Last week, we tried to address concerns over the fact that Anthology, maker of Blackboard, Ally and Illuminate, had voluntarily filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
In it we provided a list of questions and point to raise with your organisations’ Anthology representatives.
Yesterday, Martyn Rollason the regional Director of Customer Service EMEA for Anthology got in touch to share the guidance he had passed to his staff to enable them to respond to those questions.
I’m pasting it here verbatim (with some formatting edits for WordPress accessibility) with thanks to Martyn.
You can download a PDF version as well.
Anthology – JISC Article Responses
October 6, 2025
Service continuity
- Ask for confirmation that your current Blackboard environment and SLAs are unaffected during the Chapter 11 process.
- All current Blackboard environment and SLAs are unaffected during the Chapter 11 process.
- Anthology is operating as usual, and there is no impact to our platforms or services.
- Confirm any planned change-freeze windows or service milestones you should be aware of (dates and scope).
- Any service milestones remain in place and should not be interrupted. Nothing changes until the close of a potential sale, and Anthology is continuing to operate as usual.
- Make sure your hosting model is on record and obtain written confirmation there is no change to data location.
- There are no planned changes to the hosting of our Teaching and Learning products.
Data protection (UK GDPR)
- Obtain confirmation that Anthology will continue to meet its UK GDPR Article 28 obligations as your data processor throughout the process.
- Anthology will continue to meet all obligations under the UK GDPR, the DPA 2018 and other applicable data protection laws as usual throughout this process—including our UK GDPR Article 28 obligations as data processor. The data protection addendum / clauses between Anthology and you and the related obligations and protections will remain unchanged throughout the process.
- Get clarification of sub processor stability (no changes planned; if changes are anticipated, please provide advance notice and details).
- Anthology is continuing to operate as usual, and you should see no changes to the Company’s ability to uphold sub-processor stability. If there are any changes to our sub-processors, you will be notified through our usual process at https://www.anthology.com/trust-center/sub-processors.
- Confirm that no organisational changes arising from the restructuring will alter how your personal data is accessed, processed, or transferred; if any changes are envisaged, please outline controls, locations, and safeguards.
- Until the close of a potential sale transaction, there will be no organizational changes arising from the restructuring. There will be no changes to our commitment to high standards of data protection obligations under the existing data processing addendum / clauses with you including our commitments regarding the access to, processing of and transfers of personal data. Hosting and access locations will not change during the process.
Product roadmap
- If applicable, ask for a short note confirming roadmap continuity for Learn Ultra and Ally through financial year 2025–26, including any material changes to release cadence or feature priorities.
- The roadmap for Blackboard and Ally is not impacted by this process. Once the process is complete our expectation is that we will be able to accelerate the development of new features.
Scope clarifications (divestitures)
- Confirm that your contract does not rely on services in the units due to be sold (Enterprise Operations, Lifecycle Engagement, Student Success). If there is any dependency, request information on the impact and proposed mitigations/novation path.
- If you do hold a contract with Anthology’s Enterprise Operations, Lifecycle Engagement or Student Success business, rest assured that its platforms and systems remain online and are fully functional. Anthology continues to remain focused on delivering the highest quality solutions to facilitate more efficient processes, cultivate innovation, and elevate the learner experience.
- Anthology recognizes that the sale process and subsequent integration efforts will take time and can lead to changes. The Company is committed to working with any potential buyer to move forward strategically to ensure a seamless transition for its customers.
Customer communications & documentation
- If they haven’t already provided one, request a formal customer letter explaining the implications for existing university clients.
- All customers that hold a contract with Anthology should have received a communication at the commencement of the process outlining what this means for you. If you did not receive a communication, the Company can circulate it accordingly.
- However, Anthology can reassure you that its platforms and systems remain online and are fully functional. Anthology continues to remain focused on delivering the highest quality solutions to facilitate more efficient processes, cultivate innovation, and elevate the learner experience.
Exports and exit-readiness
- Confirm that your content and data export capabilities (courses, assessments, gradebook, analytics) remain available and unchanged during the process.
- There should be no impact to any content and data export capabilities as a result of this process. Anthology’s platforms and systems remain online and are fully functional, and there should be no impact to the way you typically interact with the systems. You can continue to count on Anthology.
