Fronter Bases its New Platform on MySQL and other open source code

Uppsala, Sweden -- 20 February 2008 -- Fronter, a leading provider of online e-learning solutions, has chosen to base its new open platform on MySQL and other open source software products -- making it possible to satisfy customer demands for scalability and easy integration with other systems. This investment means a complete transition to platforms with open source code.

Fronter, headquartered in Norway, has enjoyed tremendous success with its learning platform for the education sector. Today, more than 3.8 million users in over 3,000 learning institutions in the UK, Europe and Nordic countries utilise the system to streamline both teaching and collaboration.

"We see several advantages with MySQL's software, which is easily scalable and offers reliable and stable functionality," says Roger Larsen, CEO of Fronter. "On a daily basis, our system's MySQL database handles up to 400,000 logins and an average of 20 million page views. We currently also support a proprietary database, but plan to phase it out and replace it with open source code. Evidence indicates that an open source codebase is easier and more affordable to set in operation and administer."

Fronter's new platform is entirely based on open standards and open source software products – the platform itself is also open to customers. This open strategy is an important part of the company’s business goals.

"It means that we can always offer competitive prices and satisfy our customers’ requirements, that we can support new technology and integration with other systems. This is crucial for our customers," Roger Larsen explains.

The Swedish Chalmers School of Continuing and Professional Studies, in charge of the university's commissioned courses and programmes, has been using Fronter’s platform for several years.

"Fronter's open philosophy and foundation in open source code was a primary factor when we selected the system since we required the option of integrating the platform with our own systems," says Hugo Landgren, Programme Designer, Chalmers School of Continuing and Professional Studies.

Magnus Stenberg, head of sales for MySQL AB in Scandinavia, comments:

"We are proud that Fronter has decided to expand with our database. Just a few years ago, it was relatively uncommon for companies to build solutions around open source, but the trend has shifted and is now driven by both the technical and business advantages of open solutions."

About FRONTER AS

• Roger Larsen is Fronter’s founder, CEO and international managing director.
• Bill Gayler is Fronter’s UK managing director.
• Fronter was founded in Norway in 1998 and is now available to more than 3 million users in 3,000 learning institutions through eight countries.
• Fronter is used by the National College for School Leadership (NCSL) for their talk2learn platform and works with a large number of UK schools, colleges and local authorities.
• Fronter is a 3-time winner of the European Gold Seal of E-Excellence.
• Fronter supports The London Grid for Learning, providing a filtered broadband connection, network services, a common learning platform, online content and support communities for all schools across London. It operates as a consortium of 33 Local Education Authorities. It was launched in June 2000, and aims to provide broadband connectivity to all 2,600 state schools in London by the end of 2006.

About MySQL

MySQL AB develops and supports a family of high-performance, affordable database products. The company's flagship offering is 'MySQL Enterprise', a comprehensive set of production-tested software, proactive monitoring tools, and premium support services.

MySQL is the world's most popular open source database software. Many of the world's largest and fastest-growing organizations use MySQL to save time and money powering their high-volume Web sites, business-critical systems and packaged software -- including industry leaders such as Yahoo!, Alcatel-Lucent, Google, Nokia, YouTube and Booking.com.

With headquarters in the United States and Sweden -- and operations around the world -- MySQL AB supports both open source values and corporate customers' needs. For more information about MySQL, please visit www.mysql.com.

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"MySQL" and "MySQL Enterprise" are registered trademarks of MySQL AB in the European Union, USA and other countries. Other product or company names mentioned may be trademarks or tradenames of their respective companies.