Centra's Online Learning and Training Software Increases Customer Retention and Technical Support Efficiency at Cognex

Business Wire, June 13, 2005

LEXINGTON, Mass. -- World's leading supplier of machine vision systems improves global learning initiatives for customers and sales force

Centra Software, Inc. (NASDAQ: CTRA), a leading provider of software and services for online learning and training, today announced that Cognex (NASDAQ: CGNX), the world's leading supplier of machine vision systems, is keeping their sales force current, increasing customer retention and delivering higher ROI to its customer base by implementing Centra as their eLearning solution. Centra provides a blended eLearning delivery solution that helps organizations lower corporate education costs, enhance productivity and accelerate knowledge transfer across the extended enterprise.

"Customer and new employee product courses have dramatically improved using Centra's solutions, and the burden to Cognex technical support has been greatly reduced. Before Centra, some customers would call our technical support engineers to learn how to use our products instead of attending a class. We are always willing to help our customers, but this is an inefficient way to learn our products," said Dr. Cliff Fitzgerald, senior manager, Worldwide Educational Services, Cognex. "Providing online product courses using Centra makes learning more convenient. Knowledgeable customers are more successful, satisfied, and stay with Cognex products. Since implementing Centra, I have received many emails from customers extolling the value of Centra's online courses. And our technical support engineers can do what they do best: solve customer problems."

Prior to implementing Centra in March 2000, Cognex held classroom product courses for customers and employees to better understand the intricacies of their various machine vision systems. However, it soon became clear that because Cognex products provide a wide variety of capabilities, the need for a more efficient customer education tool was necessary. Because Cognex's customers are geographically dispersed, some prefer not to travel to the Natick, Massachusetts headquarters for classroom courses. A customer purchasing one vision sensor could spend nearly half the cost of the product itself on travel costs for two students. Cognex decided it needed a solution that would connect its global customer base remotely allowing for an easier, cost-effective and time-efficient learning experience. Cognex global sales engineers also benefit by receiving regular updates via Centra on the latest Cognex products and vision tools.

Because some of Cognex's products are configured to meet a customer's specific need, each Cognex solution is unique. In order to provide detailed product courses, Cognex has used Centra to implement a just-in-time learning program that provides customers and employees with instant online access to short learning sessions that cover just the tools they immediately need to solve problems unique to their particular Cognex solution. This program also allows customers to view or pause playbacks of specific learning sessions at a later time. Through these 60-90 minute downloadable online learning sessions, Centra facilitates just-in-time learning that is ideal for Cognex's interrupt-driven manufacturing engineering customers.

Cognex's use of Centra for online learning and training has been so successful that the International Association for Continuing Education and Training (IACET) has named Cognex an Authorized Provider. As an authorized provider, Cognex has the ability to grant Continuing Education Units (CEU) to employees or customers with a professional engineering license. These CEU's are necessary for renewal of professional engineering licenses, making access to Centra's online courses even more vital to Cognex customers and engineers.

Centra's online training solutions allow an organization to address the needs of the individual and the organization simultaneously; to capture, share, and manage information and skills in a variety of formats to meet the requirements of specific learners or job tasks while delivering highly effective blended learning programs. Centra's solution helps companies better plan, execute, and evaluate every aspect of corporate and customer training strategies. From creation of training materials, delivery of highly interactive virtual classes, and certification reporting, Centra has helped hundreds of organizations like Cognex accelerate knowledge transfer, while significantly lowering costs.

"Cognex's successful use of Centra as a training application speaks to our strength in the eLearning space and the value eLearning can provide to global organizations that have customers spread across the country, or even the continent," said Leon Navickas, CEO of Centra. "We are pleased that Cognex has been able to improve customer retention and sales efficiency through the implementation of Centra."

About Cognex

Cognex Corporation designs, develops, manufactures, and markets machine vision systems, or computers that can "see." Cognex is the world's leader in the machine vision industry, having shipped more than 225,000 machine vision systems, representing over $1.7 billion in cumulative revenue, since the company's founding in 1981. Cognex's Modular Vision Systems Division, headquartered in Natick, Massachusetts, specializes in machine vision systems that are used for automating the manufacture of a wide range of discrete items and for assuring their quality. Cognex's Surface Inspection Systems Division, headquartered in Alameda, California, specializes in machine vision systems that are used for inspecting the surfaces of products manufactured in a continuous fashion, such as metals, papers and plastics. In addition to its corporate headquarters in Natick, Massachusetts, Cognex also has regional offices located throughout North America, Japan, Europe, and Southeast Asia. Visit Cognex online at http://www.cognex.com.