PeopleSoft Expands its Lead in Learning Management(email this article)

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 23, 2003--Today at the Online Learning Conference and Expo, PeopleSoft Inc. (Company Profile, Past Stories, Case Studies) (Nasdaq:PSFT - News) announced the general availability of Enterprise Learning Management (ELM) 8.8, the latest release of PeopleSoft's industry-leading learning management solution. The new release of PeopleSoft® ELM offers customers new functionality and integration capabilities that streamline and automate the delivery of learning across the enterprise.
"PeopleSoft Enterprise Learning Management will meet the strategic business needs of our organization," said Clint Mahlman, vice president of Human Resources, London Drugs. "We will benefit from 'best-of-breed' Learning Management System functionality, integration with performance reviews, competencies and career and succession planning -- all of which are driven by PeopleSoft. By having a complete learning management solution, PeopleSoft will help us realize a lower total cost of ownership than if we had pieced together several niche solutions."

PeopleSoft Enterprise Learning Management 8.8 provides organizations with the following new features and benefits:

For the first time, organizations can optimize the delivery of learning and reduce costs by enabling "multi-modal" learning -- multiple delivery methods for a single learning activity such as an instructor led session, Web cast, lab, online testing and more.
ELM leverages PeopleSoft's proven General Ledger solution to create a sub ledger that streamlines the financial aspects of the learning business process by providing the ability to process charge backs, credit cards, purchase orders, training units, checks, and cash.
ELM's out of the box integration for virtual classroom capabilities with leading vendors including Centra, Interwise, and WebEx, allows organizations to reduce IT and infrastructure investments.
The solution also offers certification and curriculum support with pre-built business logic to automate the management of complex learning programs. The pre-built templates help ease the set-up and maintenance of programs, enabling organizations to manage multiple learning events within a single program.
The PeopleSoft ELM solution can anticipate learning needs within and beyond the enterprise and automatically recommend relevant learning to individuals, helping to close competency gaps and improve employee performance. For example, if a call center representative's time to complete a call exceeds the defined threshold, a message can be sent to the ELM system recommending that employee be enrolled in the appropriate training. Companies can also leverage PeopleSoft's Workforce Performance Solutions (WPS), an integrated suite of learning and performance management solutions. PeopleSoft WPS enables organizations to increase the impact of learning by tracking the impact of investments in training, employee development and performance on operating and financial results.

"As learning technologies evolve and budgets tighten, organizations need to optimize the training experience by using multiple learning formats to achieve a single learning goal," said Cushing Anderson, program director, Learning Services Research, IDC Research. "PeopleSoft meets this imperative with its ability to manage multi-modal experiences. Being able to create, deploy and manage complex, interdependent learning activities reflects a deep understanding of learning, lowers the administrative overhead and improves the delivery of complex learning concepts."

"In the past, organizations have lacked visibility into employee competencies because learning management and employee performance systems have typically existed in silos," said Doug Merritt, vice president and general manager, PeopleSoft HCM. "PeopleSoft's new ELM solution, integrated with our broader Workforce Performance Solutions suite, enables our customers to tie learning directly to employee and organizational goals. As a result, learning initiatives positively impact employee performance and ultimately an organization's bottom line."

PeopleSoft ELM, already widely adopted by customers worldwide, is offered as a stand-alone application and can be integrated with third-party human resources and financial management solutions. The new PeopleSoft ELM 8.8 solution is available immediately in English and will be released in additional languages throughout the fourth quarter of 2003.

About PeopleSoft

PeopleSoft (Nasdaq:PSFT - News) is the world's second largest provider of enterprise application software with 11,000 customers in more than 25 industries and 150 countries. For more information, visit us at www.peoplesoft.com.

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