Question Mark and SABA Announce Interoperability Agreement

Business Wire, Nov 28, 2000

Business/Technology Editors

STAMFORD, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 28, 2000

Question Mark Corporation, creators of Question Mark(TM) Perception(TM) testing and assessment software, and Saba (Nasdaq: SABA), the leading global provider of learning and performance solutions, today announced an agreement to make the two companies' systems interoperable and to work together in supporting industry standards.

As part of this cooperative effort, Question Mark has joined the Saba Learning Alliance Program, a global initiative to integrate Internet-based learning tools and systems with the education and corporate learning markets.

Through the agreement, Saba and Question Mark will provide interoperable product interfaces between their respective products, using emerging industry standard specifications as defined in the AICC and the IMS. Question Mark Perception assessments and authoring tools will be fully interoperable with the Saba Learning Enterprise(TM) platform, whereby Saba customers will be able to launch Question Mark Perception tests from the Saba learning catalog, and test results will be passed back to the Saba database upon completion. Perception will provide item analysis and statistics reports, while Saba will control student data.

"Saba customers enjoy a number of benefits from the integration with Question Mark's authoring tools," said Saba Vice President of Business Development Grant Ricketts. "By publishing browser-based assessments in their Saba catalog, corporations can easily assess the skills of learners throughout their global extended enterprises."

"With Question Mark's global reach and multi-lingual products, it was natural for us to form an alliance with Saba," said Eric Shepherd, President of Question Mark Corporation. "It is a personal pleasure to be a part of the spirit of cooperation in the e-learning business. Global cooperation is now evaporating international boundaries".

About Question Mark and Perception

Question Mark has been producing testing and assessment software since 1988, enabling educators and trainers to write, administer, and report on tests and surveys securely using individual PCs, local networks, the Internet, and intranets.

Question Mark Perception software allows people to create question files without programming experience or knowledge of HTML. Users can create multiple question banks from which to assemble tests and surveys, organizing questions into topics and sub-topics. They can shuffle questions and answers for each participant and preview sessions to see how they will appear post-deployment. They can present a wide variety of question types and styles, incorporating videos and graphics if desired.

Participants can use a run-time system (with Perception for Windows) or a browser (with Question Mark for Web) to answer questions. For high stakes exams, where the content is valuable, Perception Secure Browser can be used to limit printing, navigation and save-to-disk functions. The participant receives the feedback that the test author has specified. Answers are then saved to a file for scoring and analysis with Enterprise Reporter, which offers a variety of report formats.

Businesses, governments, schools, colleges, and universities in more than 45 countries use Question Mark software. Typical applications include exams, quizzes, study aids, diagnostic tests, pre-course skills assessments, and course evaluations. Question Mark Corporation is actively involved with the IMS Global Learning Consortium and supports open standards. For more information visit http://www.questionmark.com or call (800) 863-3950 or 44-0-203-358-3950.

About Saba

Saba is a leading global provider of human capital development and management solutions. Customers around the world rely on Saba's learning and performance infrastructure - as well as online and offline training from Saba's learning providers - to increase competitive advantage by rapidly building critical skills throughout their extended enterprise of customers, partners, employees and suppliers.

As of August 31, 2000, more than 3.2 million people around the world and tens of thousands of training offerings were "on Saba." Global 2000 customers include Anheuser-Busch (NYSE: BUD), Cisco Systems (Nasdaq: CSCO), Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F), General Electric (NYSE: GE), i2 Technologies (Nasdaq: ITWO), Informix (Nasdaq: IFMX), Sun Microsystems (Nasdaq: SUNW), Netscape, Red Hat (Nasdaq: RHAT), Hyundai, 3Com (Nasdaq: COMS) and the Veterans Benefits Administration. Saba-affiliated learning providers can be found at www.saba.com/exchange.> Founded in 1997, Saba is a global company headquartered in Redwood Shores, Calif. For more information, please visit www.saba.com or call (877) SABA-101 or (650) 696-1758 in the Americas, 44-0-208-334-8043 in Europe, the Middle East and Africa or 61-2-9293-2538 in Asia/Pacific. -END-

Saba, the Saba logo, and the marks relating to other Saba products and services referenced herein are either trademarks or registered trademarks of Saba Software, Inc. Perception is a trademark of Question Mark Corporation. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.