NFS mount points
• msgs scanning syslog for key words
• memory real, virtual and swap
• procs scanning ps output
• Obak Oracle backup status
• ofiles Oracle data/index file sizes
• files other file/directory sizes
• svcs Windows Services checking
• Application Check for Response Time

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Fully Managed Service Bandwidth Utilization
Report
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Cost Control Lower Costs than Self-Hosted

• By hosting their Blackboard systems through
  Blackboard ASP Services, institutions realize
  significant savings when compare to hosting the
  systems on campus.
• Baseline 3 year savings depend on the type of
  implementation
• Blackboard Learning System Basic Edition
  120,600
• Blackboard Learning System 392,200
• Blackboard Academic Suite 439,200

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Cost Control Lower Costs than Self-Hosted
3 Year Total Cost of Ownership Analysis
Blackboard Learning System Basic Edition
Self-Hosted
Blackboard ASP
One-Time Implementation Costs
36,600


Service Setup Fee
0


Server hardware
6,000


Includes dedicated
Network hardware
12,000


application database
Backup hardware
6,000


servers, network
Database software license
0


infrastructure, backup
Monitoring system software
5,000


infrastructure, monitoring
Backup system software
5,000


software and systems, Tier-1
Implementation personnel

data center and professional
1,600
Staff training
1,000


implementation
Annual Management Costs
58,000


Annual Subscription Fee
30,000


IT Management
30,000


Includes 24 x 7 customer
Application Administration
-


support and management,
System Administration
-


dedicated Application
Database Administration
25,000


Support Manager, team of
Hardware Administration
-


database administrators
Bandwidth Network
3,000


network engineers
TOTAL COST OF OWNERSHIP (3 YEAR PLAN)
158,600 (3 x 126,000)
210,600


20,000 (3 x 42,000)
90,000


TOTAL SAVINGS BY CHOOSING BLACKBOARD ASP
SOLUTION
120,600


Assumes a Red Hat Linux/Oracle implementation on
Dell Hardware Assumes 20 of time of personnel
is used for ongoing management
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Cost Control Lower Costs than Self-Hosted
3 Year Total Cost of Ownership Analysis
Blackboard Learning System
Self-Hosted
Blackboard ASP
One-Time Implementation Costs
160,200

Service Setup Fee
0

20,000
Server hardware
12,000

Includes dedicated
Network hardware
47,000

application database
Backup hardware
12,000

servers, network
Database software license
12,000

infrastructure, backup
Monitoring system software
20,000

infrastructure, monitoring
Backup system software
50,000

software and systems, Tier-1
Implementation personnel
3,200

data center and professional
Staff training
4,000

implementation
Annual Management Costs
126,000


Annual Subscription Fee
42,000


IT Management
30,000

Includes 24 x 7 customer
Application Administration
25,000

support and management,
System Administration

20,000
dedicated Application
Database Administration
25,000

Support Manager, team of
Hardware Administration

20,000
databse administrators
Bandwidth Network
6,000

network engineers
TOTAL COST OF OWNERSHIP (3 YEAR PLAN)
160,200 (3 x 126,000)
538,200


20,000 (3 x 42,000)
146,000


TOTAL SAVINGS BY CHOOSING BLACKBOARD ASP
SOLUTION
392,200


Assumes a Red Hat Linux/Oracle implementation on
Dell Hardware Assumes 20 of time of personnel
is used for ongoing management
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Cost Control Lower Costs than Self-Hosted
3 Year Total Cost of Ownership Analysis
Blackboard Academic Suite
Self-Hosted
Blackboard ASP
One-Time Implementation Costs
180,200

Service Setup Fee
0

35,000
Server hardware
18,000

Includes dedicated
Network hardware
47,000

application database
Backup hardware
24,000

servers, network
Database software license
12,000

infrastructure, backup
Monitoring system software
20,000

infrastructure, monitoring
Backup system software
50,000

software and systems, Tier-1
Implementation personnel
3,200

data center and professional
Staff training
6,000

implementation
Annual Management Costs
158,000


Annual Subscription Fee
60,000


IT Management
37,500

Includes 24 x 7 customer
Application Administration
31,250

support and management,
System Administration

25,000
dedicated Application
Database Administration
31,250

Support Manager, team of
Hardware Administration

25,000
database administrators
Bandwidth Network
6,000

network engineers
TOTAL COST OF OWNERSHIP (3 YEAR PLAN)
180,200 (3 x 158,000)
654,200


35,000 (3 x 60,000)
215,000


TOTAL SAVINGS BY CHOOSING BLACKBOARD ASP
SOLUTION
439,200


Assumes a Red Hat Linux/Oracle implementation on
Dell Hardware Assumes 25 of time of personnel
is used for ongoing management
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Strategic Role of ASP in Blackboards Business
Trajectory

• Strategic Emphasis on Blackboard ASP as a way of
  delivering a galvanizing learning experience
  backed by Board Level engagement and support for
  2X capital expenditure and operational growth
• Blackboard ASP Performance now tracked by
  financial Analysts and a on quarterly basis
• Quarterly audits by Corporate Auditors of ASP
  Clients for service review
• 13 of Top 20 Blackboard Clients based on Revenue
  are ASP Clients
• 2004 A Record Year for ASP
• Number of New Clients
• Mix to Large/Medium/Small Clients Drastic Shift
• Growth and Expansion of Existing Clients

