"The software was thoroughly tested in our classrooms and we gave professors a chance to revise and refine them from insights gained in class discussion before offering them for sale," said Segal.

Segal added that cases used in the first year MBA program beginning last fall will be published shortly, after they have undergone a similar comprehensive testing program.

"The software is meant to enhance the case method of teaching, not replace it or redirect it," Segal emphasized.

Professor Robin Cooper, who uses the software in his required first year MBA course on cost accounting, commented that "It's a very good tool for learning but it's only one tool out of many. It's not going to dominate business school education."

"The computers give students the ability to see the real world much clearer. They provide a multi-data, conceptually rich environment for teaching issues." Cooper said, adding that "the software does not eliminate the need for students to make calculations but it allows them to do 1000 instead of 10 or 20."

The effect of this access to broader data samples, he added, is that "instead of one product solutions for multi-product companies, we can teach multi-product solutions for multi-product companies" which will "in time affect actual business practices.