B2B Technologies, GSU Extend Collaborative Portal to Alumni

Atlanta, Georgia - June 10, 2005 - B2B Technologies, a leading e-business technology expert and Microsoft Gold Certified Partner, and Georgia State University recently extended its realtime collaborative portal to alumni. The portal, which links students, faculty and staff at the J. Mack Robinson College of Business, now enables alumni to stay in touch with the school and each other after graduation. Robinson's EMBA Program, where the portal is in use, is ranked among the best in the world by BusinessWeek and London's Financial Times.

"Having an active alumni association, like ours, is a big plus when recruiting students," said David Forquer, Assistant Dean for Executive Programs, GSU. "In fact, our alumni continue to be one of the college's strongest referral sources. Because so many of our graduates work for Fortune 500 companies, our students and our school benefit by staying in touch with these influential graduates."

In the first phase of the portal project, B2B Technologies used Microsoft's SharePoint and Live Communications Server, an instant messaging tool, to link students, faculty and staff in a secure, realtime environment. Authentication occurs each time a user signs in, assuring that only authorized parties use the portal. Faculty can post course outlines, assignments, document libraries and links to pertinent research, which students then access at their convenience. In addition, students on any academic project team can "see" who is online at any time and can pose questions that can be answered in realtime or held until a subject matter expert becomes available.

Connecting alumni into this portal was the focus of the portal project's second phase, which was recently completed. More than just a social network, GSU EMBA's portal helps alumni share information about job leads, relocation possibilities and events of interest. In addition to accessing the alumni directory, graduates can visit the site to check the school's current educational offerings and activities, refer a friend to the college, review and post events to the calendar and make a donation. Because the portal feeds an existing customer relationship management (CRM) system, each interaction can be captured and archived for future use.

"Portals are rapidly becoming a competitive advantage for progressive colleges and universities that position themselves as tightly knit communities - before and after graduation," said Frank Fuerst, president, B2B Technologies. "Because the majority of graduate students are already familiar with Microsoft products, they find the portal easy to use and invaluable resource."

About B2B Technologies
B2B Technologies, a leading e-business technology expert and Microsoft Gold Certified Partner, helps mid-market companies in the manufacturing, financial services and education sectors derive maximum business benefits from the latest Microsoft and e-business technologies. B2B Technologies is a privately held company based in Atlanta, Georgia. For more information, visit the company's web site, www.b2btech.com.