Sierra Systems' New THINQ-based Corporate University Gives 900 Employees Access to Integrated Online Learning

Business Wire, Nov 20, 2000

Business/Technology Editors

BILLERICA, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 20, 2000

Sierra Systems University Opens At Technology Consulting

Firm's 15 Locations

THINQ announced today that Sierra Systems, a technology consulting and systems integration company, has established a corporate learning center for its 900 employees with THINQ, a leading provider of corporate learning solutions. Through Sierra Systems University (SSU), employees can now select, gain approval for, and complete internal or external training courses more easily than ever before.

Sierra Systems launched SSU, a corporate university designed through its partnership with THINQ, to meet its employees' career development needs. SSU is a Web-based learning portal that provides easy access both to Sierra Systems' in-house courses and to offerings from THINQ's 3,000 training provider partners.

"THINQ packages all education into one bundle," said Susan Soo Lum, internal education coordinator for Sierra Systems. "It also packages all the reporting together into one place. Having a one-stop source for all our employees' learning allows our company to better deploy professional development and monitor how we're meeting our commitment to learning."

SSU's THINQ-powered learning center has been up and running since June 16, 2000 and Sierra Systems has found two of the biggest advantages are the ease of the electronic request and approval process and the automatic reporting capability. THINQ has taken the paper out of the training approval process and has centralized all the training activity reporting for Sierra Systems' 15 locations. To encourage employees to engage in learning, THINQ works closely with Sierra Systems to support change management through consulting and onsite promotional campaigns at each location.

"We were intent on creating one stop for everything related to education," said Francis Pring-Mill, Sierra Systems' Vice President for Research. Sierra Systems valued the ability to integrate its internal training with access to courses by external providers through THINQ's Learning Center. "The information is perpetually current and accessible to all our locations," he said. "Learning managers don't have to look at large, always outdated paper catalogs to find courses. Also important to us is being able to give the learning center Sierra Systems' own look and feel. We can deliver our proprietary content and message to our own people in our own words."

Throughout the company's 15 locations, Sierra Systems' employees can access a self-serve learning center available on the company's Intranet. Providing one-stop shopping for all the company's training needs, SSU makes it easier to select and actually complete a training course in a business where only brief windows of time are available between client assignments. Sierra Systems' consultants can therefore maximize their billable time with flexible, convenient online courses they can complete on their own timetable.

The partnership between the two companies is also creating good will. Sierra Systems holds an annual raffle to encourage participation in the United Way fundraising campaign. Sierra Systems' vendors are asked to donate a prize that will be part of a drawing for employees that have made a contribution. One winner received, compliments of THINQ, a DigitalThink course of their choice. Eighty percent of Sierra Systems' employees made a donation raising $55,000 for the United Way, up $3,000 over last year's total.

"Sierra Systems University is a shining example of using THINQ's products and services to a corporation's maximum advantage," THINQ's CEO Hemang Dave said. "THINQ is pleased to partner with Sierra Systems in business and in community giving."

About Sierra Systems

Sierra Systems Group Inc. (TSE - SSG) is a leading source for solutions to North America's top technology challenges. Sierra Systems' core systems integration and management consulting excellence, built over 34 years, gives clients a solid foundation to draw from for their successful eWorld ventures. Sierra Systems' thought leadership is recognized across traditional and emerging industries including health care, justice, government, financial and insurance services, utilities and telecommunications. Practical, reliable and innovative, Sierra Systems knows how to uncover and achieve high-impact results for clients at any level - seamlessly transforming their business into eBusiness. Visit Sierra Systems' Web site at http://www.SierraSystems.com.

About THINQ

THINQ helps corporations attain key business objectives by improving the achievement potential of a critical success element - human capital. THINQ's powerful learning solution combines strategic guidance, a scalable web-based learning management infrastructure, the world's largest aggregation of professional learning content and proven change management services that drive learners to improve performance. THINQ Learning Consulting (TLC), THINQ TrainingServer? Learning Management System (LMS), THINQ Learning Center and THINQ RFP Exchange help enterprises procure, manage and administer all in-house, custom and off-the-shelf learning solutions. THINQ is headquartered in Billerica, Mass., with offices located throughout North America and the U.K. For more information, contact THINQ at (888) 931-3311, or visit www.THINQ.com.