The Open University Selects Elluminate Live!(R) for Online Synchronous Collaboration

FT. LAUDERDALE, FL--(Marketwire - March 31, 2008) - Elluminate, Inc., a leading provider of live eLearning and web collaboration solutions for the real-time organization, announced today that The Open University (OU), the largest university in the United Kingdom and a pioneer of large-scale distance learning, has selected Elluminate Live!® as their enterprise synchronous collaboration solution. In addition, the OU will also integrate the virtual classroom with its chosen learning management system, Moodle™.

During the selection process, the OU began with 14 applicants from which 3 vendors were invited to tender proposals. Products were rated based on technical capabilities, accessibility for individuals with disabilities, and cross-faculty stakeholder and user evaluations that covered a range of essential and desirable criteria. Elluminate Live! scored the highest on user features and functionality and was also the strongest on technical requirements. The Elluminate solution met all the mandatory requirements stated in the invitation to tender and provided a stronger range of features suited to the teaching and learning needs of the OU.

"I'm delighted that The Open University has chosen Elluminate, which was the front-runner out of the many collaboration packages we evaluated," said Niall Sclater, Director, Virtual Learning Environment Programme. "The Elluminate tools have the potential to alter dramatically the learning experience for our nearly 200,000 distance learners, bringing them closer to each other and to their tutors. I'm looking forward to a productive partnership with Elluminate, ensuring that our extensive experience of distance learning can be used to further enhance a great set of tools for teaching and learning."

"I like the quick visual polling and indicators that students can give as to their understanding of the discussion without detracting from the discussion itself," said Rhodri Thomas, VLE Programme. "I also like the ability for students to catch up if their connection slows down by speeding up audio, and that the session moderators can see if large image files are visible to all participants before moving on."

"We are thrilled to welcome The Open University into the Elluminate family," said Maurice Heiblum, president of Elluminate, Inc. "As the largest Moodle implementation in the world, the OU will integrate Elluminate Live! to provide live, real-time online interactions for its entire faculty and student population, including a significant number of students with disabilities."

About The Open University

Founded in 1969, The Open University is the UK's largest university and the country's only university dedicated to distance learning. The OU is open to people, places, methods and ideas, promoting educational opportunity and social justice by providing high-quality university education to those who might otherwise be excluded. Today more than 180,000 students are interacting with the OU online from home. Approximately 70 percent of the university's 150,000 undergraduate students are employed full-time, 10,000 students have disabilities, and more than 25.000 students live outside the UK. For more information, visit www.open.ac.uk.

About Elluminate, Inc.

Elluminate, Inc. provides proven, best-in-class solutions for real-time online learning and collaboration that deliver exceptional outcomes, including enhanced learning experiences, increased retention and completion rates, and higher ROI. Elluminate Live! features high-quality voice over the Internet, robust interactive functionality, and unique No User Left Behind™ technology that supports multiple platforms and low-bandwidth connectivity. Elluminate has served more than 300 million web-collaboration minutes to over 3 million teachers and students located in 185 different countries.

Headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, and Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Elluminate is the trusted choice of prominent academic institutions and corporations, including ADP, Apple Computer, California State University, Duke University, Florida Virtual School, Georgetown University, Johns Hopkins University, K12, Inc., London Knowledge Lab, Los Angeles Unified School District, Miami-Dade County Public Schools, Novell, Queen's University, Royal Veterinary College, Red Hat, Sun Microsystems, and many more. The winner of several prestigious awards, the company is also one of Deloitte's 50 Fastest Growing Technology Companies and is positioned in the Visionaries Quadrant of the Gartner Magic Quadrant for Web Conferencing, 2007. For more information, visit http://www.elluminate.com.

Elluminate Live! is a registered trademark of Elluminate, Inc., Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

Contact Information: Contacts: Alisa Valudes/Shahed Ahmed Merritt Group (703) 390-1500