SumTotal Systems President Kevin Oakes to Keynote Global Session at Human Capital 2005 Tokyo

Business Wire, July 22, 2005

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. -- SumTotal(TM) Systems (NASDAQ:SUMTE), the largest provider of learning and business performance technologies and services, today announced that company president Kevin Oakes will keynote a global plenary session at the upcoming Human Capital 2005 Tokyo, Japan's largest human capital development show, held this year at the Tokyo International Forum from July 27 - 29. More than 25,000 attendees are expected at the event.

As chair-elect of the American Society for Training and Development (ASTD), Oakes was invited to speak at the special session by show sponsor Nikkei Business Publications Inc. The audience will be made up of HR management and training professionals, who attend the show to see the industry's newest technologies and services and to learn best practices and practical applications from industry experts and other colleagues.

Oakes' keynote, entitled "A Seat at the Table," will address the reasons HR and training professionals often have difficulty gaining the ear

of executive management. "For the most part, HR and training can't get a 'seat at the executive table' because they have rarely spoken with confidence about what executives want to hear: increased revenue, faster time-to-market and improved business performance," said Oakes. "The inability to show tangible results in these areas has often been due to a lack of understanding about how to link these areas to learning, as well as a lack of tools to do so. Today, however, we are seeing many progressive companies that show remarkable business results through learning, and, as a result, raise the profile and strategic importance of the learning function in the organization," he said.

During his presentation, Oakes will review his findings on the strategic uses of learning from his column entitled "The Enterprise," which appears regularly in T D Magazine. He also will profile several organizations -- and learning professionals within those organizations -- who are using learning to not only help HR and training professionals gain a "seat at the table," but to make senior management view it as one of the more strategic seats they have.

"In many companies, enterprise-wide learning technology is increasingly being viewed as mission-critical," said Oakes. "It often fuels a renewed movement toward centralization of the learning function, as well as generating significant revenue. One example which is gaining in popularity is using learning to reach the "extended value chain" of distributors, partners and customers, something a number of CEOs are now actively interested in."

In addition to Oakes' keynote, SumTotal also will exhibit at the show, highlighting the SumTotal Enterprise Suite, the company's flagship learning and business performance platform, and ToolBook, its award-winning simulation and content authoring solution.

According to recent estimates, the Japanese e-learning market will grow to about 310 billion yen, or $2.7 billion in 2005. SumTotal has long been a marketshare leader in the country, where it works with industry-leading customers and partners, including IBM, NEC, Mazda, Tohmatsu, Toshiba, Konica Minolta Photo Imaging, Shinsei Bank, Fuji Xerox Information Systems and Recruit, among others.

"As a global enterprise provider, SumTotal is committed to supporting our corporate clients in Japan, as well as the Japanese government's 'e-Japan' focus. We're dedicated to helping organizations throughout the country become more successful through the adoption of learning technologies," said Oakes. "On behalf of SumTotal Japan, we look forward to sharing our expertise with show attendees and to reconnecting with our community of Japanese customers, partners and industry colleagues."

About the SumTotal Enterprise Suite

Providing unparalleled breadth in application and depth in functionality, the SumTotal Enterprise Suite is the industry's most comprehensive, globally scalable learning and business performance offering, and the only one to combine learning management, learning content management, in-depth analytics and other mission-critical applications on a single, integrated platform. The SumTotal Suite promises more flexible, rapid, strategic delivery and management of learning activities; unprecedented options for measuring learning impact on organizational goals and objectives; and unique interoperability and integration capabilities to dramatically reduce the cost of ownership.

About SumTotal Systems

SumTotal Systems Inc. (NASDAQ:SUMTE) is the largest provider of learning and business performance technologies and services. Formed by the merger of industry pioneers Docent and Click2learn, SumTotal deploys mission-critical solutions that align learning with organizational goals to generate significant bottom-line results. With more than 12 million users in 37 countries, SumTotal has helped accelerate performance and profit for more than 675 of the world's best-known companies and government agencies, including the US Army, Air Force, Navy and Coast Guard, Microsoft, United Airlines, the State of California, DSHS, Vodafone, Aetna, Accenture, USDA, Cendant, Harley-Davidson, Wyeth, Wachovia and D & B. Headquartered in Mountain View, CA, SumTotal has offices throughout the US, as well as in London, Paris, Heidelberg, Sydney, Tokyo and Hyderabad, India. For more information on SumTotal's solutions and services, visit www.sumtotalsystems.com.