SVI Helps Indiana Teachers Keep Pace with Microsoft Desktop Software

Business Wire, June 5, 2000

Business/Lifestyle Editors & High Tech Writers

San Diego--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 5, 2000

Four Indiana Educational Service Centers contract with SVI for

Microsoft Office and other desktop software training and skills

assessment tools

SVI (AMEX:SVI) announced today that four Indiana Educational Service Centers have contracted with its SVI Training Products subsidiary for the company's desktop software training and skills assessment tools. Included in the contract is Customizer 2000(TM), an instructor-led PC applications training tool, and compAssess(TM), a PC applications skills assessment tool. Customizer 2000 will allow the Indiana Educational Service centers to design state-of-the-art training programs. Combined with compAssess to measure the teachers' skills after training, Indiana will be assured their teachers have the PC skills they need in today's technology-based educational environment.

Indiana has nine School Regions and each Region has its own Educational Service Center to help school districts with a number of activities including technical training coordination and support. SVI Training Products has delivered over 200 PC courses to the Indiana Educational Centers and to various Indiana school districts. These courses will allow the school districts within each Educational Center to expand their staff development efforts across a variety of the most popular PC software applications. Each course comes with step-by-step instructor-led training manuals and slide presentations as well as the company's Customizer 2000 and compAssess training and assessment tools.

Customizer 2000 is a software program that works with SVI's range of instructor-led PC courseware. It enables trainers to mix applications and chapters for various training class lengths and content requirements. It also allows users to create custom courseware based on SVI products easily and quickly. Additionally, all of the Microsoft(R) Office 2000 and most of the Microsoft Office 97 courseware is MOUS (Microsoft Office User Specialist) approved.

CompAssess is a skills assessment and testing software program that simulates the software on which the students are being assessed. The software has approximately 1,800 built-in performance-based questions. In addition, users can customize the tests and create their own questions. By using hands-on testing, with simulated program screens, compAssess goes well beyond simple multiple choice or True/False testing.

"The SVI Customizer has been an invaluable tool for us in our efforts to standardize the training materials used in our district. Our ability to easily create materials for student and staff development as well as our Community classes has been greatly enhanced," said Robert Rodman, Director of Technology for Hamilton Southeastern Schools.

"Our training products give schools the tools they need to train and evaluate their teachers in software applications like Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Publisher as well as other desktop applications. We've made it easy for schools to customize their training programs to fit their requirements and then assess how well teachers have learned the applications," commented Arthur Klitofsky, President of SVI Training Products. "What's more, schools can use these training tools in their adult education classes as well as their regular student programs to help students gain important certifications like MOUS," he concluded.

About SVI

SVI, headquartered in San Diego, CA, addresses two primary markets: Retail Information Systems and Instructor-led PC Applications Training and Assessment Systems. Through its subsidiary, SVI Retail, it is focused on becoming a leading global provider of multi-channel software solutions for the retail industry, including e-commerce applications as well as supply chain, in-store and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems. Through its SVI Training Products subsidiary, the company markets customizable desktop training applications as well as skills assessment applications and custom training programs for retailers. SVI maintains offices and subsidiaries in the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and South Africa. The Company has a worldwide customer base including major retailers such as Home Depot, OfficeMax, The Limited, JCPenney, the Disney Stores, Victoria's Secret, the U.S. Postal Service and Toys "R" Us. Additionally, they have a number of customers from corporations, schools and government agencies such as Alcoa, BP Amoco, Dun & Bradstreet, Kaiser Permanente, the Ohio Department of Transportation, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, the University of Missouri, and the University of Oklahoma. SVI's web sites are located at www.svisolutions.com and www.svitrain.com.

Certain statements contained in this news release regarding matters that are not historical facts may be forward-looking statements. Because such forwarding-looking statements include risk and uncertainties, actual results may differ materially from those expressed in or implied by such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include, but are not limited to, competition, the ability to raise capital when needed on terms and conditions acceptable to the Company, consummate acquisitions and develop advanced technologies, fluctuations in currency exchange rates, the demand for the company's products and services internationally, especially in the United Kingdom, Australia and South Africa, and other risk factors identified from time to time in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Other risk factors are listed in the company's Report on Form 10-KSB for the fiscal year ended March 31, 1999. SVI undertakes no obligation to release publicly any revisions to the forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this news release or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.