Docent Again Achieves Leadership Position in 2003 Report on Learning Management System Vendors

Business Wire, Feb 5, 2003

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--February 5, 2003

METAspectrum Report Recognizes Docent For Leadership

In Delivering Industry Solutions With Rapid Time

To Value, High Levels of Customer Service, and

Technology That Lowers Total Cost of Ownership

Docent(R), Inc. (Nasdaq:DCNT), the leading provider of integrated software solutions proven to directly drive business performance through learning, today announced that META Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: METG), an IT research and consulting firm, has again named Docent as a leader among 12 of the major learning management platform systems providers in its updated edition of the METAspectrum report entitled "Learning Management Platform Systems, A Comprehensive Analysis of the eLearning Market." In the report, Docent was recognized for excellence in a broad range of evaluation metrics that indicate a vendor's market presence, operational performance, and ultimately its ability to deliver customer value. Docent's overall score was highest among all vendors evaluated.

The evaluation was based upon criteria that qualitatively ranked companies in two key categories: Presence and Performance. The Presence category included factors such as vision/strategy, channels/partners, awareness/reputation, geographic coverage, business drivers, industry focus, investments and share. The Performance category evaluated vendors on the basis of technology, services, pricing, agility, financials, execution and personnel.

Docent achieved the highest possible rating in the categories of Vision/Strategy, Awareness/Reputation, Industry Focus, Technology, Investments and Share. The report highlighted a number of Docent's special strengths, including:

- A favorable perception among its customers as a leader that is easy to work with and is highly responsive to customer support issues.

- A strong vertical industry focus and partner model serving industries such as pharmaceutical, financial services, and telecommunications with solutions, including compliance and certification.

- A configurable technology platform that features an open architecture, excellent support for AICC and SCORM standards, excellent scalability, pre-built connectors for easy integration with enterprise applications.

The evaluation rated 12 companies as leaders, challengers, and followers. Docent was placed in the leaders category based on its overall score. The report notes a trend in the market toward vendor consolidation and customer demand for solutions suites that span beyond merely learning management systems. Docent has organized its business model to deliver industry-specific solutions for Financial Services, Life Science, Manufacturing, Retail, Technology, Energy, Government, and other vertical sectors. These solutions are powered by Docent Enterprise(TM), a comprehensive suite of applications that include a learning management system (LMS), learning content management system (LCMS), live web collaboration, an informal knowledge exchange, performance management, and analytic applications.

"Docent's ranking as a leader in the METAspectrum report is the outcome of a rigorous process that included hands-on product evaluations, numerous customer interviews, and in depth interviews with company executives responsible for all essential functions, such as service and support, product development, marketing, and sales," said Jennifer Vollmer, META Group Senior Research Analyst. "We are pleased to once again include Docent in this report which provides our clients with an independent assessment of the major learning solutions providers to help guide their vendor selection process."

"We are very proud to have been recognized again as a leader by META Group," said R. Andrew Eckert, president and CEO of Docent. "We attribute the ranking in large part to the success that has come from our vertical industry solutions business model, our commitment to being the market leader in customer satisfaction, and platform technology that provides the lowest total cost of ownership for our customers."

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