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Expanding Blackboard Investment Significantly
1-2Q 04
3-4Q 04
1-2Q 05
3-4Q 05
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Storage expansion Third Party Vulnerability
Analysis Visa CISP Certification Process
Investment
Intrusion Detection Netcool Fault Mgmt
System Uptime Systems Agent NTOP Internet Service
Monitors
Data Center (Reston) 2.5 Gbps Wavelength
Connectivity Between Two Data Centers On-line
Offsite Backup at New Data Center New Switching
Infrastructure New Storage Infrastructure
New Networking Infrastructure 4 x 1000 Gbps
Internet Links TCP Offloading Technology Compress
ion Technology Caching Implementation New Load
Balancing Infrastructure ASP Testing Lab
Data Center (London) Global Caching Clustering
Storage Solutions Internet Service Monitors for
HTTP, HTTPS, LDAP deployed remotely Load
Generation
485K
613K
1,100K
1,030K
1,030K
target dates only
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Build-out with Max Headroom
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Infrastructure Expansion Supported by Tools
Development

• ASP Opsmart Inventory and Change Management
  System Links Directly to Peoplesoft to pick
  client information
• Over 800 database entries manually verified
• Change Management System and Calendar Deployed
• NetCool Fault and Systems Management
• Receiving Traps from Filers, IDS, Firewalls,
  Switches
• All Big Brother Alerts
• NetCool ISM Infrastructure Monitoring
• Ping all Blackboard ASP Servers and Networking
  Equipment
• HTTP Checks against all xxx.blackboard.com URLs
• HTTPS/Transaction Test against a few clients
• Uptime Systems Management
• Installed on all Blackboard Servers
• All Enterprise clients monitored
• NTOP Network Statistics Collection
• Collecting information on all Traffic Coming into
  ASP Data Center
• ASP Insight Customer Statistics (available to 6
  beta clients and for internal use)

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Results From Technology Investments

• Storage infrastructure CPU that was peaking at
  90 now peaks at 25
• Load Balancer CPU Utilizations at less than 11
• Routers processing capacity less that 15
  utilized
• 60 of Requests being answered with objects in
  caching system
• 40 of Requests fully being answered with
  objects in the cache
• Networking Utilization at Semester Peaks is less
  than 8 utilized

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2004 Service Quality Trajectory Change Requests
Requiring System Touch Reducing
One in every 7 tickets requires system
touch Includes upgrades/update requests Quarterly
Trend over last 4 quarters towards Minimizing
system change activities
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Summary Blackboard ASP Core Offerings
Blackboard Learning System - Basic Edition
Blackboard Academic Suite
Blackboard Learning System

• Description
• Intel Xeon 3.1 GHz Multiprocessor Application /
  Database Server
• 10 GB of Storage
• 256 Kbps of Bandwidth
• Up to 3,000 Users
• 99.7 Availability SLA

• Description
• Intel Xeon 3.1 GHz Multiprocessor Application
  Server
• Intel Xeon 3.1 GHz Multiprocessor Database Server
• Oracle Standard Edition
• Advanced Reporting System
• 20 GB of Storage
• 512 Kbps of Bandwidth
• Up to 8,000 Users
• 99.7 Availability SLA

• Description
• 2 Intel Xeon 3.1 GHz Multiprocessor Application
  Servers
• Intel Xeon 3.1 GHz Multiprocessor Database Server
• Oracle Standard Edition
• Advanced Reporting System
• 40 GB of Storage
• 1 Mbps of Bandwidth
• Up to 8,000 Users
• 99.7 Availability SLA

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Summary Blackboard ASP Value Added Services

• Staging Environment Hosting
• System hosted in production datacenter
• 99.7 Availability
• Daily Backups
• Test and Development Hosting
• System hosted in non-production datacenter
• Client has root access to system
• No SLA
• Virtual Private Network
• VPN configured and managed by Blackboard
• 128 Bit Encrypted communication between
  Institution and the ASP hosted site
• SSL
• SSL key provided
• Encrypted access to web pages
• High Availability Hosting

• Business Continuity Service
• Host locally or ASP but use Blackboard ASP
  services for peace of mind
• Guaranteed Mean Time to Recover
• Complex Hosting Technical Management
• Dedicated technical management and support for
  complex clients
• On-Demand Storage/BW
• Additional Storage and BW service units

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Summary Blackboard ASP Services Fast Facts

• Over 300 Customers from All Market Sectors
• Over 3 Million Users in our Systems Over 2
  Million Enrolled Users
• 500,000 Courses
• 1000 Servers
• 11 Terabytes of Storage Capacity Growing
• 7 Terabytes of Data Transferred Daily
• 72,000,000 HTTP Requests Served Per Day
• 99.7 or Better Uptime Guarantee

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Expanding Global Customer Base
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Summary Blackboard ASP Services Supporting Key
Global Blackboard Clients since 1999
Publishers
Higher Education
Government

• Pearson plc
• Houghton Mifflin
• Reed Elsevier
• LexisNexis
• Thomson Learning

• National Defense University
• Naval Postgraduate School
• USDA Graduate School
• Naval War College
• FAO Chile

• Embry Riddle Aeronautical University
• University of Miami
• San Francisco State University
• Georgia Virtual Technical Colleges
• Lakeland College

Corporate
Commercial
K-12

• Mitsubishi Corporation
• Morgan Stanley
• Manulife Financial
• American Bankers Association
• Marsh, Inc.

• Voyager Expanded Learning
• KC Distance Learning
• Spectrum Pacific Learning
• Laureate, Inc.
• Kaplan

• Fairfax County Public School
• Columbus Public Schools
• Idaho Digital Learning Net
• Second Baptist School
• Wichita Public Schools