a new service that helps businesses deliver urgent and time-sensitive communications to employees and partners. XO Communications has joined with Blackboard Inc., a global leader in education technology and notification services, to offer XO Connect, the most robust multi-modal mass communication service for the commercial market.

XO Connect is an ideal solution for businesses and large enterprises that need to communicate information to thousands of individuals instantly and simultaneously. In times of crisis -- during hurricanes, tornados, and other weather-related events -- as well as in day-to-day business operations including conferences, sales meetings and managing remote employees -- businesses can use XO Connect to send customized voice, email and text messages to virtually any device. This powerful platform serves as a key component of effective business continuity plans and employee communications strategies.

"XO Connect can deliver thousands of messages simultaneously to multiple communication devices so businesses can keep employees and other key stakeholders connected, informed and prepared," said Vince Margiotta, vice president of product marketing at XO Communications. "In today's information-driven economy, maintaining communications is vital to ensuring that operations can be optimized while keeping employees safe and informed. XO Connect is a powerful tool for any organization's business continuity plans."

"Today's distributed and mobile workforce depends on rapid communication, especially during urgent events. The introduction of XO Connect offers organizations a simple and cost-effective solution to stay in contact with all their constituents no matter what the situation or challenge," said Edward Miller, President of Blackboard Connect.

XO Connect helps businesses address key challenges, including:

1. Communicating rapidly with employees during natural disasters or other unplanned events which may impact facilities or operations;
2. Notifying key stakeholders with updates on status and resolution strategies;
3. Sharing non-urgent information on organizational updates and sales activities and conference events; and
4. Providing a flexible and scalable communications platform that is available at any time without any equipment or per-message fees.

XO Connect is an extremely cost-effective and simple solution for communicating instantly with large numbers of individuals. Because XO Connect is a Software as a Service (SaaS) application, there is no capital investment in hardware or software required. In addition, XO Connect offers unlimited messaging at a low annual subscription fee per employee. There is never any charge for calls, and no fees for technical support, additional phone lines, maintenance or training. Lastly, the XO Connect platform allows groups to control and manage their users and send messages through an easy-to-use web interface or over the telephone.

About XO Communications

XO Communications, a subsidiary of XO Holdings, Inc., is a leading nationwide provider of advanced communications services and solutions for businesses, enterprises, government, carriers and service providers. Its customers include more than half of the Fortune 500, in addition to leading cable companies, carriers, content providers and mobile network operators. Utilizing its unique combination of high-capacity nationwide and metro networks and broadband wireless capabilities, XO offers customers a broad range of managed voice, data and IP services with proven performance, scalability and value in more than 75 metropolitan markets across the United States.

Information Source:    Business Wire