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AvePoint Launches SaaS Platform for Higher Education

The global data management company is investing in purpose-built software for higher education after seeing revenue growth in 2020, as well as a rise in demand for advanced digital education tools.

A sidewalk surrounded by grass leading to a building in the distance.
University of Michigan campus. Higher ed budgets will be prime targets for state revenue cutbacks. (Photo: Shutterstock)
Typically focused on cloud migration, security and other services for government and small businesses, the data management company AvePoint is getting into the global higher education market with a new software-as-a-service platform.

As described in a recent news release, the EduTech platform encompasses three separate SaaS tools designed to work with Microsoft 365: Curricula, a learning management system for tasks such as curriculum planning, course scheduling and attendance tracking; Examena, for building, proctoring and scoring exams, including facial recognition and anti-cheat systems built on artificial intelligence; and Vitae, a communications tool to manage correspondence with students, alumni, donors and partners.

According to a blog from Chief Customer Officer Thomas Lin on the company’s website, the EduTech platform was built upon AvePoint’s prior work with higher education institutions such as Republic Polytechnic in Singapore. Lin cited a recent report from the market research company IDC that found that 99.4 percent of higher education institutions, out of more than 500 surveyed, believe there are multiple use cases for AI in their institutions.

Annie Koh, an adviser to AvePoint and a professor at Singapore Management University, echoed that sentiment in a public statement.

"We believe the higher education model will change more in the next five years than it has in the last 100 years. COVID-19 has been a shock to a system that hasn't quite evolved from the physical classroom model of teaching and learning," she said. "Even after the pandemic has passed, the institutes of higher learning that understand the future is in developing a modular, learn-everywhere environment with rich online collaboration — they are the ones that will thrive."

Headquartered in Jersey City, N.J., AvePoint counts more than 7 million cloud users, estimated last year’s revenue growth at over 25 percent and announced in November that it’s going public via a $2 billion merger with Apex Technology Acquisition Corp.