WEST DES MOINES, IOWA, January 4, 2006 -- Frank Russell, president and CEO of GeoLearning, Inc., has been named the 2006 Entrepreneur of the Year by the Des Moines Business Record. The award is the topic of an article titled "Russell went online to take the road less traveled" that appears in the January 3, 2006 print issue and online.
Business Record staff writer Erin Morain wrote: "GeoLearning's Software as a Service model (SaaS) was not only cost effective but a way to set the company apart from its competitors. The GeoLearning staff became evangelists for that model, which has since proved to be on the cutting edge of technology. Last month, Microsoft founder Bill Gates called SaaS the next big revolution in software. That level of innovation and forward thinking has resulted in great success for GeoLearning."
GeoLearning´s Software as a Service model means its GeoMaestro and GeoExpress Learning Management System Suites are delivered entirely over the Internet. The Internet-hosted learning management platforms enable organizations to capture, create, manage and share knowledge to improve workforce productivity, accelerate critical business processes, and drive organizational performance. The systems centralize and automate the entire learning management process, making the administration of enterprise learning and development both effective and efficient.
"As long as you can get to the Internet and you can access all of this capability for training and education, why would you want to have to go through the great hassle and great expense and great risk of trying to put it on your own internal systems?" Russell is quoted in the article.
Under Russell´s direction, GeoLearning has grown to be the leading provider of hosted learning management platforms and training services to corporations and government agencies around the world. The company has grown more than 500% over the past four years, boasting an average annual growth rate better than 125%. More than 375 companies and government agencies have deployed GeoLearning´s Internet-based learning management platform, and rely on its learning services to drive employee and organizational performance.
GeoLearning´s successful strategy has been recognized several times of late. The company was named to Inc. Magazine´s list of the fastest growing private companies in America for the second consecutive year. GeoLearning jumped to #222 on the 2005 list (up from #367 in 2004) with a sales growth rate of 520.1% over the past three years. Russell´s company was also been recognized with several awards, including Human Resource Executive ® Magazine´s Top Training Product of 2005 for its GeoMaestro Learning Management Suite, TechLearn 2005 "Best of Show" for its Managed Learning Services, Software Magazine´s Software 500, the American Business Award as "Most Innovative Company", and earned a spot on Red Herring Magazine´s 2005 list of the top 200 technology businesses in North America. If that wasn´t enough, the company was also named to TrainingOutsourcing.com´s list of the "Top 20 Companies in the Training Outsourcing Industry" for a second straight year.
In 2005, Russell himself was named Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year ® in the Business Services category for the Central Midwest Region, as well as Small Business Person of the Year for the State of Iowa by the U.S. Small Business Administration.
About GeoLearning, Inc.
GeoLearning is the leading provider of Managed Learning Services and hosted learning technology. The company´s products and services are used by corporations, government agencies and non-profit organizations to manage human capital development, accelerate critical business processes and drive organizational performance. GeoLearning´s Software as a Service model means there is no hardware or software for clients to install. As a result, the company´s Web-based GeoMaestro and GeoExpress learning management platforms can be deployed quickly, allowing clients to efficiently manage enterprise-wide learning, development and knowledge acquisition. Additional information is available at www.geolearning.com