MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--Jan. 5, 2006--SumTotal(TM) Systems, Inc.
(NASDAQ:SUMT), the largest provider of learning and business
performance technologies and services, said that Las Vegas-based Ahern
Rentals has purchased TotalLMS(TM), TotalCollaboration(TM) and
TotalAccess(TM), which are software applications that strategically
manage workforce knowledge and performance.
"We're seeing a tremendous rate of growth in our industry, and to
stay ahead of that curve we need to bring skilled labor and mechanics
up to speed quickly on our equipment and processes," said Shane
Stigler, director of information technology for Ahern Rentals. "If we
had to rely solely on our on-the-job mentoring program for training
new mechanics, then we'd not only slow down the pace at which our most
experienced staff were working but also create a bottleneck for
bringing new hires on board. SumTotal is critical to our mission to
grow our business."
Ahern's mentoring program won't go away. But the Las Vegas-based
company will augment the program with SumTotal's learning management
system (LMS), which will provide a blended solution. The LMS, which
delivers, tracks and analyzes targeted learning over the Internet,
will ensure that, among other things, new hires across each state are
brought up to speed on Ahern's equipment in the same way.
"We also want to lift some of the burden of training off the
shoulders of our experienced mechanics, so we're looking to SumTotal's
TotalCollaboration product to help us capture what our experts know,
organize it and share it with new hires," added Stigler.
TotalCollaboration gives employees a way to tap immediate answers
from company experts by storing what specialists know and serving up
the answers via methods such as threaded discussions. Because Ahern's
employees are scattered across seven states in far-flung locations,
the company purchased TotalAccess to give workers a way to tap into
learning offline through one-click downloads to computers at home or
work. Employees can then synchronize their work once they connect with
Ahern's network.
"The essence of what we do is improving talent and performance
across the enterprise," said Don Fowler, SumTotal's chief executive
officer. "We believe Ahern Rentals is an excellent example of how
customers can apply our solution to meet their most-pressing needs.
Ahern can get new hires up to speed more quickly and provide learning
in a variety of methods, including off-line accessibility."
About SumTotal Systems, Inc.
SumTotal Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:SUMT) is the largest provider of
learning and business performance technologies and services. SumTotal
deploys mission-critical solutions that align learning with
organizational and business goals to generate significant bottom-line
results. With more than 17 million users worldwide, SumTotal has
helped accelerate performance and profits for more than 1,500 of the
world's best-known companies and government agencies including
Accenture, Aetna, Cendant, DaimlerChrysler, Delta Air Lines,
Harley-Davidson, Microsoft, Novartis, PNC Bank, U.S. Army, U.S. Air
Force, U.S. Navy, U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Bancorp, United Airlines,
Vodafone, Wachovia and Wyeth. SumTotal has offices throughout the
United States, in London, Paris, Singapore, Sydney, Tokyo, Hong Kong
and Hyderabad, India. For more information about SumTotal's products
and services, visit www.sumtotalsystems.com.
Safe Harbor Statement/ Forward-Looking Statements
Information in this press release contains forward-looking
statements. These statements represent SumTotal Systems' expectations
or beliefs concerning future events and include statements, among
others, regarding SumTotal Systems' new product, SumTotal Enterprise
Suite 7.1. These statements are not historical facts or guarantees of
future performance or events and are based on current expectations,
estimates, beliefs, assumptions, goals and objectives, and involve
known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may
cause actual results to be materially different from the results
expressed or implied by these statements. Readers of this press
release are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any
forward-looking statements. Additional factors that could cause actual
results to differ include, but are not limited to (i) unknown errors
or bugs in SumTotal Enterprise Suite 7.1; (ii) the inability to fix in
a timely fashion unanticipated bugs, errors or defects that materially
impact the functionality or usability of SumTotal Enterprise Suite
7.1, or unanticipated problems in customer upgrades to SumTotal
Enterprise Suite 7.1 from prior SumTotal products (iii) unexpected
shipment problems or delays of SumTotal Enterprise Suite 7.1; (iv)
customers or partners delaying purchasing or upgrade decisions until
there is widespread market acceptance of SumTotal Enterprise Suite
7.1; (v) the acceptance of SumTotal Enterprise Suite 7.1 and future
product offerings; (vi) the ability to successfully implement SumTotal
Systems' solutions; (vii) the ability to successfully address
technological developments and standards; (viii) the ability to
successfully manage growth, significant current and expected
additional competition, and the need to continue to expand product
distribution and services offerings; and (ix) other events and other
important factors disclosed previously and from time to time in
SumTotal Systems' filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission,
including the annual report for fiscal year 2004 on Form 10-K and its
quarterly reports for the first, second and third quarter of fiscal
year 2005 on Form 10-Q filed August 1, 2005, August 9, 2005, and
November 9, 2005, respectively.
CONTACT: SumTotal Systems, Inc.
Bill Perry, 614-975-7538
bperry[at]sumtotalsystems.com