BC Hydro Accelerates Employee Productivity With Live Web-Based Training and Support Programs

Business Wire, August 19, 1998

LEXINGTON, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 19, 1998--

Canada's Third Largest Utility Will Use Symposium from Centra

Software to Deliver Information Technology Training to Employees

over the Internet

Centra Software, Inc., the world leader in Web-based software and services for enterprise learning and collaboration, today announced that BC Hydro, Canada's third largest utility, has selected Symposium to provide end user training and support for new IT initiatives. Symposium uniquely empowers globally dispersed participants to communicate, interact, and share enterprise knowledge assets via any Web browser and multimedia PC over a LAN, 28.8 modem, or Internet connection.

Working with GP Learning Technologies, a distribution partner for Centra in the U.S. and Canada, BC Hydro selected Symposium because it proved to be a robust and intuitive collaborative learning system for training both technical and non-technical employees regardless of their location.

According to Ian Daniel, Manager of Product Development in the Business Improvement Department of BC Hydro, "I believe that once the organization has had the opportunity to see Symposium in action, it will become the obvious solution for internal training groups that need to deliver an array of training programs in a short period of time in order to meet our business objectives. Year 2000 training issues that will engage much of our staff will stand to benefit the most from our Symposium deployment."

Symposium Enterprise Learning and Collaboration

Symposium is the first software-only system for the integrated delivery and management of live group collaboration, self-paced learning, and asynchronous communication across the enterprise via intranets and the Internet. The award-winning product, now in its second release, integrates high quality, Web-based audio conferencing, live application sharing, collaborative whiteboard, online breakout sessions, computer-based training (CBT), and threaded discussion forums in a comprehensive and easy-to-use online learning environment. A total enterprise system, Symposium also supports streamlined content migration, online registration, automated assessment and reporting, and links to established databases.

"We believe that learning and collaboration delivered by Symposium is an essential component of a deliberate, well-planned, and comprehensive program for new technology issues throughout an enterprise," said Leon Navickas, President and CEO of Centra Software. "Symposium will assist employees of BC Hydro to improve their understanding of an entire range of issues supporting the task of becoming millennium-compliant."

About BC Hydro

BC Hydro is the third largest utility in Canada and serves almost 1.5 million customers in an area containing over 94% of British Columbia's population. A provincial Crown Corporation, BC Hydro reports to the Minister of Employment and Investment and generates between 43,000 and 54,000 gigawatt-hours of electricity annually, depending on prevailing water levels. For more information visit the BC Hydro web site at http://www.bchydro.bc.ca or contact Ian Daniel at ian.daniel@bchydro.bc.ca.

About Centra Software

Centra is the world leader in software and services for delivering and managing enterprise learning and collaboration over corporate intranets and the Internet. Centra was founded in 1995 by Leon Navickas, former general manager of advanced R&D for the Notes groupware product at Lotus Development Corporation. Funded by some of the top venture capital firms in the U.S., Centra helps Fortune 1000 companies and others to improve organizational productivity and skills by harnessing the Internet and any multimedia PC as a vehicle for delivering live, interactive group learning and collaboration. Headquartered in Lexington, Massachusetts, Centra has sales offices in New York, Chicago, and San Francisco. Visit the Centra Web site at www.centra.com or contact Ellen Slaby at (781) 994-1068 or eslaby@centra.com.

CONTACT: Centra Software, Inc.

Ellen Slaby, (781) 994-1068

eslaby@centra.com