MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 7, 2006--SumTotal(R)
Systems (Nasdaq:SUMT) said that Cooper Tire & Rubber Company
(NYSE:CTB) has purchased SumTotal TotalLMS(TM) 7.1, an award-winning
enterprise software platform for managing talent and delivering online
learning. Providing top-notch training to its 9,000 employees around
the globe has always been a priority for Cooper Tire. And the new
learning management system (LMS) from SumTotal dovetails with Cooper's
commitment to innovation.
"Initially, the SumTotal system will offer our managers a
strategic and streamlined way to monitor certifications and track
training for health and safety as well as quality and environmental
standards," said Elicia Davis, development systems manager for Cooper
Tire. "This state-of-the-art, automated system will replace many of
the manual processes we've had in place across our plants for
monitoring certifications."
Cooper Tire has 59 manufacturing, sales, distribution, technical
and design facilities around the world. Before purchasing TotalLMS,
Cooper handled its training requirements in a largely decentralized
way. Each facility relied on separate systems to monitor its own
training records, schedules and certifications.
"We place a high premium on managing the development of our
employees, and this new system is an extension of a long-standing
commitment we've made to world-class training," said Davis. "Our
workforce has always taken training on an array of topics, but
TotalLMS will give our employees a single source for tracking and
managing all things related to training and professional development."
Beyond centralizing the tracking of all learning and development
at Cooper Tire, Davis says SumTotal's LMS will eventually offer a
web-based portal that delivers training to employees at any time of
day, from anywhere in the world. Davis added, "Fulfilling that vision
is still a couple of years away."
But once implemented, Cooper Tire will have a platform that
provides staff in Europe, Asia and North America with online learning
plans, web-based courses, a comprehensive catalogue of training
opportunities and a system for assessing employees' skills.
"Organizations, like Cooper, that are serious about measuring the
impact learning will have on employee performance, are implementing an
LMS as a critical first step," said Peter McStravick, senior research
analyst for Learning Services at IDC. "With an LMS in place, Cooper
can give its training program a competitive edge."
"We believe employers choose our system, in part, because it can
shoulder the burden of storing the massive amount of data tied to what
workers learn each day," said Don Fowler, chief executive of SumTotal,
"yet strategically steer workers to what they need to know in the
future to meet their company's goals."
About SumTotal Systems, Inc.
SumTotal Systems (NASDAQ:SUMT) is the largest provider of talent,
learning and business performance technologies and services. SumTotal
deploys mission-critical solutions that align talent and knowledge
with 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,
Frankfurt, Paris, Singapore, Sydney, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Hyderabad,
India. For more information about SumTotal's products and services,
visit www.sumtotalsystems.com.
SumTotal and the SumTotal logo are trademarks or registered
trademarks of SumTotal Systems, Inc. or its affiliates in the United
States or other countries. Other names may be trademarks of their
respective owners.
Safe Harbor Statement/ Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements. These
statements represent SumTotal Systems' expectations or beliefs
concerning future events. 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) the ability to
successfully implement SumTotal TotalLMS 7.1; (ii) unknown errors or
bugs in SumTotal TotalLMS 7.1; (iii) the inability to fix in a timely
fashion unanticipated bugs, errors or defects that materially impact
the functionality or usability of SumTotal TotalLMS 7.1; (iv) the
ability to successfully translate the implementation of SumTotal
TotalLMS 7.1 into efficiency gains and a competitive advantage; (v)
the acceptance of SumTotal TotalLMS 7.1 and future product offerings;
(vi) the ability to successfully address technological developments
and standards and changing client goals; (vii) 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 (viii) 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 company's annual report for fiscal year 2005 on Form
10-K filed March 28, 2006, the company's quarterly report on Form 10-Q
filed on August 8, 2006, and its Form 8-Ks. SumTotal Systems assumes
no obligation to update the information in this press release.
CONTACT: SumTotal Systems
Bill Perry, 614-975-7538
bperry[at]sumtotalsystems.com