Asiim

Desire2Learn, the Ontario-based makers of one of the largest Learning Management Systems (LMS) that raised $80 million last year, has been going after M&A of late. Today, after buying student collaboration platform Wiggio and predictive analytics maker Degree Compass earlier this year, Desire2Learn is announcing that it has acquired Knowillage Systems, the creators of an adaptive learning and analytics engine that aims to help teachers improve student performance.

LeaP, Knowillage’s adaptive learning engine, enables teachers to personalize the learning path for their students using natural language processing techniques and analytics to understand where students are struggling with the material at hand. While there are many learning analytics options on the market today, the Vancouver-based company differentiates its service by then enabling teachers to provide the right tools and content to address the areas where they’re struggling.

The terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Desire2Learn VP of Marketing and Business Development Jeff McDowell did say that this is the company’s biggest acquisition yet and “fits in with the M&A” the company has pursued of late. Desire2Learn has become a real technology company, McDowell explains, citing the amount of data scientists it now employs, with the goal of removing the manual process of mapping outcomes.

“This isn’t about buying customers or market share,” the VP of Business Development says, “we want these acquisitions to align with the company that we want to build.” For the last two-and-a-half years, Knowillage has been building a platform focused on automating adaptive learning, but that’s not the only reason that the company attracted Desire2Learn.

The company’s leadership team collectively has decades of experience in this space, including veterans of WebCT (Blackboard’s online learning environment), who spent years helping Pearson build their digital education tools.

After leaving Pearson, the Knowillage founders developed patent-pending machine learning tech to help personalize the learning path for students by adjusting to learner’s interactions and performance, anticipating the content they would be needing. Beyond integrating with Moodle, Blackboard, Desire2Learn and Instructure (the largest LMSes), the tech can also be used by corporations looking to maximize their human capital, the founders said, helping them to understand and get a better picture of employee skill level and optimize training sessions.

“The modern classroom, whether it is in a school or a Fortune 500 organization, is dependent upon the personalization of educational content at scale to ensure student success and unlock vast human potential,” says Knowillage co-founder and CEO Bill Bilic. “Integrated with the Desire2Learn platform, Knowillage’s adaptive techniques will be available to organizations across the globe and thus more valuable and relevant than ever.”

Microsoft has announced that Steve Ballmer will retire as CEO within the next 12 months.

The company issued the statement this morning, adding that Ballmer will remain in post through its “transformation to a devices and services company that empowers people for the activities they value most.”

Ballmer says:

“There is never a perfect time for this type of transition, but now is the right time. We have embarked on a new strategy with a new organization and we have an amazing Senior Leadership Team.

My original thoughts on timing would have had my retirement happen in the middle of our company’s transformation to a devices and services company. We need a CEO who will be here longer term for this new direction.”

Ballmer joined Microsoft back in 1980, serving as the company’s thirtieth employee – he was actually the first business manager hired by Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, who Ballmer succeeded as CEO in 2000.

As Ballmer sees out the remainder of his time at Microsoft’s helm, the company’s Board of Directors has set up a committee to oversee the appointment of his successor. The committee will be chaired by John Thompson, and will also include Chairman of the Board Bill Gates.

“The board is committed to the effective transformation of Microsoft to a successful devices and services company,” adds Thompson. “As this work continues, we are focused on selecting a new CEO to work with the company’s senior leadership team to chart the company’s course and execute on it in a highly competitive industry.”

Here’s Steve Ballmer’s full statement from an internal email sent to staff:

“I am writing to let you know that I will retire as CEO of Microsoft within the next 12 months, after a successor is chosen. There is never a perfect time for this type of transition, but now is the right time. My original thoughts on timing would have had my retirement happen in the middle of our transformation to a devices and services company focused on empowering customers in the activities they value most. We need a CEO who will be here longer term for this new direction. You can read the press release on Microsoft News Center.

This is a time of important transformation for Microsoft. Our new Senior Leadership team is amazing. The strategy we have generated is first class. Our new organization, which is centered on functions and engineering areas, is right for the opportunities and challenges ahead.

Microsoft is an amazing place. I love this company. I love the way we helped invent and popularize computing and the PC. I love the bigness and boldness of our bets. I love our people and their talent and our willingness to accept and embrace their range of capabilities, including their quirks. I love the way we embrace and work with other companies to change the world and succeed together. I love the breadth and diversity of our customers, from consumer to enterprise, across industries, countries, and people of all backgrounds and age groups.

I am proud of what we have achieved. We have grown from $7.5 million to nearly $78 billion since I joined Microsoft, and we have grown from employing just over 30 people to almost 100,000. I feel good about playing a role in that success and having committed 100 percent emotionally all the way. We have more than 1 billion users and earn a great profit for our shareholders. We have delivered more profit and cash return to shareholders than virtually any other company in history.

I am excited by our mission of empowering the world and believe in our future success. I cherish my Microsoft ownership, and look forward to continuing as one of Microsoft’s largest owners.

This is an emotional and difficult thing for me to do. I take this step in the best interests of the company I love; it is the thing outside of my family and closest friends that matters to me most.

Microsoft has all its best days ahead. Know you are part of the best team in the industry and have the right technology assets. We cannot and will not miss a beat in these transitions. I am focused and driving hard and know I can count on all of you to do the same. Let’s do ourselves proud.

Steve”

Feature Image Credit – KIMIHIRO HOSHINO/AFP/Getty Images