SmartForce Wins Training Company of the Year

Adds to two further awards received in the same week for Customer Satisfaction and Innovative Technology

REDWOOD CITY, Calif.-October 8, 2001
SmartForce (Nasdaq: SMTF), the world’s largest eLearning company, today announced it has been named the Training Company of the Year by Computing Magazine.

The Computing Magazine Awards for Excellence program was established to promote high standards of achievement and to serve as a benchmark for excellence. Computing magazine has recognizedSmartForce, in particular, for its market positioning and its impressive growth through high levels of customer satisfaction. As it continues to enhance the learning experience for individuals and organizations,SmartForce has implemented a number of notable learning solutions designed to help its customers achieve specific business results, from educating the extended enterprise and launching products faster, to reducing costs and driving business transformation.

“In a year when skills and the skills gap topped the editorial agenda for Computing, the judges were looking for a company that gave IT skills a business spin and established strong relationships with its learners. With an innovative portfolio of both content and technology, the judges found that in SmartForce,” according to the Computing Awards, Independent Judging Panel.

Earlier in the week SmartForce also received two awards for Excellence in eLearning for Innovative Technology and Customer Satisfaction. Presented by brandon-hall.com and Online Learning magazine, the Excellence in e-Learning awards program (formerly the “Brandon Hall of Fame Awards”) showcases exceptional work in the eLearning industry by providing feedback and benchmarking to entrants, in an overall effort to help advance the e-Learning industry.

The SmartForce simulation, “Strategic Selling,” honored in the Innovative Technology category, delivers to customers the experience of a dynamic, real-world environment. During the simulation, learners apply knowledge and skills to sales situations, interact with virtual characters, and consult a variety of resources such as email and customer records in order to meet specific business goals. SmartForceenriches the experience with streaming media technologies. Moreover, the simulation tracks learners’ performance and transforms this information into comprehensive feedback. For the Customer Satisfaction award, researchers gathered information from an online survey and ranked eLearning companies according to their customers’ ratings.

“As with any recognition that SmartForce receives, we are pleased to have been presented these awards,” said Greg Priest, chairman and CEO of SmartForce. “But we are particularly gratified by this recognition because the industry reputations of Computing magazine, brandon-hall.com and Online Learning magazine further validate the results-focused learning experience that SmartForce brings to its customers.