Macromedia Buys E-Learning VendorMacromedia Buys E-Learning Vendor

Macromedia Inc. this week jumped into the E-learning market by purchasing privately held Presedia Inc. and its main E-learning product, Express, in an undisclosed deal.

Presedia provides online presentation and E-learning tools for sales, marketing, and corporate communications groups. Macromedia plans to immediately sell and support Express, which uses Macromedia's Flash animation plug-in, and will adopt Novell, Sprint, and Wells Fargo as customers of Express.

Macromedia, which is well known for Web-development, entertainment, and digital rights-management tools, has a lesser reputation in the online-training market as an E-learning provider. However, company officials say customers are familiar with using Macromedia's technology and services for training purposes. For instance, Cisco Systems' equipment installers refer to an instructional Flash application that runs on a handheld wireless device to get diagrams and instructions on how to install equipment.