Click2learn Releases Next Version of Aspen

Business Wire, April 2, 2003

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

BELLEVUE, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 2, 2003

Latest version of award-winning Aspen Enterprise Productivity

Suite(TM) boasts innovative new global capabilities, reporting and

analytics, and additional levels of functionality designed to

increase organizational productivity

Click2learn (Nasdaq:CLKS), leader in enterprise productivity solutions, today announced the immediate availability of Aspen 2.1, the newest version of the award-winning Aspen Enterprise Productivity Suite(TM).

This latest version of the learning industry's only integrated, single-platform suite, now available in eight languages, features significantly enhanced globalization, reporting, registration, virtual classroom and other functionalities, giving Click2learn customers powerful new tools to optimize their global learning initiatives.

"Aspen's latest release, which builds upon Click2learn's integrated platform strategy, reflects a continued focus on the impact of learning development and deployment on enterprise-wide work processes," said Elliott Masie, founder of the Masie Center, a renowned e-lab and think tank dedicated to exploring the connection between learning and technology.

Aspen strategically leverages learning throughout the extended enterprise by managing training, information and knowledge to increase productivity and speed to performance. Whether managing any form of blended learning, structured knowledge documents, or tacit organizational knowledge, Aspen delivers one experience to all users, helping successfully address sales readiness, employee development, customer and partner education, training automation and other key business goals.

The Power of Globalization With a Single Click

With one click of a button, Aspen 2.1 allows employees of global organizations to utilize Aspen in their native languages without having to undertake the significant time commitment and cost of translation.

With availability in eight languages, Aspen seamlessly accommodates differences in language, time zones and foreign currencies, all at the learner level. Individual learners can set their language preferences and communicate with other employees across these language boundaries. With the delivery of native language interfaces and support for courseware in multiple languages, Aspen allows organizations to deliver consistent messaging, information and learning experiences. It also enables diverse workforces to collaborate in their own languages across thousands of miles -- all of it archived in one searchable repository for others' reference.

Aspen's globalization support includes:

-- Availability in US English, UK English, Latin American

Spanish, European Spanish, Italian, French, German and

Japanese.

-- Ability to support a single instance of Aspen powering a

global enterprise, with access in multiple languages, time

zones and locales.

-- Localized versions of Aspen's setup application, error

messages, release notes and system configuration documentation

and end user help

-- Language-specific sorting and searching

-- Time zone management and automatic conversion

-- Regional differences in handling names, suffixes, addresses,

etc.

Reporting & Analytics

Aspen 2.1 features a new reporting infrastructure, providing organizations with new levels of valuable business intelligence on which to base key strategic decisions. These reporting features enhance Aspen's already robust, Web-based reporting functionalities and provide significant analytics capabilities through highly scalable, industry-leading reporting technology from Crystal Decisions.

The new infrastructure, seamlessly integrated into the Aspen Suite out-of-the-box:

-- Offers more than 50 essential, pre-formatted reports that

provide the deep analysis of information that managers and

administrators require, including:

-- Course content effectiveness

-- Training system usage

-- Analysis of upcoming certification expiration

-- Percentage of learners' progress in meeting training and

skills gaps requirements

-- A wide range of other performance, competency and

utilization reports

-- Allows organizations to create new, custom reports with

unprecedented flexibility, enabling them to pinpoint the exact

data that meets their organization's unique reporting needs.

Based on customer feedback and industry demand and to better meet customers' needs, Click2learn also has added a broad assortment of innovative new enhancements to Aspen's Virtual Classroom, registration, search and commerce capabilities in Aspen 2.1.

"Our customers' learning needs and business goals change and evolve as they respond to economic, competitive, industry and other pressures, and it is essential that our Aspen platform also evolve to meet those needs," said Kevin Oakes, chairman and CEO of Click2learn. "Based on our extensive market expertise and close working relationships with customers and partners, we are continually innovating dynamic new features and capabilities that allow Aspen to integrate seamlessly into an organization's infrastructure, enhance the user's experience and strengthen its effectiveness in helping businesses be more productive and successful. Aspen 2.1 is the best version of the platform yet, and we are proud and excited to be delivering it to our customers."